Connections-Based Okla. USF Surcharge Could Spike
The Oklahoma USF (OUSF) administrator expects to seek a 34% increase to the connections-based surcharge, to about $1.53, said Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) Telecom Coordinator Mark Argenbright at a virtual workshop Tuesday. Increased support is needed to fulfill demand from…
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.
transferring remaining support in the former high-cost fund to OUSF, increased demand for primary OUSF support, and an ongoing funding deficit for previously granted support, said a document displayed at the meeting. Oklahoma implemented connections-based contribution in November. Other states that adopted the method have had unstable surcharges, and the possible Oklahoma increase might show the same happening here, said Director-State Regulatory Benjamin Aron. If the OCC had kept a revenue-based method, the surcharge would have jumped to more than 17%, from about 6.3% before the commission shifted to connections, noted Argenbright. The OCC aims to propose statutory language to shift OUSF’s mission to broadband in time for the 2023 legislative session, he said. It’s an odd time to repurpose USF for broadband, considering so much federal money is flowing into the state, said Aron. It seems premature to talk about writing a OUSF bill to support broadband without a better understanding of what will happen with federal dollars, agreed Bill Bullard, attorney for Consolidated Communications and other rural LECs. The OUSF administrator is "sensitive" to other sources of broadband funding and gets that coordination will be needed with the newly formed state broadband council, said Argenbright: Talks to develop an OUSF revamp bill should continue.