Rural LECs would receive $400 million more in universal service o...

(NTCA) said. In order released late Thurs., FCC granted NTCA petition to amend its rules to account for mid-2001 implementation of RTF order that originally was intended to take effect Jan. 1. Midyear implementation would have resulted in less support for carriers in 2002 than FCC had intended, NTCA said. “By amending the rules, rural carriers will receive an additional $72 million in high-cost support in 2002 and cumulative additional support of more than $400 million over the next 5 years,” NTCA said. NTCA CEO Michael Brunner said decision “ensures that rural consumers will continue to receive telecommunications services and rates comparable to consumers living in urban areas.” FCC Comr. Copps said that corrects “inadvertent error that resulted in a reduced amount of universal service support for rural America.” He said he would have liked action on another issue not addressed in order, involving rural companies that purchased exchanges from other telcos. Those carriers aren’t eligible to receive additional support for investment in first year they operate those exchanges, he said. That means they must “wait a year to upgrade what is often poor equipment and consumers wait a year for new and improved services.”