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Oklahoma AT&T customers will notice an increase on their phone bills this month. Their contribution to underwrite the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund rose almost five times, effective July 1.

AT&T recently notified the Corporation Commission that it would raise the OUSF rate from 75 cents a month to $3.91 a month.

In a May filing on the matter, Corporation Commission Bob Anthony said, "Oklahomans should pay more attention to the obscure, yet ever-increasing OUSF charges on their phone bills."

Created in 1997 by the Legislature, the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund provides subsidies without direct taxation for primary universal service and free services for schools, libraries, hospitals that provide telemedicine and county governments.

The Federal Communications Commission recently announced that the third quarter 2019 universal service contribution factor would be 24.4 percent. As a result, the projected program support would be $2.2 billion for the Universal Service Fund nationwide.

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