Few can argue that having a telephone is one of life’s basic necessities, especially in times of an emergency.  The Utah Telephone Assistance (Lifeline) Program (UTAP) is a program designed to assist eligible households with their monthly basic local telephone service.  The program provides a monthly discount of about $13.50 to low-income customers on their primary land line only.  The discount is applied to basic local telephone service only, but does not prohibit a customer from choosing additional features.  There are no resources available to help with long distance calling charges.  Currently cellular phones are not eligible for UTAP.

Discounts are applied when telephone service is acquired through an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC).  NOTE:  Click on Telephone Companies on the left menu for a list of ETCs operating in Utah and the areas they cover. 

LINK-UP:   Households that do not currently have telephone service, LINK-UP provides eligible households with discounts of half (up to $30.00) off the initial cost of telephone installation.  UTAP & LINK-UP are available to both new and current customers. 

Households are eligible for LINK-UP once a year.  Issues around outstanding bills may be worked out with a local telephone company.  Encourage the client to call his telephone carrier to see what arrangements might be considered. 

UTAP Funding

The program is funded through state and federal funds and is now being administered by the Utah Department of Community and Culture (DCC) through a Memorandum of Agreement with the Utah Public Service Commission and the Department of Commerce.                             

The funding for this program comes from two sources, the Federal Universal Fund and the Utah Universal Service Support Fund. 

Federal Universal Service Fund

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress recognize that telephone service provides a vital link to emergency services, government services, and surrounding communities. To help promote telecommunications service nationwide, the FCC, as directed by Congress, developed the Federal Universal Service Fund.

The Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF) is a fund administered by the FCC that collects a fee assessed on all interstate telecommunications revenue which is then disbursed for a variety of subsidies including: subsidizing phone service for low-income consumers, subsidizing telephone service and infrastructure in high-cost areas (generally sparsely populated rural areas), and subsidizing communications services for schools, libraries, and rural healthcare purposes.

The FCC requires telephone companies to pay into the Federal Universal Service Fund, but does not require the cost to be passed on to customers; however, many long-distance providers do so anyway.  Therefore, most telephone bills will have a charge relating to the FUSF, also known as Federal Universal Service Fee, Universal Connectivity Charge, and Universal Service Carrier Charge.  The amount of these charges can vary from one long distance carrier to another.  The FCC requires long-distance carriers to participate in this federal program. 

Utah Universal Service Support Fund (USSF)

The USSF is another charge placed on customers’ telephone bills.  This surcharge is used to fund the Utah Universal Public Telecommunications Service Support Fund.  The purpose is to preserve and promote universal service within the state by ensuring that customers have access to affordable basic telephone service.  The USSF provides subsidies to local telephone companies to help pay the cost of providing telephone service into high cost locations.  

The Utah State Public Service Commission, The Utah Department of Commerce, and the Division of Public Utilities

The Utah Department of Commerce (DOC), Division of Public Utilities (DPU), audits and tracks utility operations including telecommunications.  The Division makes recommendations to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for rate-making purposes, applications, hearings and other issues affecting quality of service. The Division also handles and investigates consumer complaints and monitors utility operations to ensure compliance with Public Service Commission rules, regulations and orders.

The Telecommunications Section helps the Public Service Commission regulate local telephone companies in Utah. These companies include Qwest Communications (formerly US West), Citizens Telecommunications Company and a dozen smaller independent local exchange telephone companies and cooperatives.