FCC called for comment on issues raised by 10th U.S. Appeals Cour...
FCC called for comment on issues raised by 10th U.S. Appeals Court, Denver, in its remand last year of agency’s 9th universal service order. Order set mechanism for determining how much federal universal service support would go to larger…
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ILECs. Court ruled in Qwest v. FCC that order didn’t adequately: (1) Define and apply Telecom Act’s requirements that rates in rural areas must be “reasonably comparable” with urban areas and support should be “sufficient.” (2) Explain its reasoning for setting funding benchmark at 135% of national average. (3) Provide inducements for states to implement universal service policies. (4) Explain how mechanism would interact with other universal service programs. In Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) released late Fri., FCC asked for comments on first 3 areas and said it would deal with 4th later. Commission’s 1999 order established formula that determined how much federal support would go to each state by comparing average cost per line in each state against nationwide cost benchmark of 135%. It then allocated support only for amount of costs above that benchmark. Comments are due 30 days from NPRM’s publication in Federal Register.