4/6 FCC Letter Calling for Lifeline Conditions on Verizon and TracFone Merger

New America's Open Technology Institute signed a letter alongside a coalition of public interest organizations reiterating concerns about the potential harms that Verizon's proposed acquisition of TracFone could present for the Lifeline market and program participants. The letter urges the Commission to take these potential harms into consideration when reviewing the merger and to impose strong, enforceable conditions if the Commission does approve the transaction. The opening paragraph of the letter is available below:

On behalf of the undersigned groups we submit these comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) Public Notice regarding Verizon Wireless Communications Inc.’s (“Verizon”) application to acquire TracFone Wireless, Inc., (“TracFone”) (collectively, “Applicants”). On March 30, 2021, the Acting Chief of the Wireless Competition Bureau issued a Public Notice opening a permit-but-disclose docket for this proceeding. The transaction presents potential public interest harms to Lifeline subscribers and competition in the wireless market, impacting the ability of low-income communities to access critical communications services. For these reasons, the undersigned groups strongly urge the Commission, should this merger be approved, to impose strict enforceable conditions on the transaction that will protect Lifeline customers and preserve the wireless reseller marketplace. At a minimum, the Commission must issue a Request for Information to obtain information sufficient to make the necessary public interest determinations and provide answers to the questions that have been raised in the record.