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Home My WebLink Abouttelecom.pdf Idaho Telecommunications With the passage and signing of House Bill 224 during the 2005 legislative session, local exchange companies operating in Idaho were provided the option of essentially removing their services from rate regulation. Idaho’s two largest telecommunications companies, Qwest Communications, both North and South, and Verizon Northwest, lost no time in taking advantage of this option, announcing their election to seek price deregulation shortly after the new legislation became law. While the services of both companies remain under commission jurisdiction for quality issues, they no longer need to seek commission approval to raise rates. (Qwest South had elected price deregulation for all of its services except basic local exchange service in 1988.) Rate increases are limited, with caps that increase annually, and are eliminated after three years, unless the commission extends them for two additional years. Qwest and Verizon provide approximately 90 percent of the telephone lines in service in Idaho, so the overwhelming majority of Idahoan’s telephone service is no longer subject to rate regulation. Idaho’s Universal Service Fund The Idaho Universal Service Fund (USF) was established under the authority of the Telecommunications Act of 1988 to make it possible for residents in rural, high-cost areas to receive telephone service at roughly the same rates as their neighbors in urban areas. Recipients of the fund are mostly rural telephone companies that provide local exchange service. The fund makes it possible for those companies to charge no more than 25 percent above what telephone customers in urban, low-cost areas pay. Funding for USF is maintained by imposing a statewide end-user surcharge on local exchange and long distance services. The commission determines the Idaho USF funding requirements each year based on the anticipated revenue requirement as reported by the program administrator. The end-user surcharges are adjusted as necessary to meet the fund requirements and made effective October 1 of each year. The anticipated Idaho USF funding requirement is estimated at slightly over $2 million for the period of July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006. To meet the anticipated funding requirement, the commission authorized an increase of surcharges from 10 cents to 12 cents per residential line, from 15 cents to 20 cents per business line and $0.003 to $0.004 per billed long distance minute. Fund disbursements to the eight eligible telephone companies are expected to remain the same as the previous year. For more information, see Commission Order No. 29860. For second year, ITSAP surcharge decreases Case No. GNR-T-06-02, Order No. 30002 For the second year, a surcharge on residential, business and wireless phone lines to fund a telephone assistance program for low-income Idahoans is being reduced. --PAGE 44-- The assessment, currently at 7 cents per line per month, will decrease to 6 cents effective May 1. Last year the assessment was reduced from 12 cents to 7 cents per line per month. Revenue from the surcharge is used to fund the Idaho Telecommunications Service Assistance Program, or ITSAP, which in 2005 helped nearly 33,000 low-income Idahoans pay for basic local telephone service. ITSAP, sometimes referred to as “Lifeline,” helps to ensure that low-income Idahoans, including many senior citizens, have access to local dial-tone service for medical and other emergencies. ITSAP discounts $13.50 per month for those who qualify. Program eligibility is determined by the state Department of Health and Welfare, although the Idaho Public Utilities Commission establishes the amount of the state’s portion of the surcharge. Revenues from the surcharge provide about 30 percent of the total discount low- income Idahoans receive while federal funds provide the rest. A state match is required to qualify for the federal funds. Those qualifying for assistance increased by 6 percent during 2005 and administrative costs increased by 4 percent. But the growth in the number of wireless owners who contribute to the fund is more than offsetting the increase in disbursements. Wireless access lines increased nearly 21 percent to 775,000, resulting in an overall increase in the total number of access lines subject to the ITSAP surcharge of about 115,200. An annual report filed with the commission estimates the funding requirement for 2006 will be about $1,635,800. The report anticipates the number of ITSAP recipients will increase by 6 percent and administrative costs by 5 percent during 2006. However, the growth in access lines will allow the commission to decrease the surcharge and still allow for a positive fund balance at the end of the year, the report states. --PAGE 45-- --PAGE 46-- Telecommunication Utilities Under IPUC Rate Jurisdiction Albion Telephone Corp (ATC) P.O.Box 98 Albion, Idaho 83311-0098 208/675-5335 Cambridge Telephone Company P.O.Box 86 Cambridge, Idaho 83610-0086 208/257-3314 CenturyTel of Idaho, Inc. P.O.Box 1007 Salmon, Idaho 83467 208/756-3300 CenturyTel of the Gem State P.O.Box 9901 805 Broadway Vancouver, Washington 98668 360/905-5800 111 A Street Cheney, Washington 99114 509/235-3170 Frontier, A Citizens Communications Company 4 Triad Center, Suite 220 Salt Lake City, Utah 84180 801/321-6602 P.O.Box 926 201 Lenora Street McCall, Idaho 83638 208/634-6150 Inland Telephone Company 103 South Second Street P.O.Box 171 Roslyn, Washington 98941 Fremont Telecom, Inc. 110 E. Main Street St. Anthony, Idaho 83445 208/624-7300 Midvale Telephone Exchange P.O.Box 7 Midvale, Idaho 83645-0007 208/355-2211 Verizon Northwest, Inc. 17933 N.W. Evergreen Parkway P.O.Box 1100 Beaverton, Oregon 97075 503/629-2281 208/765-4351 (Coeur d’Alene) 800/483-4100 (Moscow) 208/263-0557, Ext. 204 (Sandpoint) Oregon-Idaho Utilities, Inc. P.O.Box 190310 Rincon Station San Francisco, California 94119 415/597-7811 714 Main Street P.O.Box 1406 Caldwell, Idaho 83605 208/454-7800 Pine Telephone System, Inc. P.O.Box 706 Halfway, Oregon 97834 541/742-2201 Potlatch Telephone Company P.O.Box 138 702 E. Main Street 208/835-2211 Kendrick, Idaho 83537 208/835-2211 Kendrick, Idaho 83537 Rockland Telephone Company, Inc. P.O.Box 269 147 W. 4th Avenue Rockland, Idaho 83271 208/548-2345 Rural Telephone Company 704 W. Madison Avenue Glenns Ferry, Idaho 83623 208/366-2614 Silver Star Telephone Company, Inc. P.O.Box 226 Freedom, Wyoming 83120 307/883-2411 Troy Telephone Company P.O.Box 138 702 E. Main Street Kendrick, Idaho 83837-0138 208/835-2211 Teton Telecom Communications P.O.Box 900 Driggs, Idaho 83422 208/354-3300 Qwest Communications North and South Idaho P.O.Box 7888 (83723) 999 Main Street Boise, Idaho 83702 800/244-1111 509/649-2211 --PAGE 47--