Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) has asked FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to complete the FCC's Universal Service and intercarrier compensation reforms and get them out the door by next month.
In a letter to the chairman, the former chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee said reform efforts have lagged "too long." The FCC has pushed back the target date from late summer. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at a press conference Thursday that the reform proposal was in the home stretch, but would not give a timetable.
Dingell urged him to complete the reform by its October meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 27.
USF funds telecom service in high-cost areas while intercarrier comp is the regulated regime by which telcos compensate each other for handing off traffic.
Among the key issues are capping the USF fund, migrating it to broadband, setting up a wireless subsidy fund, and how VoIP should be compensated in network traffic handoffs.
