Intrastate telephone revenue should be included as a revenue sour...
Intrastate telephone revenue should be included as a revenue source for the Universal Service Fund, several attendees said of a closed-door USF “summit” in the Senate, according to sources who attended the meeting. The sources said intrastate telephone revenues…
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was one area where there appeared to be general consensus among the nearly 20 participants in the summit, sponsored by Senate Communication Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.) “There seemed to be, at the very least, tepid support for including intrastate revenue,” one source said. An industry source said FCC Comr. Abernathy told the summit that for the Commission to collect intrastate revenue, there would have to be authorizing legislation. There also was discussion on broadening the base of contributors to USF, sources said. Qualifications for eligible telecom carriers also received significant attention. Sources said no senators proposed specific legislation or other specific regulatory relief. Several said the tone of the meeting was very good. The meeting was moderated by Bob Rowe of the Mont. PSC. “Everyone had a fair shake. It was a good listening session,” said Don Erickson, OPASTCO legislative dir. USTA Pres. Walter McCormick said: “These important issues must be addressed in a rapidly comprehensive way that examines them in the context of other independent areas, such as regulatory relief and intercarrier compensation.” There will be a follow-up session in about 3 weeks, sources said, and one source suggested there could be several more meetings. Abernathy, Burns, FCC Comr. Adelstein, and Sens. Stevens (R-Alaska), Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Rockefeller (D- W. Va) attended the summit, along with the industry representatives from BellSouth, NTCA, Verizon, NCTA, CenturyTel, Western Wireless, AT&T, Qwest, USTA, E- Copernicus.com, TracFone, OPASTCO, Sprint, MITS, SBC, and the Wireless Independent Group.