SBC has joined Qwest’s court case against the FCC’s rules for det...
SBC has joined Qwest’s court case against the FCC’s rules for determining the distribution of the “nonrural” universal service fund (USF), distributed to larger ILECs that serve rural areas, an industry source said. The 2 RBOCs have filed a…
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petition with the 10th U.S. Appeals Court, Denver, to throw out the rules for the $260-million fund. Qwest has argued that the rules aren’t fair, since most funding goes to a few states, notably Miss. and Ala. The FCC determines funding levels on a statewide basis. Advocates for the Qwest approach have said that’s unfair to Western states, which have large land areas and sparse populations. Sen. Smith (R-Ore.)(S-1380) and Rep. Terry (R-Neb.) (HR-1582) have introduced legislation to change the system. The 2 bills have 110 co-sponsors, and nearly 75 independent groups have also signed onto the approach. However, an industry source said that while SBC is supporting Qwest on the court petition to abandon the old rules, SBC still isn’t actively supporting the bills.