V. California's ULTS Program
The Commission established the ULTS program in 1984 in compliance with the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act. ULTS is an income-based program providing discounted basic telephone services to qualifying low-income households. Eligibility is based on a consumer's self-certification declaring, under penalty of perjury, that his/her household income meets the ULTS income guidelines. This self-certification is required on initiation of service, and annually thereafter. The ULTS eligibility criteria currently employed in California is consistent with sections 54.409 and 54.415 of the FCC's rules9, thereby, eligible for the Lifeline/Link-Up funding.
ULTS discounted services are provided by incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs)10 and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs)11 which, in turn, receive reimbursement from the ULTS fund net of payments from the federal Lifeline/Link-Up programs. ULTS currently serves over 3.3 million low-income households with an annual cost in excess of $570 million.
9 47 C.F.R. § 54.409(a) provides "[t]o qualify to receive Lifeline service in a state that mandates state Lifeline support, a consumer must meet the eligibility criteria established by the state commission for such support. The state commission shall establish narrowly targeted qualification criteria that are based solely on income or factors directly related to income." 10 All 21 ILECs are designated as ETCs and have been receiving federal Lifeline/Link-Up support for their ULTS customers. They serve over 90% of the total ULTS customers. 11 The 24 CLECs that had received or are receiving reimbursements from the ULTS program are not ETCs. Since these CLECs are not eligible for the federal Lifeline/Link-Up support, they have been reimbursed wholly by ULTS.
