Universal Service Fund Meeting

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• Previous message: Jan Bolluyt: "ICN followup (Iowa Communication Network)"

I thought the group might find the following of interest. Today, when I 
attended a meeting of Wisconsin's Universal Service Fund Advisory 
Council (an advisory council set up in our telecommunications 
deregulation bill to act in an advisory capacity to Wisconsin's Public 
Service Commission on Universal Service issues) it was announced that 
some of the telephone companies in Wisconsin are refusing to pay the 
mandatory Public Service Commission assessments that they have received 
for the Universal Service Fund contributions.

These assessments are mandatory, and the Public Service Commission must 
now struggle with how they are going to actually enforce the collection 
of the assessments. Further, one telephone company has petitioned the 
state's Public Service Commission to be exempted from contributions to 
the fund entirely. 

Also, the PSC announced that they expect another petition to be filed 
challenging the entire Universal Service Fund program (from small 
cooperative telecommunications providers and other small telco's), 
claiming the PSC does not have the authority to require them to 
contribute to the USF fund.

Just a few things to keep in mind as the federal program is developed.  
What's that saying, "If you fool me once shame on you, if you fool me 
twice shame on me!"

Bill Cosh
Wisconsin Association of School Boards
bcosh@wasb.org

• Previous message: Jan Bolluyt: "ICN followup (Iowa Communication Network)"