Dive Summary:

• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking to expand the entities that would have to contribute to the Universal Service Fund (USF) to include smart meter technology; traditionally, phone companies have filled the USF.
• The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) said that not only doesn’t smart grid tech fit as an “information service,” but also that including the tech would discourage deployment and increase energy costs to rural customers.
• The NRECA also asked the FCC to exclude smart tech in order to support marketplace innovation.

From the article:

Phone companies and their customers have been the traditional source of money for the Universal Service Fund, which was established to help meet the goal of universal telecommunications service. As of the third quarter of 2012, the fee was 15.7 percent of a telecom company’s interstate and end-user revenues.

That method is now considered outdated, and the Federal Communications Commission is looking to expand the entities that would have to contribute to the USF. ...