Broadband Internet access providers “over all platforms” should contribute to the Universal Service Fund, 3 groups representing rural telecom companies told the FCC in an Aug. 4 ex parte. A recent FCC vote to raise the safe harbor for wireless USF contributions and to add VoIP providers to the USF contributions pool was “positive and necessary” but not enough to assure the fund’s “sustainability,” OPASTCO, the Independent Telephone & Telecom Alliance and Western Telecom Alliance said Aug. 4. As of Aug. 14, facilities-based DSL providers operating as non-common carriers no longer must contribute. Wireless and VoIP contributions might offset this drop in contributions, but “there is no assurance this will occur,” the groups said.

Broadband Internet access providers “over all platforms” should contribute to the Universal Service Fund, 3 groups representing rural telecom companies told the FCC in an Aug. 4 ex parte. A recent FCC vote to raise the safe harbor for wireless USF contributions and to add VoIP providers to the USF contributions pool was “positive and necessary” but not enough to assure the fund’s “sustainability,” OPASTCO, the Independent Telephone & Telecom Alliance and Western Telecom Alliance said Aug. 4. As of Aug. 14, facilities-based DSL providers operating as non-common carriers no longer must contribute. Wireless and VoIP contributions might offset this drop in contributions, but “there is no assurance this will occur,” the groups said.

A collection system for the Universal Service Fund (USF) based on telephone numbers gained the support of a new telecom alliance called the USF by the Numbers Coalition. The coalition - made up of groups such as NCTA, CTIA and USTelecom and its members AT&T and BellSouth -- held a news conference call Tues. to “set the story straight” on misconceptions about the plan, it said.

Close votes on key amendments dealing with net neutrality and buildout requirements signal a tough fight ahead on the Senate floor for the Senate telecom bill (HR- 5252), lobbyists and industry sources said. Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) has acknowledged the difficulty he faces and said at the end of Wed.’s markup that he’s considering introducing a slimmed-down bill.

Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens doesn’t yet have the 60 votes needed to end debate and set up a vote on the telecom bill (S-2686) on the Senate floor, he told reporters after markup Tues. Senate leadership has “no great interest” in the bill while the debate continues as it has, he said. His comments came after a day-long session in a markup that began last week. Key issues remain to be tackled, but the bill is expected to pass out of the committee.

People under 25 would be hit hard if the FCC adopted a system based on phone numbers or “connections” to fund universal service, the Keep USF Fair Coalition warned Tues. The coalition, made up of consumer groups, said younger people tend to have more communications devices, each with a phone number or telephone line. The group, a long-time foe of the proposal, has issued similar warnings about the impact on the elderly and the poor of basing Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions on numbers. The current system is based on interstate revenues.

Incumbent telcos would be the clearest winners, and small providers of interconnected VoIP the biggest losers, if the FCC and Senate proceed as they have been on changes in the Universal Service Fund (USF), according to interviews with industry executives and analysts. Satellite would benefit by becoming eligible under a new fund for places unserved by broadband.

Decades of the Universal Service Fund contributed to 98% of U.S. households having phone service. This includes 88% of low-income households. But that feat hasn’t come cheaply, especially with the addition of the costly E-rate program that connects schools and libraries to the Internet. During 1998-2005, the USF spent $37.8 billion, according to the National Regulatory Research Institute, which pegs fiscal 2006 USF outlays at $7.3 billion. In fiscal 2006, requests for school and library funding alone will total $3.55 billion to be disbursed among 39,416 applicants, the Universal Service Administration Co. reported (CD March 22 p11).

Incumbent telcos would be the clearest winners, and small providers of interconnected VoIP the biggest losers, if the FCC and Senate proceed as they have been on changes in the Universal Service Fund (USF), according to interviews with industry executives and analysts. Satellite would benefit by becoming eligible under a new fund for places unserved by broadband.

The VON Coalition urged the Commission not to go through with an interim plan to require VoIP providers to pay into the Universal Service Fund (USF) based on a percentage of their revenue (CD May 31 p1). The coalition said in a filing Wed. it was concerned the action, which is on the agenda for the June 21 open meeting, could delay broader reform of the USF contributions system. It said it supported FCC Chmn. Martin’s proposal to eventually move away from revenue as a basis for contributions and feared this interim plan, because it’s based on revenue, would stymie that move. The FCC in essence would be setting up an interim contributions process for VoIP providers and then turning around and setting up a 2nd one once full reform was accomplished, the coalition said. That would mean requiring 2 “fundamental shifts” in tracking and billing practices, the group said. The coalition also questioned whether adding VoIP providers to the pool would make up for contributions lost when DSL providers stop paying into the fund, which reportedly is one of the purposes of the interim plan. “The VON Coalition recommends that, instead of potentially putting the sustainability of the [USF] in jeopardy… the Commission should move promptly to adopt comprehensive reform measures.”