[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51622-51623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25791]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[CC Docket Nos. 96-45 and 97-160, DA 97-2050]


Federal State Joint Board on Universal Service; Forward-Looking 
Mechanism for High Cost Support for Non-Rural LECs

    Released September 24, 1997.

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed Rule; notice of meetings.

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SUMMARY: Each Wednesday, the Common Carrier Bureau holds meetings with 
the proponents of the Hatfield Model and the Benchmark Cost Proxy Model 
to solicit the model proponents' individual views on the models' 
current

[[Page 51623]]

features, the relative merits of the two models, and any changes that 
the proponents make in the two models. These meetings are open to the 
public. There will be no meeting on Wednesday, October 1, 1997. 
Instead, a meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 30, 1997. The 
hour and place will remain unchanged (1:00 pm to 4:00 pm in the 
conference room of the Universal Service Branch, 2100 M Street, N.W., 
Eighth Floor). Subsequent meetings will be held each Wednesday until 
further notice.

DATES: The next meeting will be held on September 30, 1997, 1:00 to 
4:00 p.m. Subsequent meetings will be held each Wednesday until further 
notice.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the Universal Service Branch, 
Federal Communications Commission, 2100 M St., NW., Eighth Floor 
Conference Room, Washington, D.C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Astrid Carlson, Universal Service 
Branch, Accounting & Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau (202) 418-
7369.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

October 1, 1997 Meeting on Forward-Looking Cost Mechanism For 
Universal Service Support For Non-Rural Carriers Rescheduled to 
September 30, 1997

    In the Universal Service Order released May 8, 1997, the 
Commission, acting on the recommendation of the Federal-State Joint 
Board, concluded that universal service support for non-rural carriers 
should be determined by subtracting a benchmark revenue amount from the 
forward-looking economic cost of providing the supported 
services.1 The Commission concluded that it should continue 
to review two cost models, the Hatfield Model and the Benchmark Cost 
Proxy Model (BCPM).2 The Commission further concluded that 
it would select the platform design features 3 of a forward-
looking economic cost mechanism by December 31, 1997, and select a 
complete mechanism, including input values, by August 1998.4 
In a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in this proceeding, 
the Commission stated that it would consider a hybrid mechanism, 
combining the best features of both models, and might also ``study 
alternative algorithms and approaches that could be submitted by 
parties other than model sponsors or that could be generated internally 
by Commission staff.'' 5
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    \1\ Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, CC Docket 
No. 96-45, Report and Order, FCC 97-157, (released May 8, 1997) 62 
FR 32862 (June 17, 1997) (Order) at paras. 199-201.
    \2\ The proponents of the Hatfield Model are AT&T and MCI. The 
proponents of BCPM are US West, Sprint, and BellSouth. See Order at 
Appendix J for a description of the Hatfield Model and BCPM.
    \3\ In the context of a forward-looking economic cost mechanism, 
the ``platform'' refers to the fixed algorithms and assumptions 
built into a cost model, as contrasted with user-specified 
``inputs'' into a cost model. See Federal-State Joint Board on 
Universal Service, Forward Looking Mechanism for High Cost Support 
for Non-Rural LECs, CC Docket Nos. 96-45 and 97-160, Further Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 97-256 (released July 18, 1997) 62 FR 
42457 (August 7, 1997) (FNPRM) at paras. 17-18.
    \4\ Order at para. 245.
    \5\ FNPRM at para. 35.
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    As part of the process of considering mechanisms for computing the 
forward-looking economic cost of providing the supported services in 
rural, insular, and high cost areas, the Common Carrier Bureau and the 
staff of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service hold 
meetings each Wednesday with the proponents of the Hatfield Model and 
the Benchmark Cost Proxy Model (BCPM) to solicit the model proponents' 
individual views on the models' current features, the relative mertis 
of the two models, and any changes that the proponents may make in the 
two models.
    These meetings are open to the public. There will be no meeting on 
Wednesday, October 1, 1997. Instead, a meeting will be held on Tuesday, 
September 30, 1997. The hour and the place will remain unchanged (1 pm 
to 4 pm in the conference room of the Universal Service Branch, 2100 M 
Street, NW, Eighth Floor). Subsequent meetings will be held each 
Wednesday until further notice.
    For further information about these workshops, contact Chuck 
Keller, (202) 418-7380, [email protected].

Federal Communications Commission.
Timothy A. Peterson,
Deputy Chief, Division.
[FR Doc. 97-25791 Filed 9-30-97; 10:36 am]
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