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Harrisonville Telephone Co. v. Illinois Commerce Comm'n

Case Date: 12/31/1969
Court: Supreme Court
Docket No: 97172 Rel

Docket No. 97172-Agenda 18-May 2004.

HARRISONVILLE TELEPHONE COMPANY et al., Appellees, v.
THE ILLINOIS COMMERCE COMMISSION, Appellant.

Opinion filed September 23, 2004.
 

JUSTICE FITZGERALD delivered the opinion of the court:

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) appeals the decisionof the appellate court in favor of the Illinois Independent TelephoneAssociation and six rural telephone companies or local exchangecarriers (LECs).(1) The central issue here is what the Illinois GeneralAssembly meant when it ordered the ICC to establish a "universalservice support fund" (USF) in section 13-301(d) of the PublicUtilities Act (220 ILCS 5/13-301(d) (West 2002)). Did the legislatureintend for the fund to support all rural telephone lines, or only a singleline for each residence or business? We agree with the appellate courtthat universal means universal and that the legislature intended thefund to support all lines. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

In 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)established a federal universal service fund (USF) to help ruraltelephone companies defray the high costs of providing publictelephone service to sparsely populated areas. Because the federalUSF covered only part of these costs, the General Assembly amendedsection 13-301(d) of the Public Utilities Act in 1999, ordering theICC to investigate and, if need be, establish a state USF. 220 ILCS5/13-301(d) (West 2002). The source of the state USF would be "alllocal exchange and interexchange telecommunications carrierscertificated in Illinois on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatorybasis." 220 ILCS 5/13-301(d) (West 2002). In short, the fund wouldbe repaid by telephone customers throughout Illinois in surchargestacked onto their telephone bills. The General Assembly furtherinstructed the ICC to define which telecommunications servicesconstitute "universal service," noting that the state definition shouldbe at least as broad as the federal definition promulgated by the FCC.220 ILCS 5/13-301(e)(1) (West 2002). The FCC has listed nine"services designated for support," including "voice grade access to thepublic switched network." 47 C.F.R.