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FCC to Release Universal Service Items Soon

The FCC may release three universal service items for public comment as soon as today (Friday), indicating it may be ready to start moving on long-awaited Universal Service Fund reform. Commissioners already have voted on the three items, which will have the same comment dates so parties can file one set of comments covering all three if they wish, a source said.

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Among proceedings the agency is expected to unveil is a rulemaking to end the “identical support rule” that bases Universal Service Fund subsidies to wireless competitors on the costs of running incumbent wireline telecom companies. The agency reportedly plans to issue a second NPRM proposing use of reverse auctions to distribute subsidies, a pet project of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, sources said.

The FCC also is expected to seek comments on recommendations for reform issued in November by the Federal- State Joint Board on Universal Service. The Joint Board urged, among other things, that broadband services be eligible for USF subsidies. It also suggested ending the identical support rule and creating a fund to help build out wireless infrastructure.

Not among items in the USF package is a proposed interim cap on USF subsidies to wireless providers in rural areas. The cap, proposed in May by the Joint Board as a stop-gap, seems to have lost FCC support. Only three commissioners have voted on the proposal, with one casting a dissent, a source said.