TPUC Wants Funds Reduction For Largest Telcos

TPUC WANTS FUNDS REDUCTION FOR LARGEST TELCOS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
The staff of the Texas Public Utility Commission is recommending a reduction in the amount of the state telephone universal service fund portioned to the largest providers, such as Verizon Communications Inc. The state's cable operators have been lobbying for such a reduction, arguing that the fund is a tax subsidy for large, well-funded corporations. The "large carrier" beneficiaries of the fund have argued that their portion of the USF should be doubled, to help cover the cost of lowly penetrated, remote communities in the state. The state PUC staff recommends that the large carrier USF share be cut by $230 million, a 60% decrease in the amount now paid by consumers into the fund, then portioned to telephone carriers. Consumers currently pay a 4.4% tax on their phone bills into the USF.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6537717.html?nid=4262