The FCC’s Office of Managing Director (OMD) has announced that the proposed universal service contribution factor for the second quarter (Q2) of 2017 will be 0.174 or 17.4 percent. This is a 0.7 point increase from the 16.7 percent contribution factor that was used for the first quarter of 2017. OMD projects that the total collected interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenues for Q2 2017 will be $13.6 billion, while the projected revenue needed to fund all four universal service fund mechanisms in Q2 2017 is $1.99 billion. The projected total demand and expenses for each universal service fund support mechanism for the second quarter of 2015 are as follows: Schools and Libraries – $402 million; Rural Health Care – $101 million, High-Cost – $1.13 billion; and Low Income – $358 million. If the FCC takes no action on the proposed contribution factor within 14 days following its announcement, the rate will be declared approved.
