The W.Va. PSC’s Consumer Advocate Div. (CAD) took issue with comp...
The W.Va. PSC’s Consumer Advocate Div. (CAD) took issue with compliance filings by 17 telecom carriers that receive universal service subsidies. The CAD said the substantial amounts of data they redacted as proprietary makes it very difficult to evaluate…
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their use of universal service funds. The CAD also cited confusion among carriers in how they make their rural-urban rate comparability determinations. The CAD said any protected treatment afforded to data from eligible telecom carriers (ETC) in universal service compliance reports should be restricted only to information that clearly compromises trade secrets. It said the carriers have taken an overly broad interpretation of what data needs to be protected, which “frustrates” public efforts to evaluate compliance with universal service program requirements. The CAD in Case 06-0953-T-GI also said carriers haven’t made up their minds about whether rate comparability should be based on all available calling plans or only on selected popular plans. It urged the PSC to lay out clear standards regarding what needs to be included in rate comparability submissions. It also said the PSC should make clear that ETCs don’t have a free pass to raise rates up to the affordability benchmarks. The PSC staff is to file its comments on the reports Sept. 8, with replies from all parties due Sept. 18.