Who  must file Reports and Pay Assessments

What revenue is subject to the Wyoming USF Assessment

Where to file Report Forms and Pay Assessment Amounts

When to file Reports and Pay Assessments

How  much Assessment to Pay

Which  line to Use to Report Revenue?

Forms  to Get Report and Remittance

Penalty  for Late Payments

Who Must File Reports and Pay Assessments?

All telecommunication companies realizing intrastate revenue from operations in Wyoming are required to report such gross revenue to the universal service fund manager, and to pay into the universal service fund. The assessment amount is calculated by multiplying the company's gross revenue net of any wholesale transactions by the applicable assessment rate.
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How to Get Report and Remittance Forms?

Since you are already here, just download a form from the "Forms" page of this website. If that is not possible, please contact us so that we can mail or fax you a report and remittance form. File the form as instructed, writing "new" in the space provided on the form for your company reporting code. A reporting code, your WY#, will be provided to you at your address shown on the form.
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Where to File Report Forms and Pay Assessment Amounts?

Typically, a telecommunication company files its revenue report and makes its assessment payment together, usually by First-Class U.S. Mail. Some companies choose to use an express courier service. You can file your reports and make your payments as follows:

by Mail or Express:
Mail your report and your payment to:
Wyoming Universal Service Fund
2515 Warren Avenue - Suite 300
Cheyenne, WY 82002

If you choose to use an express courier then you may express your package to the Wyoming Public Service Commission, 2515 Warren Ave., Suite 300, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002.  OR,
by Fax:
Fax your report to the Wyoming Universal Service Fund at 307-777-5700, then mail or express your payment as described above.

Payments by check are encouraged. Make checks payable to the "Wyoming Universal Service Fund". Please write your company's reporting code on your check..

It is possible to make payments directly to the Wyoming State Treasurer's Office by ACH or EFT. Prior approval is required. If your are interested in making payments by ACH, CTX or EFT, please contact the WUSF manager for more information.
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When to File Reports and Pay Assessments?

An assessment payments (and the reports related to such payments) are due within 30 days of the close of any calendar month in which you have any Wyoming retail intrastate revenue, e.g. if you recognize such revenue in July of 2003, then your report and payment is due on or before August 30, 2003.

There is no rule which requires you to file a report showing zero revenue. Nevertheless, if you intend to do business in Wyoming, the manager requests that you file reports on a quarterly basis. Your report would be due within 30 days of the close of any calendar quarter in which you have NO Wyoming retail intrastate revenue, e.g. if you recognize no such revenue in July, August and September, then your report is due on or before October 30, 2003.

The Wyoming PSC is considering the manager's proposal to reduce the frequency for filing small revenue reports and assessment payments. The proposed rule change would require reports and payments (1) when a reporting company's assessment liability exceeds $100 or (2) after the close of every calendar quarter, whichever occurs first.
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Penalty for Late Payments?

Yes. Assessment amounts not timely paid when due shall be subject to a penalty assessment equal to one and one-half percent (1.5%) for each month, or part thereof, that the assessment amount remains unpaid. Both the report and payment should be postmarked on or before the last day of the month following the end of the reporting month (i.e. the report and payment for March should be sent on or before April 30). The penalty calculation and assessment is based only on the receipt of the payment not the report.  If the actual revenue for the month is not known within enough time to get a timely payment made, then an estimated report and payment should be filed.  The actual revenue should then be reported on a true up or amended report. 
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What Revenue is Subject to the Wyoming USF Assessment?

