WASHINGTON-A large coalition of government, public interest and telecom industry groups sent a letter to Capitol Hill Wednesday urging the Senate Commerce Committee to pass a bill that will permanently exempt the universal-service fund from the Anti-Deficiency Act.
“The April 11 hearing left no doubt about this issue’s importance and the need for swift passage of this legislation,” reads the letter signed by more than 30 organizations including Alcatel, Western Wireless Corp. and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. “Without such an exemption, millions of people will undoubtedly experience service disruptions and significant increases in the universal-service contribution factor.”
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on a bill that would permanently exempt the E-rate program from the ADA. Payments to the much-derided E-rate program were suspended last year when the program could not follow generally accepted accounting principles. Congress intervened temporarily so payments could continue.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has co-sponsored a bill to permanently exempt the E-rate. At the April 11 hearing, Stevens rejected a proposal by the Government Accountability Office that Congress exempt the USF from the ADA for only two years. Stevens said that two years would not be sufficient, and he would rather suspend the application of the ADA until a legislative fix can be found.
While wireless carriers are not generally recipients of E-rate funds, the brouhaha over the E-rate/ADA caused the telecom industry to fear drastic increases in universal-service contributions and/or application of the ADA to the high-cost fund, which is used to subsidize rural telephone service. Wireless carriers have recently become recipients of the rural subsidies.
Further action on the bill to exempt the USF from the ADA has not been scheduled.
The letter was delivered the same week that representatives of small telephone companies were on Capitol Hill lobbying for the exemption.
There are parallels between the schools and libraries fund and the high-cost fund which could result in a suspension of payments to the high-cost fund, said Stuart Polikoff, director of government relations for the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies during a kickoff meeting Tuesday morning. Polikoff said the ADA exemption was the “most urgent USF request.”
Finally, Innovative Communications Technologies Inc. said Wednesday it has been accepted as an E-rate vendor to offer its Global Private Telecommunications Network.
“Leasing Innovative’s network products typically provides a 50-percent reduction in cost to business customers in outbound and inbound calling expenses. The universal-service mechanism provides 20-percent to 90-percent discounts on telecommunications services and Internet access to eligible schools, school districts and libraries throughout the United States,” said Innovative.
