TruConnect Proposes Lifeline Benefits Raise to $30

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2026 – In an effort to ensure effective connectivity for rural communities, underserved areas and veterans, mobile service provider TruConnect is taking its case to the Federal Communications Commission.

In a meeting on Jan. 15 with FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez to discuss raising Lifeline program funding to $30 per month, TruConnect urged the agency to take the actions it could within its own authority. 

TruConnect was also encouraged by proposals that Congress could take through legislation to change the program. It wants reforms recommended by the National Lifeline Association that are centered on efficiency and guarding against waste, fraud and abuse, through modernizing program administration, implementing stricter verification and standardizing compliance processes. 

TruConnect provides mobile phone service to low-income households through the FCC’s Lifeline program, a Universal Service Fund subsidy that provides affordable internet and telehealth. 

TruConnect highlighted the $30 Lifeline proposal, picking the monthly amount of funds available under the former Affordable Connectivity Program, a program similar to Lifeline that economists and Georgetown professors said had proved popular and effective.

The group said raising funds would lead to broader societal benefits, including reduced Medicaid costs and increased access to necessary health care. And it cited a recent Brattle Group report which demonstrated that savings in Medicaid costs alone would be far more than the boosted expenditure of Lifeline if it were $30. 

“The Commission can and should reform and strengthen the Lifeline Program to better meet the connectivity needs of those Americans who truly need support to stay connected to affordable Internet access services every month and to do so in an efficient way with safeguards to prevent waste, fraud and abuse,” the allied National Lifeline Association stated in its proposal.