New Mexico may cap its universal service fund surcharges. The...
New Mexico may cap its universal service fund surcharges. The USF surcharge rates have been “trending upwards” and are now at 3.45 percent, said New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Commissioner Jason Marks in a statement (http://xrl.us/bn38v6). The PRC launched a…
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rulemaking Thursday with a 4-1 vote that will examine whether a cap on landline and wireless phone surcharges is necessary. The one dissenting commissioner, Chairman Patrick Lyons, advocated the PRC hold workshops with industry first. The proposed rulemaking places the cap at 3 percent. The USF’s formula would also change, shrinking the overall fund and reducing the need for higher surcharges, it said. The fund amounts to about $24 million a year currently, and its subsidies are paid to CenturyLink, Windstream and “smaller landline phone companies,” according to the PRC. “For all intents and purposes, the USF funding mechanism is a tax on consumers that turns into a subsidy for certain phone companies,” Marks said. He has fought its rise since 2005 and wants to limit its use to where it’s needed, like in rural areas, he said. The PRC will hold a public hearing on the proposed cap March 18.