Carriers would have to pay a record 14.1 percent of their long-di...
Carriers would have to pay a record 14.1 percent of their long-distance revenue to the Universal Service Fund in the fourth quarter, if the FCC adopts the contribution factor proposed Friday. The figure is 1.8 percentage points higher than…
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the fourth quarter, and 1.2 points higher than the third quarter’s 12.9 percent, which was the previous record. The announcement came as the FCC broadband team considers several cuts for the Universal Service as recommendations for the National Broadband Plan (CD Dec 10 p1). The Universal Service Administrative Co. said it would need to collect $2.1 billion from carriers in Q4. To set the carrier “contribution factor,” the commission divides the amount needed by projected carrier revenue. Of $2 billion in anticipated USF support, about $1.1 billion is projected for the rural high-cost program, $544.3 million for the E-rate program, $310 million for low-income support and $51.8 million for the rural health-care program. The low-income program saw the largest increase in support, rising about $48.3 million from last quarter.