Frequently Asked Questions:
Expert Solutions for USF and Network Assurance

We partner with a wide range of clients, including large and small telecom carriers, internet service providers (ISPs), municipalities, and government entities.

With over 30 years of industry experience, ATS specializes in:

• Network assurance and testing
• Network performance monitoring 
• Voice
• Data
• Billing assurance
• Call record collection 
• CDR
• IPDR
• SS7
• Subpoena reporting
• Fraud
• Marketing analytics
• Customer right sizing
• Customer usage analysis
• Regulatory services
• USF consulting and traffic analysis
• ISP network testing for CAF, EACAM, RDOF and BEAD funding companies
• T911 readiness
• Workflow automation

Our solutions are designed to support Network Operations, Billing, Regulatory, Legal and Marketing departments.

ATS was founded in 1995 by Randall Guthrie,  The company has been working in the telecom space since 1996.  

We strive to integrate seamlessly as a member of your team rather than just a vendor. Our extensive industry knowledge makes it easy for your experts to explain operational difficulties they encounter on a day-to-day basis.  Our goal is to cultivate long-lasting partnerships where we serve as your best resource for all your operational and regulatory needs.  Many of our clients have been working with us for over 20 years.

No. Our solutions, such as ESAP, are cloud-based and designed to be easily integrated into your existing internal processes to enhance operational efficiency. We do all the heavy lifting.

We maintain a constantly updated blog covering developments in the telecom industry, such as Broadband Expansion and Deployment (BEAD) funds and USF reform. You can subscribe via our website to stay in the loop.

You can contact us directly to request a demo or discuss your specific data challenges. For example, if you want to reduce your USF contribution, you can send a us a sample of your call records and we can tell you how much money you could save with our solution.  There is no charge for a demo or an evaluation. 

Our traffic studies are designed to help you lower your costs for federal USF fees. By analyzing your specific traffic patterns rather than relying on Safe Harbor defaults, most carriers find they can significantly reduce their contribution requirements. 

You should consider a study if you suspect your actual customer traffic mix is “well below the safe harbor percentage”. If you are currently paying fees based on default safe harbor estimates, a study can provide the data necessary to justify a lower percentage. We have never done a traffic study that did not result in carrier savings.

We generate comprehensive reports for both VoIP and Wireless call traffic, and we can handle all call detail formats

We provide a completed traffic study prepared in the “required format for submission to USAC” (Universal Service Administrative Company). This ensures you have exactly what you need for regulatory compliance.

We understand that carriers have a “substantial amount of call traffic information” that can be difficult to manage internally. ATS will collect, store, and analyze your data. once we finalize the results, we will provide a statistically valid report proving your case. 

Our studies are based on statistically valid assumptions and procedures and have never been challenged.

In the context of the Universal Service Fund (USF), “Safe Harbor” is a regulatory provision that allows telecommunications providers to estimate the percentage of their revenue that is subject to federal USF fees.

Because the FCC only has jurisdiction to assess USF fees on interstate and international revenue (not intrastate/local), companies must determine what portion of their traffic crosses state lines.2 If a company cannot or chooses not to track the actual jurisdiction of every call, they can use the FCC’s “Safe Harbor” percentages as a simplified default.3

The current safe harbor percentages for the major categories of providers are:

The current safe harbor percentages for the major categories of providers are:

ATS usually turns around traffic studies within one to two weeks from the date we receive your data.

The cost of a traffic study varies according to the complexity of the data source, how easily the data can be retrieved and the amount of data to be analyzed. 

We have never run into a situation where Safe Harbor rates are lower than actual.   However, if you are concerned, ATS will review a sample of your data for free to see if it makes sense to do a detailed study and we will provide a fixed quote price for our services so there are no surprises.

The USF program has been under review for years.  The complexity and politics involved with an overhaul of the program will take years to complete.  Every day you wait to do a study costs you and your customers more money.  

In the world of the Federal Universal Service Fund (USF), De Minimis is a legal threshold. If a carrier’s calculated annual contribution to the USF is less than $10,000, they are considered “too small to bother with” for direct billing purposes. For 2026, the revenue threshold to remain De Minimis is $37,175 in interstate and international revenue.  The Benefit of being De Minimis is:

• Direct Exemption: You do not have to pay the quarterly USF fees directly to USAC (the administrator).
• Reduced Filings: You are typically exempt from filing the quarterly Form 499-Q, though you must still file the annual Form 499-A.
• Wholesale Advantage: Instead of paying the FCC, you pay your “upstream” wholesale provider. Because wholesalers often charge lower rates or apply fees differently, this can be significantly cheaper than direct contribution.

Using the FCC’s default “Safe Harbor” percentages (like 64.9% for VoIP) artificially inflates your reported interstate revenue. For many growing carriers, this “paper” inflation pushes them over the $10,000 contribution threshold, triggering expensive direct payment obligations and complex quarterly filings. A traffic study uses your actual call data to report a lower, more accurate percentage, allowing you to maintain De Minimis status and keep your regulatory costs significantly lower.

• Direct Exemption: You do not have to pay the quarterly USF fees directly to USAC (the administrator).
• Reduced Filings: You are typically exempt from filing the quarterly Form 499-Q, though you must still file the annual Form 499-A.
• Wholesale Advantage: Instead of paying the FCC, you pay your “upstream” wholesale provider. Because wholesalers often charge lower rates or apply fees differently, this can be significantly cheaper than direct contribution.