CTIA Says Maine E-rate Revamp May Violate Federal Law
A proposed revamp to a contributions mechanism in Maine’s E-rate fund “could run afoul of federal law by potentially burdening the federal program,” CTIA commented, filed Friday in docket 2017-00283. The Public Utilities Commission is deciding how to implement this…
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year's state law changing Maine Telecom Education Access Fund contributions to a voice connections-based mechanism from one based on intrastate revenue, and telecom officials raised no major objections at an agency hearing this month (see 1712050041). But CTIA said the proposed flat-rate assessment of 21 cents per connection may inadvertently apply to interstate revenue. The association sought changes to ensure the proposed rule follows the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, which permits states only to charge mobile customers whose primary address is in the state. Comcast similarly commented that assignment of the state's 207 area code shouldn’t be a factor. The rule should treat VoIP and traditional phone service the same, the cable company said. The Telecommunications Association of Maine supported the proposed rule, urging the commission to set a July 1 effective date.