WASHINGTON—The mobile phone industry has teamed up with other telecom players to lobby for universal service reform.
The new USF by the Numbers Coalition backs a numbers-based plan that the group said is a fairer and more equitable contribution methodology than the current revenue-based universal service contribution system. The group said the current USF contribution regime is no longer sustainable in light of changes occurring in the marketplace.
“A numbers-based approach to the universal service fund is more efficient than the outdated revenue-based system, and the assessments are more stable, predictable and easier for consumers to understand,” said Steve Largent, president of CTIA, the national cell phone industry association. “The wireless industry is committed to the goals of universal service and believes it plays an important role in making sure all Americans have access to high-quality and affordable telecommunications and information services. However, the current revenues-based system needs major reform and this coalition urges policymakers to do what’s in the best interest of consumers by acting quickly to adopt a numbers-based approach.”
CTIA said it has advocated for a consumer-focused, numbers-based proposal whereby all switched connections would be assessed fees based on working telephone numbers. All non-switched connections would be assessed fees based on the capacity of the connection. The proposal includes safe harbors for low average-revenue-per-unit customers and an exemption for low-income Lifeline customers. The wireless family plan, prepaid, and month-to-month customer numbers would be assessed one-half the rate of other numbers. Lifeline customer numbers would be exempted from contribution obligations.
Others in the new coalition are AT&T Inc., BellSouth Corp., IDT Corporation, GCI, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, USTelecom and Verizon Communications Inc.
Not long after USF by the Numbers Coalition announced its formation, another group fired off a press release calling the industry campaign a self-serving ploy that would unfairly shift universal service fund financing to senior citizens, minorities, rural residents and low-income individuals.
“The members of this industry-run coalition owe it to consumers to stop talking about meaningless USF ‘averages’ and to start disclosing how many millions of their customers would pay more USF taxes under the industry’s numbers-based approach,” said Maureen Thompson, executive director of the Keep USF Fair Coalition. “Nobody pays an ‘average’ tax. Let’s get the information about each company’s winners and losers out in the open so that we can have a real debate about the industry’s plans for the universal service fund. We should be focusing on making sure that abuses in the fund have been brought under control and that the growth in the fund is constrained. Zapping millions of America’s most vulnerable consumers with higher federal phone taxes is not the right answer here.”
