The FCC hastened reimbursement to an Alaskan telecom company for ...
The FCC hastened reimbursement to an Alaskan telecom company for service to rural health clinics to spare the carrier money difficulties. The Wireline Bureau ordered immediate reimbursement under the Rural Health Care (RHC) universal service program, waiving rules requiring…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Unicom to wait until at least Nov. Unicom delivers broadband to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. (YKHC), which runs clinics in small Alaskan villages. RHC reimbursement comes as a credit against a carrier’s Universal Service Fund contributions, so the reimbursement isn’t applied until late in the year, after the carrier’s USF contributions are calculated. But Unicom already has “a substantial credit” against its USF contributions because it paid out so much to support the RHC program, the bureau said. “Unicom would be owed millions of dollars by the time it would be reimbursed in full,” the FCC said: “Unicom is a small carrier but an active participant in the rural health care program and thus has one of the largest differentials between what it pays into and receives from the USF.” Adhering to payment rules would mean hardship for the company and put rural health care in Alaska “at risk by jeopardizing deployment of Unicom’s terrestrial broadband system,” it said. Lack of reimbursement also could put Unicom in breach of contract with the YKHC and subcontractors, the agency said.