Nebraska and Kansas regulators urged the FCC to reject a proposal...
Nebraska and Kansas regulators urged the FCC to reject a proposal by Vonage that would establish federal rules allowing nomadic VoIP providers to determine how to allocate revenue among states for state universal service programs. The Nebraska Public Service…
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Commission and Kansas Corporation Commission said “having a system where the carrier chooses the contribution assessment method is subject to manipulation.” Providers may be tempted “to choose a method that disproportionally assigns revenue to states that do not have funds or do not assess nomadic VoIP,” it said. And the system “will not necessarily satisfy state law requirements” that the contribution method be equitable and nondiscriminatory, the state regulators said. In addition, the Vonage proposal likely will raise administrative costs for providers and state commissions, they said. “Most likely, the Nebraska Commission would be required to conduct a full audit of the carriers’ books and records to ensure that the methodology used was accurate. Audit costs are passed along to the providers.”