T-Mobile will pay $200 million to the U.S. Treasury to settle an investigation related to Sprint’s compliance with the FCC’s Lifeline program for low-income customers. It’s the largest fixed-amount settlement ever to resolve an FCC investigation.
Before it merged with T-Mobile earlier this year, Sprint claimed monthly subsidies for serving nearly 900,000 Lifeline subscribers that weren’t actually using Sprint, according to the investigation. Providers get a $9.25 monthly subsidy for most Lifeline subscribers.
In addition to the monetary penalty, Sprint is now under a consent decree to ensure adherence to the FCC’s rules for the Lifeline program.
“Lifeline is key to our commitment to bringing digital opportunity to low-income Americans, and it is especially critical that we make the best use of taxpayer dollars for this vital program,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. “I’m pleased that we were able to resolve this investigation in a manner that sends a strong message about the importance of complying with rules designed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program.”
The investigation originated from an inquiry by the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
“We are committed to ensuring underserved and low-income customers have reliable connectivity through programs like Lifeline, but also our T-Mobile Connect and Project 10Million offerings,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said in a statement.
