UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 
                                      FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
                                                OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

                                        MEMORANDUM

                                            March 11, 2022 

   Advisory Regarding Provider Efforts to Deceive Lifeline Consumers to 
        Enroll for Unwanted Government-Subsidized ACP Services 
Introduction 
FCC OIG’s statutory mandate is to protect the integrity of the Commission’s programs 
and operations by combating fraud, waste and abuse.  From time to time, our office 
issues advisories to alert stakeholders to ongoing fraud schemes and other threats to 
program integrity.   
OIG issues this Advisory to alert consumers and providers to improper and abusive 
enrollment practices by some providers of Lifeline, Emergency Broadband Benefit 
(EBB) and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) services.  These providers 
impermissibly tie enrollment in these programs by coercing and deceiving applicants for 
Lifeline service into enrolling in unwanted ACP/EBB service or into transferring their 
ACP/EBB service away from their preferred provider.  Deceptive enrollment practices 
violate program rules including informed consent requirements and threaten program 
integrity by causing wasteful government outlays for undesired services.  Such practices 
may also violate federal fraud statutes.  
Since 1985, the Lifeline program has provided a discount on telecommunications 
services for low-income consumers.  Currently, the FCC’s Lifeline subsidy supports voice 
and data services.  In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, Congress 
appropriated $3.2 billion for the EBB program to provide government-subsidized 
broadband service and devices to low-income consumers.  The 2021 Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act modified and extended the EBB program into a longer-term 
program, ACP.  Congress appropriated $14.2 billion to the ACP (hereinafter the EBB 
program and ACP are collectively referred to as ACP).   While some providers offer 
Lifeline or ACP service, a number of providers offer both Lifeline and ACP service to 
low-income consumers.      


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 Deceptive Conduct  
 OIG has learned several providers who offer both Lifeline and ACP service are 
misleading Lifeline consumers into enrolling for undesired service when consumers 
 apply for Lifeline service using the providers’ online application process.  Specifically, 
 consumers who apply for Lifeline service using these providers’ online applications must 
 agree either to apply for new unwanted ACP service or to transfer their existing ACP 
 service to successfully complete the Lifeline application.  At least one provider requires 
consumers to agree to transfer their existing ACP service even after the consumer 
indicates they only seek Lifeline service.  Customers who do not carefully review the 
online process may find themselves enrolled in ACP or have their ACP service 
transferred away from their preferred provider when they seek Lifeline service from one 
of the providers employing these tactics.  Figure 1 below is a screenshot of part of an 
application shared by customer who sought only Lifeline service from a provider who 
offers Lifeline and ACP/EBB service.     
                   Figure 1 


 This provider’s online application for Lifeline service takes the prospective consumer 
 through a series of webpages to collect the consumer’s PII (including name, DOB, SSN 
 and address information).  Next, the provider’s Lifeline application asks the consumer 
 whether they wish to enroll in or transfer their ACP/EBB service.  However, even if the 
 consumer declines ACP/EBB service at the top of Figure 1, the consumer is forced to 

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 agree to apply for or transfer their ACP/EBB service when they reach the bottom of 
Figure 1 to complete the application.  The provider’s application pre-populates the 
 consumer’s initials next to the statement, “I consent to apply and/or transfer my 
 ACP/EBB benefits to [the providers]…” A consumer cannot remove their pre-populated 
 initials and proceed to complete their Lifeline application. To complete the Lifeline 
 application, an applicant is required by the provider’s online program to consent to 
 enrollment in the provider’s ACP/EBB service.  Only with the initials indicating consent 
 to enroll in or transfer to the provider’s ACP/EBB service are present may the consumer 
 select “Continue” and proceed to the next screens and complete the Lifeline application. 
 While this describes the most egregious behavior we have seen, we note there may be 
 other iterations of this tying that are being utilized toward the same goal of impeding 
 customer choice.  
 Conduct Violates Program Rules & Threatens Program Integrity 
 On the day before the EBB program launched, the Commission warned providers 
 against deceptive marketing practices that would undermine program integrity and 
 threaten Lifeline service including “suggesting or implying that signing up for [ACP] 
services is required for obtaining or continuing services, including Lifeline services” and 
that “not clearly distinguishing the process of signing up for EBB services from the 
process of signing up for, renewing, upgrading or modifying other telecom services, 
including Lifeline services.”  May 11, 2021 Enforcement Advisory, DA 21-551.  Moreover, 
the Commission later codified these consumer protection requirements in the ACP rules.  
47 CFR §54.1810(a)(3). 
 Such deceptive practices by unscrupulous providers clearly violate program rules and 
 Commission policies, eliminate consumer choice and threaten ACP program integrity by 
encouraging costly government payments to providers for unwanted broadband service.  
Congress’s appropriations are finite and therefore, at a minimum, it is wasteful to 
 allocate ACP funds to individuals who do not want ACP service from their Lifeline 
 provider, at what ultimately could be to the detriment of those who do.  Moreover, 
 providers who seek reimbursement for providing unwanted ACP service to consumers 
enrolled using deceptive practices likely make false certifications when they seek 
 reimbursement from USAC and thereby incur potential liability for violating federal 
 fraud statutes, including the False Claims Act.   
 We strongly encourage consumers who encounter attempts to strongarm or mislead 
 them into unwanted Lifeline, EBB or ACP service to contact our hotline (information 
below) to assist our ongoing review and add to our collection of evidence against these 
problem providers.   
                                **************** 
Fraud, waste, and abuse remains a serious problem for Commission programs.  OIG is 
 committed to our mandate and will continue to use a full range of tools to expose and 
 combat fraud, waste and abuse in FCC programs.  OIG encourages anyone with 

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information regarding fraud, waste or abuse in any FCC program, to report such 
allegations via the OIG hotline.  

FCC OIG Hotline 
Report Waste, Fraud & Abuse 
Telephone: (202) 418-0473 
Toll Free: (888) 863-2244 
FAX: (202) 418-2811 
E-Mail: hotline@fcc.gov


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