USTelecom Urges FCC to Reject Corr Wireless USF Claims
USTelecom joined Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel in asking the FCC to reject a Corr Wireless petition that seeks to have universal service monies that used to flow to Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel redirected into a pool shared by all competitive eligible telecommunications carriers. The wireline association called Corr arguments “nonsensical.”
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The Universal Service Administrative Co. decided funds given up by Verizon Wireless after it bought Alltel, and those given up by Sprint following its partnership with Clearwire, should no longer be counted as part of the fund for calculating the amount of money available to CETCs, since their reimbursement is capped. Both carriers gave up the funds as part of FCC orders signing off on the transactions. Corr said the FCC should instead effectively redirect the money to other CETCs. The CETC cap, imposed by the FCC last year, has been a sore point for wireless carriers seeking whatever funds they can get through the USF.
“It is incorrect as both a matter of law and public policy to reallocate high-cost funding that Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel agreed to forego in voluntary merger commitments to the wireless competitors of these carriers,” USTelecom said: “The clear goal of the merger order conditions was to reduce the overall amount of CETC support, consistent with the Commission’s Interim Cap Order. Corr’s suggestion that the Commission actually intended to just move money around among wireless competitors is thus nonsensical, and such a proposition appears nowhere in either the Sprint or Verizon merger orders.” USTelecom said the FCC’s goal was clear in requiring the carriers to give up USF money: “to reduce the overall amount of CETC support, consistent with the Commission’s Interim Cap Order.”
The Rural Cellular Association disagreed, in reply comments. The Verizon Wireless order in particular “makes it clear that the merger condition was adopted so as to limit the amount of support paid to the merged entity, not to its competitors,” RCA said. “In fact, nothing in the VZW/Alltel Order alters anything set forth in the Interim Cap Order.”
“How to handle the Corr appeal shouldn’t even be a close call,” said Todd Lantor, an attorney for RCA. “The voluntary commitment that Verizon made in November had absolutely no effect on the interim cap order, nor could it have an effect absent the FCC initiating a rulemaking proceeding. These are completely separate matters.”
The Universal Service for America Coalition, representing CETCs, agreed with RCA and called for FCC action. “The comments filed in response to the Corr Petition overwhelmingly favored Corr’s reading of the Interim Cap Order,” the group said. “Indeed, only two parties filed comments in opposition to the Corr Petition: Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel.”
Verizon Wireless and Sprint also filed reply comments. “Corr’s ’transfer of wealth’ demand is at odds with the policy justifications underlying the phase-out obligation and is otherwise without merit,” Sprint said. “The parties supporting Corr’s petition are CETCs or CETC representatives
Because those commenting parties all stand to benefit from a re-distribution of the tens of millions of dollars in high-cost USF support being given up by Verizon/Alltel and Sprint in each of the next several years, it is hardly surprising that they would support Corr’s appeal.”