National Telecom Co-op Assn. (NTCA) told FCC it opposed proposal ...
National Telecom Co-op Assn. (NTCA) told FCC it opposed proposal submitted by Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, AT&T, E-commerce Telecom Users Group and WorldCom to revise way Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions are collected (CD Nov 20 p1). In…
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Dec. 21 letter to FCC Chmn. Powell, NTCA said proposal’s goal seemed to be to relieve long distance companies “of their obligation to make equitable contributions” to USF. That is “in direct violation” of Sec. 254 of Telecom Act that requires all interstate carriers to contribute on equitable basis, NTCA said. “The proposal is couched as a plan to replace the current USF assessment mechanism with a flat-rated per-line charge,” wrote NTCA CEO Michael Brunner. “It is more than that,” he said: “If adopted, the class of carriers providing interexchange services such as those provided by AT&T and WorldCom would have no obligations to contribute to the mechanisms.”