USF Changes Afoot in States May Include VoIP
USF changes afoot in many states may affect VoIP, predicted National Regulatory Research Institute Telecommunications Principal Sherry Lichtenberg. “More states will move to a connections-based system so that they can address both stand-alone broadband and make up for the reduction…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
in revenue based on the move to bundled service and VoIP,” she emailed Wednesday. “I would expect a move to include VoIP providers, including cable, in state USF assessments, as well as stand-alone broadband providers.” The Idaho Public Utilities Commission should collect money from VoIP and wireless providers, a technologically neutral approach that would provide more money to the fund, said CenturyLink Idaho Director-Regulatory Affairs Jim Farr at a Wednesday workshop. If the commission collects money from wireless carriers, it also should distribute money to wireless carriers, replied CTIA Director-State Regulatory Benjamin Aron. State changes are appropriate, but federal action is needed, Joint Board on Universal Service State Chair Chris Nelson told us. Congress should update the Telecom Act to bring certainty to USF, said Idaho PUC President Paul Kjellander in an interview.