Universal Service Programs

The North Carolina Utilities Commission issued an order confirming a local exchange telephone carrier's relinquishment of its designation as the Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) for a portion of the state.

The carrier, BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC d/b/a AT&T North Carolina, explained that its decision to give up its ETC designation in certain areas of North Carolina had been prompted, in part, by changes to universal service programs at the federal level. In particular, the carrier said that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had changed its approach to disbursing high-cost universal service support. The carrier added that it will continue to participate in the FCC's Connect America Fund program, which is designed to facilitate greater deployment of broadband service in high-cost, primarily rural areas.

The carrier remarked that its ETC relinquishment also was driven by dramatic changes in the telecommunications marketplace in North Carolina that had occurred since it was designated as an ETC. It pointed out that consumers today increasingly are replacing traditional wireline residential voice services with numerous other options, including wireless and Voice over Internet Protocol services. The carrier maintained that, as a result, the overall number of traditional (i.e., circuit-switched plain old telephone service) customers has decreased substantially. The carrier reported that, concomitantly, its number of Lifeline customers in North Carolina has plummeted, even as the total number of Lifeline customers in the state has grown.

According to AT&T, that is because consumers have demonstrated a strong preference for obtaining their Lifeline discount from other ETCs. (Docket No. P-55, Sub 1934, Docket No. P-100, Sub 133C)