The Texas Public Utility Commission was to vote Friday on an agre...
The Texas Public Utility Commission was to vote Friday on an agreement to cut the state universal service fund 36.5 percent the next three years. Approval was expected. The proposal (Case 34723) would cut the fund $144 million and…
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the monthly universal service surcharge on landline and wireless phone bills to 3.4 percent from 4.4 percent. The agreement was signed by the state’s major incumbent and competitive carriers, cable and wireless companies, the PUC staff and the state utility consumer advocate. The commission, adhering to a legislative mandate, opened a comprehensive review of the fund last fall. The PUC staff had urged cutting the $395 million high-cost fund 60 percent to $165 million, but competitive carriers wanted deeper cuts while incumbents demanded the fund roughly double. The commission urged talks. Other provisions of the agreement would end universal service subsidies in deregulated exchanges exceeding 30,000 residents.