LOCAL SERVICES

Assessable Revenue                                    Non Assessable Revenue

    Basic Service                                               *  Access Charges (wholesale)

    Toll Charges                                                 ** Access Charges (retail)

    Connection Charges                                         Installation/Wiring

    Enhanced Services                                          Alternative Access & Directory

    Operator Services

    Directory Assistance

    Pay Phone

    Private Line

    Voice Mail

    Reconnection Fees

    Late Payment Charges

    Change of Long Distance Carrier Fee

    Optional Calling Plans Monthly Charges

LONG DISTANCE SERVICES

Assessable Revenue                                    Non Assessable Revenue

    Toll Charges                                                 *  Access Charges (wholesale)

    Connection Charges                                      ** Access Charges (retail)

    800 Numbers                                                *  Prepaid Calling Card (wholesale)

    WATS                                                             Alternative Access & Directory

    Enhanced Services

    Operator Services

    Directory Assistance

    Pay Phone

    Private Line

    900 Numbers

    Voice Mail

    Reconnection Fees

    Late Payment Fees

    Optional Calling Plans Monthly Charges

CELLULAR SERVICES

Assessable Revenue

    Basic Service

    Airtime Charges

    "In-Collect" Roaming Charges

    "Out-Collect" Roaming Charges

    Activation/Deactivation Charges

    Connection Charges

    Enhanced Services

OTHER SERVICES

Assessable Revenue                                    Non Assessable Revenue

    Stationary Two-way Radio                              Faxing Service

    Dispatch Communication Service                    Answering Service

    Teleconferencing                                            Telegraph

    Paging                                                          Teletypewriter

* Wholesale is any sale to a retailer who then sells to an end user.

** Retail is any sale to an end user.
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How Much Assessment to Pay?

The amount of your assessment is calculated by multiplying your intrastate revenue from operations in Wyoming by the applicable assessment rate. The assessment rate has fluctuated since Wyoming implemented its universal service fund, and so the assessment rate depends on when the revenue was recognized for your accounting purposes. See the chart below for the historic rates.

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Which Line to Use to Report Revenue?
Line-by-Line Instructions. References are to Form WUSF 1

Line 1. Local exchange service. Wyoming Statute 37-15-103(a)(viii) Local exchange service means the provision of essential telecommunications service within a local exchange area. Essential telecommunications service means a customer's access to service that is necessary for the origination or termination, or both, of two-way, switched telecommunications for both residential and business service within a local exchange area. Essential telecommunications services are limited to: (A) access to interexchange services provided by interexchange telecommunications companies; (B) single line flat-rate or single line measured residence or business service; (C) transmission service and facilities necessary for the connection between the end user's or customer's premises or location and the local network switching facility including the necessary signaling service used by customers to access essential telecommunications services; (D) services necessary to connect 911 emergency services to the local network; (E) switched access, which for the purposes of this chapter shall mean the switching and transport necessary to connect an interexchange telecommunications company with the local exchange central office for the purpose of originating or terminating, or both, the interexchange telecommunications company's switched telecommunications service.

Line 2. Local private line. Private line definition from Newton's Telecom Dictionary: (1) A direct channel specifically dedicated to a customer's use between specified points. A line leased from a carrier, local or long distance. A non-switched circuit. One end of the line is directly connected to the other end. Here's the AT&T definition of a private line, "A dedicated, non-switchable link from one or more customer-specified locations to one or more customer-specified locations. . ." Private networks comprise numbers of private lines. Originally, private lines were, in fact, dedicated circuits which literally could be physically traced through the network. They also were known as "nailed-up circuits," as telephone company technicians hung the circuits on nails driven into the walls of the central offices. Contemporary private lines actually involved dedicated channel capacity provided over high-capacity, multi-channel transmission facilities. (2) An outside telephone line, with a separate telephone number, which is separate from the private branch exchange. The line is a standard business line which goes around the Private Automatic Branch Exchange. It connects the user directly with the local exchange carrier central office, rather than going through the Private Branch Exchange. Private lines connections are considered to be very "private" by virtue of the fact that it is not possible for a third party (e.g., technician or console attendant) to listen to conversations without placing a physical tap on the circuit. Additionally, private lines are not subject to congestion in the private branch exchange. As private lines also are not susceptible to catastrophic private branch exchange failure, they often are used to provide fail safe communications to key individuals with mission-critical responsibilities to data centers, network operations centers, and the like.

