Without regulatory reform, historic revenue sources won’t match t...
Without regulatory reform, historic revenue sources won’t match the expenses of rural incumbent local exchange carriers, said Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies. OPASTCO filed the report to refresh the record in Universal Service Fund…
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and intercarrier compensation proceedings at the FCC. If regulators keep the status quo, small rural incumbents’ 2008 revenue shortfalls will be 5 percent, rising to 9 percent in 2009 and 13 percent in 2010, OPASTCO said. “Companies more reliant on local service revenues and intrastate access will fare worst, while those more reliant on USF and interstate access will experience more modest impacts,” it said. Wireless, VoIP and CLECs will “continue to erode” line counts and use minutes, it said. Broadband and special access will keep growing but more slowly than they have, it said. “Beyond 3 years, there is no assurance that USF will be sufficient, or that it will even keep pace with inflation,” OPASTCO said. Regulators should replace declining revenue streams with contributions from unregulated services, it said.