Ariz. Commissioners to Weigh State USF Next Steps

Arizona Corporation Commission staff listed state USF options for commissioners to consider at their meeting next Tuesday. Commissioners directed staff at their Nov. 9-10 meeting to prepare an options memo. The commission could start with a supplemental notice of inquiry since, “because of all of the funding that has become available through other sources, many commenters may believe that the fund is no longer necessary or is only needed as a stop gap measure,” ACC staff said Tuesday in docket T-00000A-20-0336. Or the commission could open a rulemaking to amend or modify high-cost fund rules in ways commenters suggested in an earlier NOI, it said. Alternatively, the commission could suspend or eliminate Arizona USF (AUSF), staff said. “The Commission has the option of repealing the AUSF Rules using the process outlined in the Arizona Administrative Procedures Act,” considering that one provider is currently receiving support, it said. Or the commission could take no action, staff said. Next week’s ACC meeting agenda also includes an item on changing the state USF surcharge (docket RT-00000H-97-0137) and two proposed orders to close dockets related to Frontier Communications deregulation (dockets T-03214A-21-0334 and T-03214A-17-0305).