FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s proposed Universal Service Fund reform proposals “understate the significant funding needs for wireless carriers,” the Rural Cellular Association wrote him, according to a Wednesday news release. RCA urged Genachowski to expand the proposed mobility fund “and not to prematurely withdraw existing high-cost support without set replacement mechanisms to prevent a gap in funding that would unnecessarily harm consumers,” the group said. President Steven Berry said in he is “extremely concerned” by the proposals in the pending order. “The future of many competitive carriers depends on USF reform, and I can only hope that the FCC’s decision in the coming days will look to the future of wireless and provide sufficient and predictable funding for mobile services."

The FCC must lower eligible telecommunications carriers’ obligations at the same time it reduces legacy high-cost universal service payments, Verizon Senior Vice President Kathleen Grillo told FCC officials, said an ex parte notice. Grillo said she spoke with Zac Katz, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s top wireline aide, on Saturday, and Angela Kronenberg, wireline adviser to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, on Monday. “The purpose of these discussions was to address the draft universal service and intercarrier compensation reform order now circulating, as well as America’s Broadband Connectivity Plan submitted by a coalition of companies, including Verizon,” Grillo said. Telcos have left meetings with FCC officials with conflicting interpretations of the contents of the agency’s pending Universal Service Fund order. Some are convinced that the FCC means to require telcos to comply with ETC requirements even if they're not receiving USF cash; others have been assured that funding will be explicitly tied to obligations, telecom officials said.

State legislators in Wisconsin, Maine and Ohio urged greater focus on mobile broadband as the FCC takes on Universal Service Fund reform, in letters to the agency. Wisconsin Rep. John Nygren (R) is concerned that the FCC’s USF draft proposal will ignore the need for reliable mobile broadband access in the state and across the nation, he said in a letter to the agency. Wisconsin Sen. Julie Lassa (D) was contacted regarding some concerns about the USF revamp process, a spokeswoman said, without further details. Other legislators couldn’t be reached immediately for comment on why they filed comments. Maine Senator Thomas Saviello (R) urged the FCC not to jeopardize the development of mobile broadband in Maine’s rural communities. It’s critical to allow ample time for public comment and debate because the reform would have major implications for Maine, he said. “A potential change of this magnitude deserves more transparency,” he said. Any reform proposal shouldn’t reduce spending for mobile broadband services, he said. Other state lawmakers that filed letters include Reps. Jerry Petrowski (R) and John Murtha (R) of Wisconsin and Oregon Sen. Joanne Verger (D).

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., voiced concerns but urged reform of the Universal Service Fund. In a letter Tuesday to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Inslee said the commission should “ease the financial burden on ratepayers, provide support only where it is necessary, offer all telecommunications providers an equal opportunity to deploy to an unserved area and consider the broadband deployment in the coming years.” Inslee said he is “concerned” with the FCC’s current USF plans, but “recognize[s] the important social and economical goals that result from extending broadband to areas that are currently unserved."

The cable industry wants provisions made for Alaska in Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation rule changes, executives of NCTA and the state’s No. 1 cable operator GCI reported telling the top aide to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. NCTA said CEO Michael Powell and Executive Vice President James Assey told FCC Chief of Staff Eddie Lazarus about “the unique costs and challenges of providing broadband in Alaska.” The association “urged the Commission to ensure that these challenges are adequately addressed,” it said a filing Tuesday in docket 10-90 (http://xrl.us/bmgimd). A letter posted Monday to the docket from GCI and Alaska Communications made the case for the phone and cable companies’ Alaska Connected America Fund (CD Sept 21 p19), which would be different from the Connect America Fund which the FCC may adopt for other states. The USF and ICC changes ILECs seek in their ABC plan, “if applied to Alaska, would likely halt the deployment and upgrade of telecommunications and broadband services in the state,” GCI reported separately telling Lazarus, Zac Katz -- Genachowski’s aide who’s helping to lead work on the order -- Wireline and Wireless Bureau officials and aides to Commissioners Michael Copps and Robert McDowell. The proposed plan would harm “the extension of basic wireless voice services to unserved areas, as well as the expansion and upgrade of broadband services,” the cable operator said (http://xrl.us/bmgim8).

Representatives of the state of Hawaii urged the FCC to adopt a definition of tribal lands for purposes of its Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation proceeding that includes the Hawaiian Home Lands (HHL), they said in an ex parte filing. The FCC has previously included the HHLs in its tribal land definitions for purposes of USF, but the agency, without explanation, omitted the HHLs from its definition of tribal lands in its National Broadband Plan, the filing said. Meanwhile, many elements of the draft USF/ICC plan don’t address the challenges in highly remote and insular areas like Hawaii, it said. The representatives also urged the FCC to explore those challenges in a further rulemaking.

Telecom customers would pay up to $30 per month as an access recovery charge under proposed rules in FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s pending Universal Service Fund order, telecom lobbyists told us Tuesday. They said the charge would be “a benchmark” and structured similarly to the price cap-carrier-backed ABC plan. The charge would not officially come with a subscriber line increase fee, but would also not be a separate line item on customers’ bills, the lobbyists said.

The FCC’s Universal Service Fund reform plan, of which many still await details, could hurt rural and tribal operators and investment in rural broadband, speakers said at a Broadband Breakfast Club panel Tuesday. Meanwhile, many broadband projects funded by the Rural Utilities Service are on track, said Undersecretary of Rural Development Dallas Tonsager.

The FCC should help schools, libraries and other anchor institutions when it overhauls the Universal Service Fund, said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif. In a letter Monday to Chairman Julius Genachowski, Matsui said broadband carriers receiving money from the high-cost fund must help anchors in rural and urban areas. The letter was also signed by House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “These institutions are engaged in some of our most important national priorities -- education, economic development, health and wellness, job training and support, and access to e-government services, among many others,” the members wrote. The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition agreed, calling broadband “essential to increasing educational opportunities, telemedicine and economic growth in rural America."

The FCC should help schools, libraries and other anchor institutions when it overhauls the Universal Service Fund, said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif. In a letter Monday to Chairman Julius Genachowski, Matsui said broadband carriers receiving money from the high-cost fund must help anchors in rural and urban areas. The letter was also signed by House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “These institutions are engaged in some of our most important national priorities -- education, economic development, health and wellness, job training and support, and access to e-government services, among many others,” the members wrote. The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition agreed, calling broadband “essential to increasing educational opportunities, telemedicine and economic growth in rural America."