Infiniti Mobile: What the FCC Alleged and What It Means
By Arthur Patch · Last verified 10 August 2026 · Source: FCC public notice, 27 July 2026
If you have tried to sign up with Infiniti Mobile and been turned away, or you are a customer wondering what the news means for your service, this page explains it — using the FCC’s own words rather than anyone’s summary of them.
The short version
You cannot join Infiniti Mobile right now. On 27 July 2026, the FCC notified IM Telecom — which trades as Infiniti Mobile — that it may no longer enroll new Lifeline subscribers.
If you are already a customer, your service continues. The restriction is on new enrollments. You have not lost your benefit and you have not done anything wrong.
The FCC has required the company to help you leave if you want to — including honoring number-porting requests. We would start that move rather than wait to see what happens.
These are allegations, not proven findings. The Commission’s own notice says “apparently” and “ostensibly” throughout. Nobody has been convicted of anything.
What the FCC Actually Said
On 27 July 2026, the Federal Communications Commission published a notice headed “FCC Blocks Lifeline Provider From Enrolling Any New Customers”. Everything below comes from that document.
| Detail | What the notice says |
|---|---|
| Company | IM Telecom, trading as Infiniti Mobile — a subsidiary of KonaTel Inc. |
| Action | No longer permitted to enroll new Lifeline subscribers |
| Scale | Described by the FCC as “one of the nation’s largest recipients of federal Lifeline subsidies”. More than $262 million in Lifeline funds since 2024 |
| Reach | Roughly 27 states |
| Also | Federal agents executed search warrants in July on multiple individuals associated with the company. California and Oregon have issued cease-and-desist letters |
The Commission said IM Telecom apparently violated its Lifeline compliance plan and the agency’s rules, including by:
Important: these are allegations
The FCC’s notice uses the words “apparently” and “ostensibly” throughout, and says its conclusions rest on “evidence the FCC currently has before it”. IM Telecom has not been convicted of anything, and the Commission says it is still weighing further action.
That is a meaningful distinction, and it separates this from the Q Link case, where a guilty plea was entered and a prison sentence imposed. We are reporting what a federal regulator has published, with the date, and nothing beyond it.
For context on scale, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr noted in the same notice that Americans contribute more than $8 billion a year to the Universal Service programs that fund Lifeline. The Commission announced in February 2026 that it had opened investigations into possible rule violations across the program.
If You Are an Infiniti Mobile Customer
First, the reassurance, because this is the part people are frightened about: you have done nothing wrong, and your eligibility is not affected. This is about the company’s conduct toward the federal program, not about its subscribers.
One specific thing to watch for. Among the FCC’s allegations is that the company transferred former subscribers back to itself after they had switched away, without consent. If you leave and later find yourself back with Infiniti Mobile, that is not your mistake, and it is not normal. Report it to the Lifeline Support Center at (800) 234-9473 and to the FCC Consumer Complaint Center.
How to Move Your Benefit
Switching Lifeline providers is free; there is no limit on how often you may do it, and no penalty for leaving.
- Confirm your benefit status first. Ring the Lifeline Support Center at (800) 234-9473, 9 am–9 pm ET, seven days. Ask whether your benefit is active and which company holds it. They can see the federal database.
- Choose your new provider. Check they operate in your state and ask what device, if any, is in stock for your ZIP code on the free plan tier.
- Tell the new provider you already have Lifeline. They handle the transfer. Do not cancel Infiniti Mobile first — that can leave you without a phone in the gap.
- Request your number port at the point of transfer, not afterwards. Once a number is released, it is difficult to recover.
- Check a month later that you are still with the provider you chose. Given the allegations, this is a reasonable precaution rather than a paranoid one.
USAC publishes the official process at lifelinesupport.org/change-my-company.
Where to go instead
| If you… | Consider | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Live rurally or have patchy signal | SafeLink Wireless | The only major Lifeline carrier on Verizon, which reaches further |
| Live in a city and want the most data | Assurance Wireless | Largest provider, best data-and-hotspot combination |
| Already own a working phone | TruConnect | Free SIM, keep your handset, connected faster |
| Specifically want an iPhone | AirTalk Wireless | The only carrier that stocks them — read the model list first |
Full comparison, including which companies are currently in good standing, on our Lifeline provider page.
