The FCC Managing Director issued a Public Notice on September 11, 2024, announcing the proposed Universal Service Fund (“USF”) contribution factor for the fourth quarter of 2024 will be 35.8%, a 1.4% increase from last quarter’s 34.4%. This announcement signifies a noteworthy escalation, setting a new record high at 35.8%, surpassing the previous peak of 34.5% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Any reforms of the USF contribution system will likely take months — and potentially longer — to materialize in any meaningful way. Therefore, the industry should anticipate the quarterly USF contribution factor remaining at stratospheric levels for the foreseeable future.

If your company has any questions regarding the sky-high USF contribution factor or would like to engage in a Communications Taxes & Fees “Optimization” to potentially minimize the economic impact of the onerous USF contribution costs and end-user pass-through surcharges, please contact Jonathan S. Marashlian at jsm@commlawgroup.com.

We’ll leave you with some food for thought:

“If you aren’t OPTIMIZING your communication tax and regulatory fee billing, collection & reporting practices, then you (and your customers) are SUBSIDIZING the companies that are!”