The Universal Service Fund is “unsustainable” in its current format, and the public should be notified about the program’s sources of revenue and spending obligations, the two top Republicans on the House Commerce Committee said in a letter Tuesday to FCC acting Chairman Michael Copps. “American consumers should not bear the burden of paying more and more to support a broken system while universal service reform languishes,” said the letter from Reps. Joe Barton of Texas and Cliff Stearns of Florida. The members asked the FCC to include in each quarterly public notice of the proposed USF contribution factor: A statement of whether any sources of revenue other than industry affected the contribution factor, and if so, the sums from each source; a summary of why the projected demand increased or decreased from the previous quarter; and a summary of why the projected industry revenue decreased or increased from the previous quarter. Barton and Stearns asked the FCC to begin providing the information with the public notice for the third quarter of 2009. If the commission declines to include it in the public notice, the congressmen asked that the FCC provide it to the Commerce Committee “no later than the date of the release of each Public Notice of a proposed contribution factor.”
The FCC sought comment on a request by TeleQuality for waiver of a Universal Service Fund rural health care program rule. Under the rule, a carrier may only receive USF money after an offset is credited against that carrier’s USF support obligations. In addition, TeleQuality asked the FCC to grant an expedited stay of a USAC decision so that it may continue to receive bi-monthly support disbursements while the FCC considers the waiver. Comments are due June 19, replies June 26.
The role regulation can and should play in promoting broadband deployment across the U.S. was a major area of contention in early comments on the FCC’s national broadband plan. Comments were still coming in at our deadline. The agency’s notice of inquiry was sweeping in approach and expected to spark a wide-ranging debate. Industry officials said Monday most comments will likely break little new ground, but the process gives the FCC a solid record on which to build its report and possibly propose future rulemakings.
An FCC report showing that the universal service high- cost fund rose to $4.5 billion in 2008 from $1.3 billion in 1997 highlights the need for change, the House Commerce Committee’s ranking member, Joe Barton of Texas, said Friday. The fund is a “bloated government program in serious need of reform,” Barton and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Cliff Stearns of Florida said in a written statement. The FCC submitted the report in response to an April request from the committee’s Democratic and Republican leaders.
Verizon is willing to discuss an FCC “fifth principle” on Internet nondiscrimination with the incoming FCC administration, Executive Vice President Tom Tauke told reporters Thursday. “We are not certain yet that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Our primary concern is to make sure that any policy that is adopted does not disrupt” investment or interfere with consumer choice, he said.
The FCC denied a request by Virgin Islands Telephone seeking an emergency waiver of accounting rules that could reduce the company’s high-cost loop support under the Universal Service Fund. The carrier asked for relief due to recent network infrastructure damage in the Virgin Islands inflicted by Hurricane Omar (CD Dec 9 p6). But the FCC said the company, Vitelco, didn’t show it needs high-cost support “beyond what it and other similarly-situated companies are entitled to receive” under USF high-cost rules. “The relief Vitelco is seeking … is unrelated to its financial troubles caused by Hurricane Omar, Vitelco’s parent company’s bankruptcy, and general past mismanagement,” the FCC said. “The reduction in Vitelco’s high-cost loop support is due to the fact that Vitelco’s C&WF plant is fully depreciated and Vitelco has failed to invest in new facilities.” The company will be eligible for more support after investing in its plant, it said.
AT&T is investing as much as it can in its broadband infrastructure, CEO Randall Stephenson said Thursday at the Sanford Bernstein Conference. Some expect AT&T to apply for broadband stimulus money, but Stephenson said the company is waiting to see how it will be distributed. Under the new administration, issues like net neutrality, intercarrier compensation and USF reform aren’t going away, he said. Meanwhile, AT&T, particularly its enterprise business, is still feeling the economic pressure, he said.
USTelecom joined Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel in asking the FCC to reject a Corr Wireless petition that seeks to have universal service monies that used to flow to Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel redirected into a pool shared by all competitive eligible telecommunications carriers. The wireline association called Corr arguments “nonsensical.”
An FCC report on rural broadband prescribes government intervention to spur availability and demand. The report, released publicly on Wednesday, was required by Congress in the 2008 Farm Bill and did not require sign off by all commissioners. Instead, writing in the first-person, acting Chairman Michael Copps highlighted common problems affecting rural broadband, including technological challenges, lack of data and high network costs. Copps also urged a revamp of the Universal Service Fund, new rules on network openness and an audit of all spectrum that the FCC has licensed, with an eye on where it is being used effectively or could see more use on a secondary basis.
District of Columbia residents with impaired hearing are signing up for expanded relay service, the Public Service Commission said May 19. So far, 23 Washingtonians have bought Captioned Telephone Relay Service phones that let users listen to a caller while reading word-for-word captions of what’s being said on the phone’s built-in display, the commission said. Hamilton Relay, which runs the city’s relay service, began providing CapTel in November. Customers access it through their local phone service at no additional monthly charge. The service is funded by the city’s Universal Service Trust Fund, underwritten by fees charged local phone customers, and the federal Universal Service Fund. For at least a year, Hamilton plans to offer the $495 CapTel phones to District residents for $99, the commission said.