On September 10, the FCC’s Office of Managing Director (OMD) released a Public Notice announcing the proposed universal service contribution factor for the fourth quarter of 2021. The proposed unadjusted factor, which is slated to apply beginning in October, is .291 (29.1 percent).
Each quarter, OMD calculates a contribution factor that represents a ratio of total projected quarterly costs of universal service support mechanisms and the total projected collected end-user telecommunications revenues of contributors.
However, carrier obligation invoices will not ultimately reflect a .291 factor. USAC discounts each carrier’s contribution obligation by a set factor to account for a calculation circularity. The proposed circularity factor for the fourth quarter is .225384.
If no further action is taken by the FCC within 14 days of release of the notice, the proposal will be deemed approved.
