FCC contemplates monthly universal service fee on users

Mobile Phone News, May 5, 1997

The FCC may be considering requiring each wireless subscriber to contribute $1 a month to its universal service fund in addition to the money that wireless carriers may be required to give to the fund, according to Thomas Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. Wheeler also is concerned that the commission's upcoming universal service order will require wireless companies to pay into both a federal fund and those created by states.

Wheeler believes that the FCC should not make a ruling in the matter but rather let the courts decide if wireless companies should contribute to both.