"USF 101"
User rating: 4.9 of 5 stars
Speaker: Danielle Frappier, Davis Wright Tremaine
Recorded: August 18, 2020
Duration: 1 hour 15 min
Course link: Online Training Link
Restrictions: Access is limited to online training subscribers and 2021 conference registrations. Click here for pricing and access.
The USF webinar series is suited for experienced telecommunications tax personnel involved with USF regulatory compliance activities, as well as new entrants offering (or looking to offer) telecommunications services and VoIP services.
Description:
Universal Service Fund (USF) issues have long plagued the telecommunications industry and usually take emerging operators by surprise. This webinar is part one of a three part workshop series on USF. Part one is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of USF contributions and cover the key issues impacting reporting your revenues that are the basis for USF fees. Key topics include: issues in properly classifying services; breaking out revenues by jurisdiction; Form 499 and related instructions; and common pitfalls for each. The session will be interactive, leaving plenty of opportunity for Q&A. Part two and three of this workshop series will cover USAC audits, case studies and directions in USF policy.
Agenda:
USF Basics: USF assessable revenue classification: intrastate vs. interstate vs. international; end user vs. resold; telecommunications service vs. other “telecommunications” vs. iVoIP
- Jurisdiction Basic rule—end points of customer’s communications not extent of service provider’s facilities
- Physically intrastate private lines/special access services
- Internet access service
- Wholesale/Resale Basic rule—who has privity with the end user customer?
- Classification Basic rule--is it essentially just transport, even if bound for the Internet?
- Treatment of USF-support (High Cost, Lifeline, E-Rate, Rural Healthcare)
- Challenges
- 2012 FNPRM issues identified, not resolved
- Conference Call Decisions
- MPLS/”Enterprise Services”
- Text messaging
- Politics!
Form 499 Form and Instructions
- Quarterly Reports and Annual Reports
- Filing of Form 499 amendments
- Calculating “USF-assessable” revenues
- Actual data, traffic studies, safe harbors
- Bundled Services
- Reporting methodologies
- USAC reporting to other funds (e.g., TRS)
Be Ready for an Audit Before You Get Audited
- Document retention—what and how long
- Progression of an audit—initial questions, site visit (virtual now?), follow up field work, draft findings, and USAC Board vote
- Common issues
For details on pricing, access to online content, registration for webinars and important terms/conditions, please visit the online pricing page.