Cable and rural telecom industry executives headline at Wednesday’s Senate...

Chief Legal Officer Kathleen Abernathy, the committee said Tuesday. Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commissioner Philip Jones also plans to testify, the committee said. The hearing is 2:30 p.m. in Room 253, Russell Senate Office Building. Cable companies “strongly support” efforts to update USF and intercarrier compensation, Powell said in written testimony that circulated among lobbyists Tuesday. Powell urged tweaks to the ABC plan. VoIP and circuit-switched calls must be treated the same, Powell said. He criticized telcos for “refus[ing] to pay the appropriate intercarrier compensation on VoIP traffic” that cable exchanges with them. Powell also supported capping the USF high-cost fund at its current level, $4.5 billion. And USF distribution should be technology-neutral, he said. “The FCC should put in place support mechanisms that harness marketplace competition, like competitive bidding or reverse auctions, to award subsidies to the most efficient provider, regardless of what type of technology that provider uses,” Powell said. “At that point, legacy high-cost support should end.” Frontier’s Abernathy urged adoption of the original ABC plan. “It is a carefully negotiated proposal among the carriers with the most history and involvement in universal service and intercarrier compensation,” she said.