Don't Flash Cut USF Support for Wireless, T-Mobile Tells FCC
If the FCC creates a mobility fund, as proposed by Chairman Tom Wheeler, it should avoid any “flash cut” of current USF support for wireless, T-Mobile said in a filing in docket 10-90. T-Mobile representatives met last week with aides…
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to the commissioners, except for Wheeler. “We urged the Commission to carefully consider eliminating legacy support so as to avoid sudden adverse effects on network operations and customers,” the carrier said. “The majority of T-Mobile’s legacy high-cost support funds our operations in Puerto Rico, and because of the currently depressed economic environment there, maintaining current levels of support for a transition period is critical.” Commissioners are scheduled to take up an order on the fund at their meeting Thursday (see 1611080048). Verizon added another wrinkle, noting that many competitive eligible telecom carriers (CETCs) are in partnerships with larger national carriers. A Verizon official told a Wireless Bureau official that “to the extent that the Commission adopts different phase-down schedules for small CETCs and nationwide carriers, partnerships between small rural entities and nationwide carriers should be subject to the same phase-down schedule as other small CETCs,” said a filing.