ORS 759.425(5) requires the Public Utility Commission of Oregon (PUC) to establish a uniform percentage surcharge on the sale of all intrastate retail telecommunications services sold in Oregon in an amount sufficient to support the purpose of the OUS fund. The obligation of all certified Oregon TSPs to contribute to the OUS fund began September 1, 2000.

The first payment of OUS contributions by TSPs was due February 28, 2001. That payment was based on retail revenues reported by the TSPs covering the four-month period from September 1, 2000, to December 31, 2000. Three-month quarterly reporting of retail revenues began January 1, 2001. For a complete schedule of payment dates, see Quarterly OUS 2 Revenue Reporting and Payment Schedule.

The OUS contribution rate is the rate that the OUS administrator applies to reported Oregon retail revenues for OUS fund collections from telecommunications providers. The OUS surcharge is the rate that telecommunications providers may bill end users for recovery of OUS contributions. The OUS contribution rate is slightly less than the OUS surcharge rate because the contribution base includes the surcharge billing amount.

TSPs may or may not choose to bill an end user surcharge. For those TSPs who wish to bill end users the retail OUS surcharge, the customer bill is to have a separate line item identified and labeled as: "Oregon Universal Service Surcharge of _____Percent" followed by the amount computed. In cases where there is limited billing space, reasonable abbreviations of the line item identification may be used. The authorized surcharge rate, however, should be identified on the bill so that the customer can understand why the amount might vary from month-to-month.

The following contribution and surcharge rates have been set by the PUC.