SPECIAL REPORT: Ledger looks at broadband
The Universal Service Fund is a system of telecommunications subsidies and fees managed by the Federal Communications Commission intended to promote universal access to telecommunications services in the United States. The FCC established the fund in 1997 in compliance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
FCC
The FCC is a government agency that implements and enforces America’s communication regulations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The fund is supported by charging telecommunications companies a fee that is set quarterly. The FCC announced in June that the third-quarter of the Corporation Commission’s Public Utility Division informed the three commissioners and agency staffers in a July 25 memo. Because of the shortfall, payments on invoices from telephone companies are being prorated “as funds are available,” said Kris Prouty, the commission’s OUSF payment manager.
“I am absolutely 100 percent in support of the programs that help schools, hospitals, libraries, and the Lifeline,” Anthony said. They are “worthy beneficiaries.” But he’s highly critical of several OUSF features.
COMMISSIONER IRKED ABOUT SUBSIDIES...
The federal USF produced $268 million for Oklahoma in 2017, ledgers reflect. “That was a quarter of a billion dollars,” Anthony emphasized. Of that amount, $64.87 million was earmarked for the Lifeline program, $51.79 million was allocated to public schools and libraries, $6.8 million was devoted to rural health care facilities.
The remainder, $144.7 million – more than half, almost 54% – was designated for high-cost support.
UNIVERSAL SERVICE
Universal service is a key component of federal and state communications policies alike. Its goal is to ensure that regardless of where they live, all citizens have access to robust, reliable communications services, including broadband connectivity, at affordable rates and with “reasonably comparable service” across the country.
The reason is because internet access, like regular telephone service, is considered a necessity, not a luxury. The Oklahoma Universal Service Fund (OUSF) also was established in 1997 and provides support in all four of the same categories as the federal USF. “That was support to small ‘phone companies and their owners,” Anthony said. And that’s one of the USF features that gives him heartburn.
AT&T’s service area encompasses more than half of Oklahoma, and Pioneer Telephone Cooperative provides service to roughly a quarter of the state. The remaining areas receive their telecommunications services from
2019 universal service contribution factor would be 24.4% of a telecom company’s interstate (between states) and international end-user revenues.