Idaho PUC Eyes State USF Surcharge Cap
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is mulling a cap of the state USF surcharge until 2020 while the legislature considers broader changes the PUC lacks authority to make, said PUC telecom analyst Carolee Hall at a teleconferenced Wednesday meeting with…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
staff and industry representatives. The agency can’t let the 25-cent surcharge increase further because line counts are dropping, Hall said. CTIA Director-State Regulatory Benjamin Aron said 25 cents per residential line isn’t a lot compared with other states where USF fees exceed $1, though wireless carriers don’t pay into or get high-cost support from the Idaho USF. The association earlier questioned the need for legislative changes to USF (see 1810040035). CenturyLink supports fixing the fund or getting rid of it, said Director-Public Affairs Edward Lodge, saying the company's top concern is getting all providers to pay into the fund. Oregon and a few other states also are weighing USF changes (see 1810100042).