FCC Holds Lifeline Mobile and Broadband Standards Flat for Another Year
The program’s mobile broadband data allowance has remained unchanged since 2020.
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2026 – The Federal Communications Commission will not require phone companies to offer more mobile data through its low-income internet assistance program.
The FCC announced Wednesday that users receiving subsidized mobile broadband through the Lifeline program will continue to get plans with at least 4.5 gigabytes (GB) of data per month through Dec. 1, 2027. The decision extends a years-long pause on planned increases to the program’s mobile data requirement.
Under the FCC’s 2016 Lifeline Order the minimum amount of data was supposed to rise over time. The rules included a formula that automatically increased the program’s minimum mobile data requirement. By 2025, that formula would have pushed the minimum to about 29 GB per month, nearly 6.5 times today’s requirement.
In practice, however, the mobile broadband formula has rarely been allowed to run its course.
Nearly every year since the formula took effect, the Wireline Competition Bureau has issued a waiver pausing the scheduled increase, citing concerns that a higher allowance would raise costs for participating carriers without necessarily benefiting subscribers.
On July 1, the FCC’s WCB once again issued a waiver for one year pausing the increases in the Lifeline minimum service standards for the fixed and mobile broadband data usage allowance.
Under the notice released by the FCC’s WCB on Wednesday, fixed broadband subscribers on plans supported by Lifeline will continue to receive a minimum data allowance of 1,280 GB per month, and mobile broadband recipients will keep a 4.5 GB monthly allowance. Mobile voice service standards also hold steady at 1,000 minutes per month.
The minimum service standard for mobile broadband data has remained unchanged since Dec. 1, 2020, when the FCC adopted an order raising the data allowance standard from 3 GB to 4.5 GB per month.
The waiver comes as the FCC weighs broader changes to Lifeline.
Earlier this year, the agency opened an inquiry seeking comment on whether the program should keep relying on automatic formulas to set minimum broadband standards, or instead shift to fixed data amounts, tie requirements more closely to average subscriber usage, or adopt some other approach altogether.
That proposal, released in January 2026, found the FCC’s current automatic formula produces results “so far out of step with actual data usage,” and that the agency has issued waivers because strict application would “risk upsetting the careful balance of service quality and affordability.”
Lifeline providers, represented by the National Lifeline Association, have opposed previous increases, arguing they could raise costs and ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers. However, some Lifeline users have said the program’s minimum mobile data allowance is not enough for everyday needs.
In a 2020 report by The Markup, Lifeline participants reported often exhausting both monthly minutes and data.
Coverage from the publication noted that the minimum data allowance at the time translated to only about four hours of low-quality video streaming, roughly 600 photo-based social posts, or 200 hours of general browsing per month — framed as inadequate for anyone trying to search for jobs, complete schoolwork, or access telehealth services.
While the mobile standard has remained unchanged, the minimum fixed broadband allowance increased modestly in recent years, from 1,024 GB per month in 2020 to 1,280 GB beginning in December 2023. This year’s waiver froze that standard as well.
According to FCC data, more than 8.12 million subscribers were enrolled in the Lifeline program as of June 2025. Those subscribers receive $9.25 in monthly support for services that include broadband and $5.25 in monthly support for voice-only service. An additional $25 monthly benefit is available for Tribal lands subscribers. The Lifeline program spent $923 million in 2025.
The program has experienced persistently low participation. Roughly 22 percent of eligible households currently receive Lifeline support, according to estimates by the Universal Service Administrative Company, meaning millions of qualifying low-income households are not enrolled.
