Rate-of-return incumbent carriers should be allowed to allocate f...
Rate-of-return incumbent carriers should be allowed to allocate federal Universal Service Fund audit costs solely to interstate operations, said the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association. In a Friday petition, NTCA urged the FCC to clarify and/or waive a rule on…
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how rate-of-return carriers should assign USF audit costs via the jurisdictional separations process. “Federal USF audit expenses are solely interstate in nature,” NTCA said. “Consequently, it is appropriate that those expense be allocated to the interstate jurisdiction.” Rate-of-return carriers now can be denied recovery of federal USF audit expenses if a state declares the costs to be “clearly interstate in nature,” NTCA said. “Should these carriers not be allowed to recover all of the costs spent on USF audits, their ability to serve their customers will be impaired, to the detriment of the public interest.”