WG WILTSHIRE& GRANNIS LLP

June 15,2011

Marlene H. DortchSecretaryFederal Communications Commission445 12th Street, SWWashington, DC 20554

Re: Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, WC Docket No. 11-42; FederalState Joint Board on Universal Service, CC Docket No. 96-45; Lifeline and LinkUp, WC Docket No. 03-109

Dear Ms. Dortch:

On behalf of General Communication, Inc. ("GCI"), on June 13 and 14, 2011, Iparticipated in the Federal Communications Commission's ("FCC" or "Commission") meetingon Low Income database issues, which was run by Kimberly Scardino, Cindy Spiers, andJonathan Lechter, all of the Wireline Competition Bureau. The purpose of the workshop was tofollow up on the Commission's March 4, 2011 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking' and to furtherdiscuss the potential establishment and operation of a national database for Lifeline and Link Upprograms. Additional FCC attendees for portions of the meeting on June 13,2011 includedZachary Katz, Legal Advisor to the Chainnan, Sharon Gillett, Chief, Wireline CompetitionBureau, and Trent Harkrader, Division Chief, Telecommunications Access Policy Division. OnJune 14,2011, Carol Mattey, Deputy Bureau Chief, Wireline Competition Division was also inattendance for a portion of the meeting.

A summary of points I made on behalf of GCI was distributed at the first workshopmeeting on June 13,2011. That handout material is being attached.

Various industry representatives were also in attendance for the workshop. A list ofthose persons present at either or both of the June 13th and June 14th meetings is also beingattached.

Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization; Federal-State Joint Board on UniversalService; Lifeline and Link-Up, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket Nos. 11-42 &03-109, and CC Docket No. 96-45 (reI. Mar. 4, 2011).

1200 18TH STREET, NW I SUITE 1200 I WASHINGTON, DC 20036 I TEL 202-730-1300 I FAX 202-730-1301 t WILTSHIREGRANNIS.COM

Ms. Marlene H. DortchJune 15,2011Page 2 of2

A copy of this letter is being filed in the above-referenced dockets.

Sincerely,

JO~'~~Counsel to General Communication, Inc.

Attachments

cc: Zachary KatzSharon GilletCarol MatteyTrent HarkraderKimberly ScardinoCindy SpiersJonathan Lechter

SUMMARY OF POINTS OF GENERAL COMMUNICATION, INC.with respect to Lifeline database development

WC Dockets No. 11-42 and 03-109, CC Docket No. 96-45(June 13-14,2011)

I. Database Administration

• Some fundamental points:

o A database either for duplicate control or eligibility confirmation is a programadministration function, not a compliance function. Thus, it is appropriate createdand funded by or at the direction and supervision of the FCC and theAdministrator (USAC).

o The database cannot be operated by a group of carriers. Neutrality andconfidentiality are of paramount importance so as not to skew competition amongcarriers to serve Lifeline-eligible individuals. The Commission in other settingshas required neutrality (e.g. numbering administration, porting and pooling).

o It is not appropriate to require a subset of carriers to fund these functions over thelong term. As an expense of universal service administration, the costs should besupported by the Universal Service Fund, and thus become part of thecontribution base. Query charges could disincent Lifeline marketing andsubscription.

• Who contracts for the database providers?

o With the costs borne out of the USF, it makes most sense for either the FCC orUSAC to undertake contracting for the provision of the database.

o Because ETCs will need to be able to interact with the database provider, it maymake sense to have a technical advisory committee to help develop specificationsand interfaces for the database.

• One or multiple database providers?

o This is a question that the FCC ought to decide. This is not just a technicalquestion but involves issues of procurement policy and the best structure for longterm cost minimization and quality services.

General Communication Inc.June 13-14,2011

o Extant FCC models:

• Number Portability - There is a single, national database administratortoday. As a separate model, the original implementation would have hadtwo administrators serving different, non-overlapping regions of thecountry.

• White Spaces - FCC has approved multiple database providers, all ofwhom can serve anywhere in the country and must synchronize theirdatabases.

