USForward asks the FCC to address the rising USF factor by spreading costs among consumers, assessing the fee based on broadband access service revenue. Monday's report said that's a better option than basing fees on numbers or connections. On a call with reporters, officials from NTCA, Incompas, Public Knowledge and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition disagreed whether action may have to await a permanent chair and full commission.

NTCA, Incompas, Public Knowledge and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition will release a "USForward" report Monday that "highlights the need for USF contribution reform, analyzes options for doing so, and provides recommendations on how best to reform this essential support mechanism," said a news release Friday. Consultant Carol Mattey, who wrote the report, will join the groups for a news briefing at 11 a.m. EDT.

Alaska telecom associations submitted state USF update proposals with a connections-based contribution method to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in docket R-21-001. The Matanuska Telecom Association submitted its proposal for a flat-rate surcharge Wednesday after previewing it at an RCA meeting last month (see 2108110059). The revenue-based fee went as high as 19% in 2018 before the RCA capped it at 10%, MTA said. The RCA would require the new method and let the Alaska USF administrator set the monthly per line fee, the group proposed: No distribution changes are necessary. The Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition filed a plan for a new “Remote Alaska Fund” with a connections-based method that at first would support voice and later broadband. The RCA should set the AUSF at $30 million yearly, split evenly between small and large carriers, it said. GCI neither supports nor opposes any reform plan, and “is ambivalent about a connections-based funding mechanism,” the carrier commented. “Such a charge is certainly not a magic bullet that will solve the funding issue; the source of funding would continue to remain with ratepayers.” It could mean $2 per line monthly for every Alaska phone customer, and the RCA should consider how that “charge itself harms the goal of universal service,” GCI said. Alaska Communications suggested splitting the proceeding into two phases, the first to decide whether to continue the fund and any contribution changes, the second to tackle distribution changes.

Oklahoma adopted a connections-based contribution method for state USF on an interim basis Thursday. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission voted 2-0, with a concerned third commissioner abstaining, for a proposed order to replace the 6.28% revenue-based monthly fee with a $1.14 per connection surcharge. In Texas, state senators are pushing Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the Public Utility Commission to act before rates spike for rural customers. Alaska, California and Oregon are mulling changes.

The House Appropriations Committee’s proposed report on the Financial Services Subcommittee-cleared measure to fund the FCC and FTC in FY 2022 seeks further work on changes to USF contribution rules and wants additional study of how municipal broadband can expand connectivity access. The committee was still considering the underlying bill late Tuesday afternoon. Dueling panels of telecom policy officials disagreed on how lawmakers should translate into legislation the $65 billion broadband component in a bipartisan infrastructure package framework President Joe Biden endorsed last week (see 2106240070).

Commissioner Nathan Simington said finalizing new broadband data maps is a “very high priority” for FCC action. It's a “very thorny problem,” Simington said in an interview Wednesday. The FCC had to build out capacities that didn’t exist after Congress “passed the ball,” and acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is “working very hard to get it done,” he said. The commissioner has USF concerns and may be open to some changes.

Don’t adopt state USF connections-based contribution, the Voice on the Net Coalition replied Friday in California Public Utilities Commission docket R.21-03-002. “Though imperfect, the revenue-based model is consistent with the current federal structure, complies with existing California law and, unlike the per-line model, will not cause disruptions to any group of ratepayers or changes to the accounting and billing systems of contributing service providers.” Big wireless carrier comments warned against the change, while some wireline companies and consumer advocates supported connections (see 2104060029).

The Texas Public Utility Commission can't decline to fully fund state USF when it disagrees with state policy, rural telco groups argued at Monday's livestreamed argument at the 250th District Court in Travis County. The Texas Statewide Telephone Cooperative Inc. (TSTCI) and Texas Telephone Association (TTA) sued the PUC in January because members face reductions in Texas USF (TUSF) support due to the PUC refusing to raise the contribution rate (see 2101260046).

Meetings make states hopeful about closer FCC rapport under President Joe Biden, said officials from NARUC and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates in recent interviews. Local officials seek a louder voice at the federal agency. “The relationship between state commissions and the FCC over the last four years” under then-President Donald Trump was “less than an example of cooperative federalism,” said NARUC President Paul Kjellander. FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel reacted favorably to states' hopes.

More stakeholders want acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to begin moving forward on USF funding revisions (see 2102010059). The current mechanism is unsustainable, experts said in recent interviews. Many disagree on changes.