On December 20, 2018, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly posted a blog on the FCC website designed to initiate further debate to improve the FCC’s various procedures. Several of the reform ideas are tied to the Universal Service Fund and USAC.
Here is the list of the FCC reform procedures tied to USAC and the Universal Service Fund:
- Put USAC contract out for public bid; allow USAC to function as private company.
- Limit USAC recoupment for administrative errors to seven years.
- Prioritize USAC audits & reviews of administrative errors to those instances when costs would not exceed potential recoupment.
- Reform USAC board to reduce size and eliminate conflicts of interests.
- Prevent USAC from using webcrawls or newsfeeds to inform applicants of case decisions.
- Require any money recouped for fraudulent use of USF by applicants go back into USF program.
- Require that any changes to a USF form or form instructions, including online forms, must be preceded by sufficient notice of not less than 60 days.
- Outline specific bright line rules for policy calls to be made by Commission and execution decisions to be made by USAC.
The FCC Commissioner O’Rielly’s Reform List can be viewed here and he is encouraging additional debate and further ideas on these or other reform efforts to “move the Commission forward.”
