T-Mobile Seeks 9th Circuit Review of Injunction Denial in Calif. USF Case

T-Mobile appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a district court refused to stop California from switching to a connections-based method for state USF contribution. The carrier notified the U.S. District Court for Northern California about the appeal Monday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler for Northern California late Friday denied the motion of T-Mobile and its subsidiaries for a preliminary injunction that sought to block the California Public Utilities Commission's change to a $1.11 monthly per-line fee from the previous revenue-based mechanism. The CPUC order took effect Saturday.

T-Mobile had argued the connections-based method was clearly inconsistent with the FCC’s revenue-based mechanism for federal USF. The district judge said the California method was different, but plaintiffs failed to show it was inconsistent and preempted.