Universal Home Telephone Service Act of 1983

Universal Home Telephone Service Act of 1983 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require that the End User Common Line charge for residential telephone subscribers shall be four dollars less than the amount charged for nonresidential telephone subscribers. Prohibits assessing any such charge to residential subscribers before January 1, 1985. Sets forth a formula for eventually recovering the Basic Factor Portion of the Carrier Common Revenue Requirement through End User Common Line charges each year from residential subscribers.

Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Board which shall establish a Universal Service Fund. Authorizes the Exchange Carriers' Association to administer the Fund. Requires the Fund to be funded by a universal service charge on all interexchange and intraexchange telecommunications service and facilities other than regulated telephone service. Requires the Board, with FCC approval, to establish rules to determine the annual total lifeline subsidy and the amount to be contributed annually to the Fund by carriers providing telephone toll service and bypass service. Imposes a fine for intentionally failing to pay a universal service charge.

Requires the Board, with FCC approval, to establish rules governing Fund distributions for the costs of lifeline subsidies. Requires the Board, with FCC approval, to distribute annually to eligible exchange carriers funds sufficient to cover 50 percent of each carrier's lifeline subsidy (the cost of providing discounted service to eligible individuals). Prohibits a carrier from being eligible for such distributions unless the carrier offers lifeline telephone service. Provides that individuals receiving aid to families with dependent children, supplemental security income benefits, or benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 shall be eligible for lifeline telephone service. Requires State commissions to establish rules for obtaining lifeline telephone service.

Entitles an exchange common carrier to receive payments from the Fund if the amount that its average costs for non-traffic-sensitive facilities per customer access line exceeds the national average of such costs in accordance with a specified formula.

Provides that the Communications Act of 1934 shall govern interLATA (local access and transport area) communications.

Authorizes the FCC to exempt common carriers from regulation if the FCC determines that an adequate level of competition exists in a market or geographic area.

Requires the Board and the FCC to report annually to Congress on the administration of this Act, the costs of the program established by this Act, distributions from the Fund, and the extent to which the purposes of this Act have been achieved.