The Universal Service Administrative Co. projected USF Q1 revenue will be $8.75 billion, said a filing Friday in docket 06-122. That's about "$125.7 million more than the previous quarter," emailed analyst Billy Jack Gregg, noting the quarterly contribution factor will rise from 28.9% to 32.6% (see 2211030028).
Arizona Corporation Commission staff listed state USF options for commissioners to consider at their meeting next Tuesday. Commissioners directed staff at their Nov. 9-10 meeting to prepare an options memo. The commission could start with a supplemental notice of inquiry since, “because of all of the funding that has become available through other sources, many commenters may believe that the fund is no longer necessary or is only needed as a stop gap measure,” ACC staff said Tuesday in docket T-00000A-20-0336. Or the commission could open a rulemaking to amend or modify high-cost fund rules in ways commenters suggested in an earlier NOI, it said. Alternatively, the commission could suspend or eliminate Arizona USF (AUSF), staff said. “The Commission has the option of repealing the AUSF Rules using the process outlined in the Arizona Administrative Procedures Act,” considering that one provider is currently receiving support, it said. Or the commission could take no action, staff said. Next week’s ACC meeting agenda also includes an item on changing the state USF surcharge (docket RT-00000H-97-0137) and two proposed orders to close dockets related to Frontier Communications deregulation (dockets T-03214A-21-0334 and T-03214A-17-0305).
Oklahoma’s connections-based state USF surcharge will increase to $1.85 from $1.14 monthly, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission decided 2-1 at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. It will apply to the number of connections contributors have at the end of this month, and will be reported Jan. 15 when they pay the new assessment, said the interim order. Chairman Dana Murphy (R) and Commissioner Todd Hiett (R) voted yes but raised concerns that the surcharge was going up despite deciding last year to move from a revenue-based method. Commissioner Bob Anthony (R) dissented, noting he never supported the connections approach. Oklahoma USF Administrator Mark Argenbright said a meeting will be held in the next couple of weeks to discuss possible OUSF rule changes through a commission rulemaking. "We've seen a stabilization of the revenue" coming into the fund by switching to the connections mechanism, but at the end of October the fund still had a $25.9 million deficit, Argenbright said. He expects the state will be able to reduce the surcharge after the deficit is addressed, he said. Other states that changed to connections have lower surcharges, but they may not have to deal with a large deficit, noted Murphy. Hiett doesn’t like surcharge increases and is "anxious for it to stabilize,” said the commissioner. The upcoming OUSF rulemaking will be important, he said.
The New York Public Service Commission granted a Dish Wireless petition for eligible telecom carrier designation. Thursday's unanimous action clears Dish to receive federal USF and wireless Lifeline service throughout the state. Commissioners also received a report on Verizon service quality in Q3 2022. Verizon satisfied timeliness-of-repair and repair call center answer time metrics in all three months, said a summary. But Verizon missed a companywide customer trouble report rate metric and the PSC’s guideline for complaint rate in all three months, it said.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday more changes to FCC rules are possible, after Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, speaking at the start of a “field hearing” on some lessons learned from those storms. Rosenworcel noted the FCC held a similar hearing after Ida last year (see 2110260067) and later made the wireless industry’s voluntary resiliency cooperative framework mandatory and expanded roaming requirements. The framework was a hot topic at that hearing. The big topic at the Thursday hearing was improving coordination between power companies and communications providers.
The electoral battle for control of Congress remained unresolved Thursday, but former FCC officials agree with other communications sector observers (see 2210310073) that Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is likely to face less critical oversight if the GOP wins either chamber than would otherwise be expected because the current 2-2 split commission has spawned relatively little controversy. NTIA could face more of the heat, experts told us. Tech policy stakeholders, meanwhile, expect a shift in the direction on Big Tech-focused legislation under GOP majorities.
Communications sector officials and lobbyists believe the outcome of the Tuesday midterm election could affect a range of telecom policy priorities, including whether the Senate confirms FCC nominee Gigi Sohn this year, or any other commission Democrats, during the remainder of President Joe Biden’s term. Election results may affect future federal broadband funding initiatives and the direction of a proposed spectrum pipeline in the years ahead, observers told us. Election prognosticators see only a handful of incumbents on the Senate and House Commerce and Judiciary committees facing tight reelection battles despite volatile polling results in recent weeks.
The USF contribution factor will increase from 28.9% during Q4 2022 to 33.2% during Q1 2023, emailed analyst Billy Jack Gregg Thursday (see 2209010064). The projected overall demand will likely be $2.13 billion, Gregg said, citing for the increase "large increases in demand" for the E-rate, rural healthcare and High Cost Fund programs.
Whether Oklahoma should cap its state USF surcharge divided Corporation Commission members at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. Commissioners weighed a draft bill, distributed last week, to update Oklahoma USF (OUSF) policy in the 1997 Oklahoma Telecommunications Act. A commission rulemaking might be a better option than legislation to strengthen OUSF accountability, said Commissioner Todd Hiett (R).
FCC commissioners approved 4-0 Thursday, as expected (see 2210240047), an order launching a notice of inquiry on the 12.7 GHz band. The agency also cleared a plan to extend USF support to eligible mobile and fixed carriers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and an NPRM addressing Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication standards. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel acknowledged she had circulated an item focused on the 4.9 GHz band (see 2210260064).