Okla. Commissioners May Extend Per-Line USF Amount
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is open to renewing, at least temporarily, an interim change to the state USF contribution method. At a livestreamed meeting Tuesday, OCC members reviewed the state’s November’s shift to a connections-based mechanism. Commissioner Todd Hiett reserved his right to support moving back to revenue-based reporting if he doesn’t see progress on legislative changes.
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Commissioners could vote next month on renewing the new contribution method. They ordered the interim change in August to try to stabilize the OUSF while parties worked on writing recommendations for the legislature (see 2112010014). It's part of a small but growing list of states that have shifted to connections-based contribution while national policymakers also weigh possible contribution changes to federal USF (see 2107130041).
Chairman Dana Murphy has no problem extending, but she doesn’t want to get to a point “where you can’t unscramble the egg.” She suggested it could be for another six months. Industry spent time and money to change billing processes, said Murphy: At some point, reversing course could be too difficult.
The per-line surcharge “is making a drastic improvement,” said OUSF Administrator Brandy Wreath. Staff may suggest operational tweaks but overall want the new method renewed at the current $1.14 monthly per-line rate, he said. The commission collected about $2.9 million in the final month of the revenue-based method, he said: After switching, it got about $4.4 million in November, $4.9 million in December. While somewhat less than expected, the higher revenue reduced the OUSF deficit to $16 million, said Wreath. “If those numbers continue, within the next 12 months … we should be able to get the fund caught back up.”
Legislative talks between OCC staff and industry hit some hurdles and won’t be able to suggest legislative changes by February, Wreath said: It doesn’t mean parties “have not been trying.” The “biggest roadblock” is setting an OUSF cap, he said. “We’re not afraid of a cap,” but it’s challenging to decide what happens if the threshold is hit, he said. “Who do we not pay?” Since OUSF was developed before broadband, a “major overhaul” is preferable, Wreath said. A coming influx of federal broadband dollars is another reason to wait, said Wreath. “We just don’t feel there’s an emergency that necessitates running language that answers just part of the problem and will probably be archaic by this time next year.”
Hiett raised concerns about delay, saying he had supported the “very controversial change” to connections with the understanding that legislative recommendations would soon follow. Hiett understands the legislative process can take time and said industry must commit to doing the work.
Commissioner Bob Anthony raised transparency concerns about some telcos with a few thousand customers receiving about $1 million annually in OUSF subsidies “and another billion dollars” in federal funding. “If the public knew that with names and specifics," he said, "you might catch the attention of the legislature and others.”