OTI, Common Cause Urge FCC to Promote Public Interest in Verizon/Tracfone Deal

OTI and Common Cause met with FCC staff via phone to discuss Verizon's proposed acquisition of TracFone, raising concerns about the transaction’s potential to undermine the Lifeline program and raise prices for low-income consumers. We emphasized that Verizon has a burden to demonstrate that the merger will benefit the public interest—not merely that it would avoid harm. The conditions recently proposed by Verizon and outside parties reflect a recognition of this burden and of the plausible concern that the merger could inflict competition and equity harms. At a minimum, the proposed conditions should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling, for any potential remedy the Commission might be considering. Accordingly, OTI and Common Cause discussed several areas of concern about possible remedies, including the need for conditions to be strictly enforced, of sufficient duration, and to not create loopholes.