Who is Exempt

The following entities are exempt from registering with USAC for the purposes of contributing to the USF:

• Marketing agents that market services on behalf of a telecommunications provider – the amounts remitted to, or retained by, the marketing agent are treated as expenses of the underlying provider and may not be deducted from the provider’s revenues.
• Providers that offer telecommunications for a fee exclusively on a non-common carrier basis, and are one of the following:
  • Government entities that purchase telecommunications services in bulk on behalf of themselves, such as state networks for schools and libraries,
  • Public safety and local governmental entities licensed under Subpart B of Part 90 of the Commission’s rules or any entity providing interstate telecommunications exclusively to public safety or government entities that do not offer services to others,
  • Broadcasters, non-profit schools, non-profit libraries, non-profit colleges, non-profit universities, and non-profit health care providers,
  • Systems integrators that derive less than five percent of their systems integration revenues from the resale of telecommunications, or
  • Entities that provide telecommunications only to themselves or to commonly-owned affiliates.

  Some providers may be exempt from contributing to the universal service fund but nevertheless must file FCC Form 499-A because they are required to contribute to TRS, NANPA, or LNPA. There are no exemptions from registering for a 499 Filer ID for providers/resellers of VoIP services because they are subject to TRS contributions.