Why This Keeps Happening
Lifeline pays providers per enrolled subscriber, per month. That structure creates one dominant incentive: have as many subscriber records as possible. For an honest operator, that means marketing. For a dishonest one, it means finding ways to have records that do not correspond to real, active people.
Read the FCC’s allegations against IM Telecom in that light, and they form a pattern: keeping subscribers who tried to leave, evading the rules that check whether service is actually used, enrolling people without asking. Every one of those, if true, would inflate the subscriber count.
It is the same shape as the cases before it — Q Link, Sprint’s dormant lines, TracFone’s fabricated enrollment records, Total Call Mobile. The FCC has since banned commissions based on how many Lifeline customers a salesperson signs up, which makes it plain what the regulator concluded the problem was.
None of this means Lifeline is a scam. It is a real federal program supporting around 8.2 million households, and enforcement of this kind is the oversight working rather than failing. What it does mean is that the company holding your benefit can change without warning — and that knowing your benefit belongs to you, not to them, is what turns that from a catastrophe into an inconvenience.
Questions Infiniti Mobile Customers Ask
Is Infiniti Mobile shutting down?
Not as of 10 August 2026. The FCC has barred it from enrolling new Lifeline subscribers and said it is weighing further action. Existing customers still have service. We would not assume closure — but we would also not wait passively to find out.
Why can’t I sign up with Infiniti Mobile?
Because the FCC barred the company from taking new Lifeline subscribers on 27 July 2026. It is not a problem with your application or your eligibility. Choose another provider — your approval is portable to any of them.
Will I lose my phone or my number?
Not because of this action. Your service continues, and the FCC has required the company to honor number-porting requests if you move. Request the port at the point of transfer to be safe. You generally keep the handset too — it was given, not lent.
Am I in trouble for being a customer?
No. The FCC’s concerns are about the company’s conduct toward the federal program. Being a subscriber has no bearing on your eligibility and will not affect a future application with another carrier.
What is IM Telecom, and is it the same as Infiniti Mobile?
Yes — IM Telecom LLC is the corporate entity; Infiniti Mobile is the consumer brand. It is a subsidiary of KonaTel Inc. FCC notices name the corporate entity, which is why the news coverage may not have matched the name on your account.
Has Infiniti Mobile been found guilty?
No. The FCC has imposed a restriction and set out allegations, using the words “apparently” and “ostensibly”. That is a regulatory action based on evidence currently before the Commission, not a finding of guilt. It is different in kind from the Q Link case, where a guilty plea was entered.
Should I switch, or wait and see?
Our honest view: switch, and do it calmly rather than urgently. Switching is free, takes little effort, and removes you from a situation whose outcome nobody can predict. If the company resolves matters with the FCC, you can always come back. The reverse — waiting and being caught out — costs you a working phone.
Where to Go Next
Ring (800) 234-9473, confirm where your benefit sits, then choose a provider rather than waiting for one to be chosen for you.
Compare Lifeline providers → · Check if you still qualify → · Apply or reapply → · When a provider collapsed before →
Sources
- FCC — “FCC Blocks Lifeline Provider From Enrolling Any New Customers”, public notice, 27 July 2026. Every allegation and figure on this page comes from this document
- USAC — Change My Company
- USAC — My Service Was Turned Off
- USAC — Companies Near Me, the official provider list
- FCC — Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications
Verification and method
Page last verified: 10 August 2026. This page is taken directly from the FCC’s own public notice of 27 July 2026, not from secondary reporting. Where the Commission uses hedged language, we have kept it, because these are allegations under active consideration rather than proven findings. IM Telecom has not been convicted of anything.
This is a developing matter and we re-check it monthly. If the restriction is lifted, extended, or resolved, we will update this page and say what changed. If the date above is more than a month old, check the FCC’s own releases before acting on it.
Found something out of date, or think we have been unfair to a company named here? Tell us — corrections are logged publicly on our corrections page, including ones that are inconvenient for us. Nothing here is legal advice.