| (a) Purpose. This section establishes guidelines for
financial assistance to eligible telecommunications providers (ETPs)
that provide service in the study areas of small and rural ILECs in
the state so that basic local telecommunications service or its equivalent
may be provided at reasonable rates in a competitively neutral manner.
(b) Application.
(1) Small or rural ILECs. This section applies to small
ILECs, as defined in subsection (c) of this section, and to rural
ILECs, as defined in §26.5 of this title (relating to Definitions),
that have been designated ETPs.
(2) Other ETPs providing service in small or rural
ILEC study areas. This section applies to telecommunications providers
other than small or rural ILECs that provide service in small or rural
ILEC study areas that have been designated ETPs.
(c) Definitions. The following words and terms when
used in this section have the following meaning unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) Business line--The telecommunications facilities
providing the communications channel that serves a single-line business
customer's service address. For the purpose of this definition, a
single-line business line is one to which multi-line hunting, trunking,
or other special capabilities do not apply. For a line served by an
ILEC, a business line is a line served in accordance with the ILEC's
business service tariff or a package that includes such a tariffed
service. For a line served by an ILEC in accordance with a customer
specific contract or that is otherwise not served in accordance with
a tariff, to qualify as a business line, the service must be provided
in accordance with a customer application, subscriber agreement, or
contract entered into by a public or private organization of any character,
or a representative or agent of such entity, irrespective of the person
or entity in actual possession of the telephone device. For a line
that is served by an ETP other than an ILEC, to qualify as a business
line, the service must be provided in accordance with a customer application,
subscriber agreement, or contract entered into by a public or private
organization of any character, or a representative or agent of such
entity, irrespective of the person or entity in actual possession
of the telephone device.
(2) Eligible line--A residential line or a single-line
business line over which an ETP provides the service supported by
the Small and Rural ILEC Universal Service Plan (SRILEC USP) through
its own facilities, purchase of unbundled network elements (UNEs),
or a combination of its own facilities and purchase of UNEs. An eligible
line may be a business line or a residential line but cannot be both.
(3) Eligible telecommunications provider (ETP)--A telecommunications
provider designated by the commission in accordance with §26.417
of this title (relating to Designation as Eligible Telecommunications
Providers to Receive Texas Universal Service Funds (TUSF)).
(4) Physical 911 address--For the purposes of this
section, a physical 911 address is an address transmitted to the applicable
emergency service providers by an ETP with respect to a line that
is not stated in GPS coordinates.
(5) Residential line--The telecommunications facilities
providing the communications channel that serves a residential customer's
service address. For the purpose of this definition, a residential
line is one to which multi-line hunting, trunking, or other special
capabilities do not apply. A line that qualifies as a business line
does not qualify as a residential line.
(6) Service Address--For the purposes of this section,
a business or residential customer's service address is defined using
the following criteria:
(A) A service address is the unique physical street
address, including any suite or unit number, where a line is provided
to a customer, except as provided in clauses (i)-(ii) and subparagraph
(B) of this paragraph.
(i) If no unique physical street address is available,
a physical 911 address must be used.
(ii) If no unique physical street address and no physical
911 address are available, the business or residential customer's
service address must be an area of land under common operation or
use as defined by a deed, state permit, lease name, or licensed or
registered field of operation, which must be described by an ETP using
GPS coordinates. Multiple buildings within a single area of land under
common operation or use do not qualify as separate service addresses,
even if the GPS coordinates for each building are different.
(B) For eligible lines served using commercial mobile
radio service, a service address for such a line may be the customer's
billing address for the purposes of this definition.
(7) Small incumbent local exchange company--An incumbent
local exchange (ILEC) that qualifies as a "small local exchange company"
as defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA), §53.304(a)(1).
(d) Service to be supported by the SRILEC USP. The
SRILEC USP must support the provision by ETPs of basic local telecommunications
service. as defined in §26.403(d) of this title (relating to
Texas High Cost Universal Service Plan (THCUSP)) and is limited to
those services carried on all residential lines and the first five
single-line business lines at a business customer's service address
for which a flat rate plan is an available option.
(e) Criteria for determining amount of support under
SRILEC USP. The commission will determine the amount of per-line support
to be made available to ETPs in each eligible study area in accordance
with this section. The amount of support available to each ETP must
be calculated using the small and rural ILEC ETP base support amount
and applying the annual reductions as described in this subsection.
(1) Determining base support amount available to ETPs.
The initial per-line monthly base support amount for a small or rural
ILEC ETP must be the per-line monthly support amount for each small
or rural ILEC ETP study area as specified in Docket Number 18516,
annualized by using the small or rural ILEC ETP access line count
as of January 1, 2012. The initial per-line monthly base support amount
must be reduced as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(2) Determination of the reasonable rate.
(A) The reasonable rate for basic local telecommunications
service must be determined by the commission in a contested case proceeding.
An increase to an existing rate must not in any one year exceed an
amount to be determined by the commission in the contested case proceeding.
(B) The length of the transition period applicable
to the reduction in support calculated under paragraph (3) of this
subsection must be determined in the contested case proceeding.
(3) Annual reductions to the SRILEC USP. As part of
the contested case proceeding referenced in paragraph (2) of this
subsection, for each small or rural ILEC ETP, the commission will
calculate the amount of additional revenue, using the basic telecommunications
service rate (the tariffed local service rate plus any additional
charges for tone dialing services, mandatory expanded local calling
service and mandatory extended area service) and the access line count
as of September 1, 2013, would result if the small and rural ILEC
ETP were to charge the reasonable rate for basic local telecommunications
service to all residential customers. Without regard to whether a
small or rural ILEC ETP increases its rates for basic local telecommunications
service to the reasonable rate, the small or rural ILEC ETP's annual
base support amount for each study area will be reduced on January
1 of each year for four consecutive years, with the first reduction
occurring on January 1, 2014. The small or rural ILEC ETP's annual
base support amount must be reduced by 25% of the additional revenue
calculated in accordance with this paragraph in each year of the transition
period, unless specified otherwise in accordance with paragraph (2)(B)
of this subsection. This reduction must be accomplished by reducing
support for each study area proportionally. An ILEC ETP may, in its
sole discretion, accelerate its SRILEC USP reduction in any year by
as much as 10% and offset such reductions with a corresponding local
rate increase in order to produce rounded rates.
(f) SRILEC USP support payments to ETPs. The TUSF administrator
must disburse monthly support payments to ETPs qualified to receive
support in accordance with this section.
(1) Payments to small or rural ILEC ETPs. The payment
to each small or rural ILEC ETP must be computed by multiplying the
per-line amount established in subsection (e) of this section by the
number of eligible lines served by the small or rural ILEC ETP for
the month.
Cont'd... |
