Federal universal service support for wireless carriers should be...

Federal universal service support for wireless carriers should be limited to one connection per household to help support broadband deployment to unserved areas, Qwest said in an ex parte filing. Fifty-two percent of wireless lines are in family plan packages and on average there are 2.8 handsets per wireless family plan, the telco said. Based on 2007 wireless market data, “Qwest’s calculations reflect an estimated Universal Service Fund savings of $463 million if USF high-cost support were limited to one handset per wireless family plan.” To perform its calculations, Qwest assumed that all competitive eligible telecommunications carriers receiving high-cost support are wireless providers.