Local private line revenue as described by the FCC rules: This account shall include revenue derived from local services that involve dedicated circuits, private switching arrangements, and/or predefined transmission paths, whether virtual or physical, which provide communications between specific locations (e.g., point-to-point communications). It includes revenue from subvoice grade, voice grade, audio and video program grade, digital transmission and local private network switching as well as the revenue from administrative and operational support services associated with private network services and facilities, e.g., charges for company-directed testing, expedited installation, and service restoration priority.

Line 3. Cellular/PCS/Mobile. Cellular Mobile Telephone System (CMTS) definition from Newton's Telecom Dictionary: The original and still most common CMTS is a low powered, duplex, radio/telephone which operates between 800 and 900 MHZ, using multiple transceiver sites linked to a central computer for coordination. The sites, or "cells" named for their honeycomb shape, cover a range of one to six, or more, miles in each direction. The cells overlap one another and operate in different transmitting and receiving frequencies in order to eliminate crosstalk when transmitting from cell to cell. Each cell can accommodate up to 45 different voice channel transceivers.

Personal Communications Service (PCS): A new, lower powered, higher-frequency competitive technology to cellular. Whereas cellular typically operates in the 800-900 MHZ range, PCS operates in the 1.5 to 1.8 Ghz range. The idea with PCS is that the phones are cheaper, have less range, are digital, the cells would be smaller and closer together and the air time would be cheaper also.

Line 4. Intrastate switched toll. Includes interexchange toll, i.e. between exchanges.

Intrastate defined by Newton's Telecom Dictionary: Remaining entirely within the boundaries of a single state and, therefore, if related to telephone, falling under the jurisdiction of that state's telephone regulatory procedures.

Switch defined by Newton's Telecom Dictionary: A mechanical, electrical or electronic device which opens or closes circuits, completes or breaks an electrical path, or selects paths or circuits.

Exchange defined by Newton's Telecom Dictionary: A geographic area established by a common communications carrier for the administration and pricing of telecommunications services in a specific area that usually includes a city, town or village. An exchange consists of one or more central offices and their associated facilities. An exchange is not the same as a LATA. A LATA consists of several adjacent exchanges.

Line 5. Toll private line. Private Line - See above for Local private line. Toll equates to long distance. Long distance private network revenue as defined by FCC rules: . . . It shall include revenue derived from services extending beyond the basic service area that involve dedicated circuits, private switching arrangements, and/or predefined transmission paths, whether virtual or physical, which provide communications between specific locations (e.g., point-to-point communications.)

Line 6. Alternative access and directory. Alternative access provider as defined by Newton's Telecom Dictionary. A carrier providing local access and transport other than the primary local exchange carrier. Directories are Telephone Books, White Pages, Yellow Pages, etc.

Line 7. Paging. Although one-way paging companies are no longer subject to regulation by the Wyoming Public Service Commission, the Commission has recently ruled that the Wyoming intrastate revenue recognized by one-way paging companies is revenue which must be reported and assessed for purposes of the Wyoming universal service fund. One-way paging companies are interconnected to the public switched network. See In re Versatel Communications, Docket No. 90072-XO-99-7.

Line 8. Pay telephone. Payphone as defined by Newton's Telecom Dictionary Used to be just a public phone that accepted only coins. Now pay phones can be coinless and can read credit cards. Soon they will be acquiring keyboards, computer screens, and dataports for plugging in fax machines and portable computers. (The payphone was invented by William Gray, an American whose previous inventions included the inflatable chest protector for baseball players.)

Line 9. Other services and charges. This should include any telecommunications revenue that isn't otherwise included above. The enabling legislation states that "all telecommunications companies shall contribute to the universal service fund." W.S. § 37-15-501(a). The FCC rules might provide some examples of revenues/services, such as: call forwarding, call waiting and touch-tone line service.

Line 11. Deduction of wholesale revenue. The universal service fund assessment rate only applies to retail, not wholesale, revenue. Wholesale services include, but are not limited to: switched access; the use of software defined network services for purposes of resale; interconnection for the resale of local services; and the use of wide area telecommunications service for the purposes of resale.
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