CPUC to Weigh USF Contribution Rulemaking Thursday
California could switch to connections-based USF contribution by Jan. 1. The California Public Utilities Commission said Friday it plans to vote Thursday on a proposal to open a rulemaking seeking a “straightforward and flexible" mechanism to fund California universal service…
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public purpose programs (PPPs). The current mechanism based on a percentage of intrastate revenue “is not sustainable due to the continuing decline of intrastate revenue billing base being reported by service providers,” said the proposal. The current surcharge is about 7.75%, and the intrastate revenue base declined by more than 58% to $6.43 billion in 2020, from $15.41 billion in 2012, it said. The proposal contributes the decline partly to the FCC classifying text messaging as an information service, which stymied a 2019 CPUC plan to assess SMS (see 1901310023). The CPUC last year doubled surcharges for two USF programs. It also plans to vote Thursday on a proposal to require open access for middle-mile infrastructure funded by the California Advanced Services Fund (see 2102230018) and a $1.3 million proposed fine for Frontier Communications for 2019 service-quality failures (see 2101140058).