‘Dramatic shifts in the way universal service support is funded’ ...
“Dramatic shifts in the way universal service support is funded” reflect changes in the telecom industry, the FCC said in its 2005 “Telecommunications Industry Revenues” report, the latest in its annual series. The USF is funded via industry long…
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distance, or “toll” revenue, which has seen continual drops, most recently from $71 billion in 2004 to $69 billion in 2005, the report said. Counting international toll revenue, the total USF base in 2005 was $75.3 billion, data show. One big change, said the FCC: Traditional long distance providers who in 1997 accounted for more than 80% of USF contributions now contribute less than 40%. Other items: (1) Overall wireless industry revenue grew 9% in 2005 to $107 billion. ILEC revenue fell about 2% to $104 billion. CLEC revenue rose 6% to $22 billion in 2006, one of few categories with more recent data.