The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has issued a Public Notice announcing that the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier database (National Verifier) is now live in Colorado, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. As of June 18, 2018, eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) in those six states may use the National Verifier to confirm the eligibility of Lifeline subscriber applicants. The launch is a soft launch, so ETCs may begin using the National Verifier for eligibility determinations but may also continue using existing eligibility determination processes. If an ETC uses existing processes to determine a subscriber’s eligibility during the soft launch period, the ETC must abide by the Commission’s current rules for eligibility determinations. Only ETCs will have access to the National Verifier during the soft launch; consumers will receive access once the hard launch takes place.
