Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, DC 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Telecommunications Carriers Eligible ) WC Docket No. 09-197 For Universal Service Support ) ) TracFone Wireless, Inc. ) ) Petition for Designation as a ) Lifeline Broadband Provider ) ) TRACFONE WIRELESS, INC.’S PETITION FOR DESIGNATION AS A LIFELINE BROADBAND PROVIDER Mitchell F. Brecher Debra McGuire Mercer GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 2101 L Street, NW Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20037 Telephone: (202) 331-3100 [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for TracFone Wireless, Inc. October 31, 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... i I. TracFone is a Reseller of Commercial Mobile Radio Service and a Lifeline Provider. .................................................................................................................2 II. TracFone Meets the Statutory and Regulatory Requirements for Designation as a Lifeline Broadband Provider. ...................................................................3 A. TracFone Satisfies the Common Carrier Requirement. ...........................................4 B. TracFone Offers Resale Services Supported by the Federal Universal Service Fund. ...........................................................................................4 C. TracFone Will Advertise the Availability of Supported Services. ..........................5 D. TracFone Certifies That It Will Comply with the Service Requirements Applicable to the Support It Receives, Including the Applicable Minimum Service Standards. ................................................................5 E. TracFone Has the Ability to Remain Functional in Emergency Situations..................................................................................................................6 F. TracFone Will Satisfy Applicable Consumer Protection and Service Quality Standards. .......................................................................................7 G. TracFone Is Financially and Technically Capable of Providing Lifeline Broadband Service in Compliance with the Commission’s Rules. .......................................................................................................................7 H. TracFone’s Terms and Conditions of BIAS Plans Offered to Lifeline Subscribers. ................................................................................................8 I. TracFone’s Proposed Service Areas for Lifeline Broadband Internet Access Service. ...........................................................................................9 J. TracFone Will Comply with Other LBP Obligations. ...........................................10 K. TracFone Qualifies for Streamlined Processing of Its LBP Petition. ....................10 III. Designation of TracFone as a LBP Would Serve the Public Interest. ...............................11 IV. Anti-Drug Abuse Certification. .........................................................................................13 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................14 SUMMARY TracFone Wireless, Inc. (“TracFone”) requests streamlined designation as a Lifeline Broadband Provider (“LBP”) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. TracFone is the nation’s leading provider of prepaid wireless telecommunications services with more than 25 million subscribers nationwide and is the nation’s largest Lifeline provider, serving more than 4.6 million low-income, Lifeline-eligible, households in over 40 states. As detailed in this Petition, TracFone meets all the requirements for designation as a LBP. Specifically, TracFone is a common carrier that will offer broadband Lifeline services by reselling the services of underlying carriers. Although the Commission’s rules require Lifeline service providers to be facilities-based, in the Lifeline Modernization Order issued earlier this year, the Commission indicated that non-facilities based carriers could be designated as LBPs. In addition, TracFone will provide service that meets the Commission’s minimum service standards (including future revisions to those standards), will advertise its Lifeline broadband service to reach the specific audience for its offering, has the ability to remain functional in emergency situations, will comply with consumer protection standards, and is financially and technically capable of providing Lifeline broadband service. Designation of TracFone as a LBP would serve the public interest because it will provide low-income consumers with reliable and affordable access to mobile broadband service, an essential communications service that is unaffordable to many low-income households. TracFone’s Lifeline broadband service plan will provide 500 MB of data at 3G speeds (with a minimum of 4 GB of data for residents of Tribal lands) to low-income households for no charge. Lifeline broadband service subscribers will also receive 350 airtime minutes and unlimited texting (residents of Tribal lands will receive unlimited airtime minutes and texting). Lifeline broadband consumers can either use their own wireless device or acquire a wireless device from TracFone that will be Wi-Fi-enabled and capable of being used as a Wi-Fi hotspot. TracFone’s Lifeline broadband service will offer low-income households a competitive no-cost option to access the Internet for numerous critical purposes relating to employment, education, and healthcare, as well as to communicate with family and friends. Finally, TracFone qualifies for streamlined 60 day processing of its Petition because it has offered broadband Internet access service to the public for at least two years and serves more than 1,000 non-Lifeline customers with voice telephone and broadband Internet access service. ii Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, DC 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Telecommunications Carriers Eligible ) WC Docket No. 09-197 for Universal Service Support ) ) TracFone Wireless, Inc. ) ) Petition for Designation as a ) Lifeline Broadband Provider ) ) TRACFONE WIRELESS, INC.’S PETITION FOR DESIGNATION AS A LIFELINE BROADBAND PROVIDER TracFone Wireless, Inc. (“TracFone”), by its undersigned counsel, and pursuant to Section 214(e)(6) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Communications Act”), and Sections 54.201 and 54.202 of the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) rules hereby requests streamlined designation as a Lifeline Broadband Provider (“LBP”) in all areas of the United States served by its underlying carriers.1 TracFone seeks LBP designation to provide Lifeline-supported Broadband Internet Access Service (“BIAS”) service, under its various trade names,2 to qualifying low-income households throughout the United States, 1 See 47 U.S.C. § 214(e)(6); 47 C.F.R. §§ 54.201 and 54.202 (2016); In the Matter of Lifeline and Linkup Reform and Modernization et al., Third Report and Order, Further Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration, 31 FCC Rcd 3962 (2016) (“Lifeline Modernization Order”); Wireline Competition Bureau Provides Guidance Regarding Designation as a Lifeline Broadband Provider and Lifeline Broadband Minimum Service Standards, WC Docket Nos. 11- 42, 09-197, Public Notice, DA 16-118 (rel. Sept. 30, 2016) (“LBP Public Notice”). 2 TracFone will offer nationwide Lifeline broadband service as described in this Petition under the following trade names: Go Smart®, NET10®, Page Plus Cellular®, SafeLink Wireless®, Simple Mobile®, Straight Talk®, TelCel®, Total Wireless®, and Walmart Family Mobile®. including low-income households located on Tribal lands.3 TracFone will not seek access to funds from the federal Universal Service Fund (“USF”) for the purpose of providing service to high cost areas. As demonstrated herein, and as certified in Exhibit 1 to this Petition, TracFone meets all the statutory and regulatory requirements for designation as a LBP. I. TracFone is a Reseller of Commercial Mobile Radio Service and a Lifeline Provider. TracFone is a reseller of commercial mobile radio service (“CMRS”) throughout the United States. TracFone is incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware and is headquartered at Miami, Florida. TracFone’s corporate offices are located at 9700 N.W. 112th Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33178. TracFone is currently the nation’s leading provider of prepaid wireless telecommunications services, and the fifth largest wireless carrier overall, with more than 25 million subscribers nationwide. TracFone provides service by reselling services obtained from various licensed operators of wireless networks. TracFone has provided wireless telecommunications service throughout the United States continuously for more than fifteen years. TracFone obtains service from the following underlying carriers: AT&T Mobility, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. TracFone’s arrangements with those providers enable it to offer CMRS service, including voice, text messaging, and mobile broadband data services, wherever any of those providers offer service. TracFone uses the robust networks of its underlying carriers together with its own dedicated customer support system and business strategies to provide reliable and affordable service to prepaid subscribers. 3 Specifically, TracFone requests designation as a LBP in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the