FCC Proposes More Lifeline Vetting
The agency also moved to expand private broadband use in the lower 900 MHz band.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2026 – The Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to take comment on a proposal to tighten eligibility requirements and root out fraud in its Lifeline program.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has been especially vocal about the issue with respect to California. He revoked the state’s ability to use its own verification system for the low-income subsidy in November, and put forward Wednesday’s proposal after an FCC inspector general report found disbursements for deceased Lifeline subscribers in the state, along with Texas and Oregon.
That report found $5 million in payments for about 117,000 dead subscribers over five years, with about 80 percent of those being in California.
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