With the omicron variant of COVID-19 sweeping through the country and sweeping away plans for a more rapid return to normalcy, the Federal Communications Commission is extending some pandemic-related waivers that were to have expired December 31.
The FCC had waived some of its documentation requirements for participation in the Lifeline low-income broadband subsidy program, but that was to have run out at the end of this month.
On its own motion, meaning at the bureau level without a commission vote, the Wireline Competition Bureau has extended various Lifeline related waivers to March 31, 2022, and signaled it might have to extend them again if the situation warrants, saying "a new variant of the coronavirus has emerged that has contributed to uncertainty about the ongoing pandemic."
The rules being waived apply to "governing documentation requirements for subscribers residing in rural areas on Tribal lands, reverification, recertification, general de-enrollment and income documentation."
But the bureau warned providers that aside from the waivers, they remain subject to audits and investigations to make sure they are complying with the other rules, saying it was committed to preventing waste, fraud and abuse. ■