II. Data Security & Privacy

• "Garbage In, Garbage Out."

o Who and how many will be inputting to the database?

o Need to have systems to validate data and maintain accuracy.

o Likely need to have a way to permit individuals to verify and correct their ownrecords. See 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d).

o Need have a way to deal with situations in which there is no USPS standardizedpostal address, or the postal address is a communal post office box. In Alaska,there are a lot of villages that are not in the USPS database.

• Managing access and permitted uses.

o If queries at the time of customer sign-up are anticipated, what marketing uses areprecluded? Can a carrier simply crash addresses against the database to develop alist of potential Lifeline customers? If not, what prevents that?

o Broad access increases the likelihood of a data breach.

• Privacy.

o Employ "Privacy by Design" - "Such protections include providing reasonablesecurity for consumer data, collecting only the data needed for a specific businesspurpose, retaining data only as long as necessary to fulfill that purpose, safelydisposing of data no longer being used, and implementing reasonable proceduresto promote data accuracy." Federal Trade Commission, Protecting ConsumerPrivacy in an Era ofRapid Change at v (December 2010).

• By necessity, the information will be personally identifiable.

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General Communication Inc.June 13-14,2011

o The Commission cannot use the whole social security number without expressstatutory authorization. See Privacy Act § 7, 5 V.S.C § 552a note ("It shall beunlawful for any Federal, State or local government agency to deny to anyindividual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of suchindividual's refusal to disclose his social security account number."); see alsoIngerman v. Delaware River Port Authority, 630 F. Supp. 2d 426, 442 (D. N.J.2009)(invalidating requirement of social security number for an EZ Pass seniors

discount, which was collected in part to prevent fraud).

o Compelling carriers to retain data for audits also presents a privacy risk. FCCshould minimize record retention requirements for audit to protect privacy. E.g.,

in federal default states, today carriers cannot be required to retain copies ofdocumentation of income-based eligibility.

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Attendees at FCC Lifeline and Link Up Workshop

June 13, 2011

Mary Albert (Comptel)Scott Bergmann (CTIA)Mitchell Brecher (Greenberg Traurig (TracFone))Matthew Brill (Latham & Watkins (Cricket)David Brinkman (3PV)Alan Buzacott (Verizon)Cathy Carpino (AT&T)Chuck Campbell (CGM)Thomas Cohen (Kelley, Drye (Emerios))Joe Cox (Emerios)Jesse Crow (Emerios)Matt Connolly (Yourtel America)Frank Delcol (Tag Wireless)Ken Eisner (One Economy)Danielle Frappier (Davis Wright Tremaine (Nexus))Pamela Gallant (USAC)Mary Henze (AT&T)Jerry James (CompteI)Andrew Karl (Sage Telecom)Donald Kratt (3PV)Terri Kruse (ATMS)Karen Majcher (USAC)Norina Moy (Sprint)Kevin Murphy (CGM)Michael Quinn (Solix)Ron Renjilian (Emerios)Eric Robeson (West)Javier Rosado (TracFone)Chuck Schneider (dPi Teleconnect)Eric Sequin (Solix)Barrett Sheridan (NASUCA)Mike Tan (AT&T)Janett Taubman (Latham & Watkins)Stuart Waldron (Solix)

Attendees at FCC Lifeline and Link Up Workshop

June 14,2011

Mitchell Brecher (Greenberg Traurig (TracFone))David Brinkman (3PV)Jeff Brueggeman (AT&T)Alan Buzacott (Verizon)Chuck Campbell (CGM)Frank Delcol (Tag Wireless)Ken Eisner (One Economy)Danielle Frappier (Davis Wright Tremaine (Nexus))Mary Henze (AT&T)Jerry James (Comptel)Donald Kratt (3PV)Norina Moy (Sprint)Kevin Murphy (CGM)Michael Quinn (Solix)Eric Robeson (West)Javier Rosado (TracFone)Chuck Schneider (dPi Teleconnect)Eric Sequin (Solix)Mike Tan (AT&T)Stuart Waldron (Solix)