[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 47 (Monday, March 11, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 10846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5675]



[[Page 10846]]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[CC Docket 96-45; FCC 02-41]


Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission asks the Joint Board to begin 
a comprehensive review of the non-rural high-cost support mechanism. In 
light of the need to act expeditiously on the issues, the Commission 
will delay initiation of a proceeding to consider future action on the 
rural high-cost support mechanism.

DATES: Comments are due April 10, 2002. Reply comments are due April 
25, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie King at (202) 418-7491 or 
Jennifer Schneider at (202) 418-0425 in the Accounting Policy Division, 
Common Carrier Bureau.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order 
in CC Docket No. 96-45 released on February 15, 2002. The Order is 
related to a Notice of a Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that is published 
elsewhere in this issue. The full text of this document is available 
for public inspection during regular business hours in the FCC 
Reference Center, Room CY-A257, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20554.

I. Introduction

    1. In this Order, the Commission refers the record collected in the 
NPRM to the Joint Board for a recommended decision. In the NPRM, the 
Commission seeks comment on issues from the Ninth Report and Order, 66 
FR 67416, December 1, 1999, remanded by the United States Court of 
Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. As part of the referral, the Commission 
also asks the Joint Board to begin a comprehensive review of the non-
rural high-cost support mechanism. In light of the need to act 
expeditiously on the issues on remand, the Commission will delay 
initiation of a proceeding to consider future action on the rural high-
cost support mechanism.

II. The Commission's Plan for Universal Service and Joint Board 
Referral

    2. The Joint Board has previously considered and given 
recommendations on many of the issues in this docket. The Commission 
concludes that further Joint Board input will be beneficial for 
consideration of the issues on remand. Accordingly, the Commission 
refers the issues described in the NPRM, and the record developed 
herein, to the Joint Board for a recommended decision. Specifically, 
the Commission asks the Joint Board to provide a recommended decision 
on (1) how the Commission should define the key statutory terms 
``reasonably comparable'' and ``sufficient''; (2) whether, in light of 
the interpretation of those key statutory terms, the Commission can and 
should maintain the previously established benchmark or, in the 
alternative, should adopt a new benchmark or benchmarks; and (3) how 
the Commission should induce states to implement state universal 
service policies. The Commission intends these referral issues to 
encompass the review of the non-rural mechanism that the Commission 
previously stated would occur by January 1, 2003. At their core, the 
issues on remand require an examination of the non-rural mechanism. The 
Commission directs the Joint Board to base its recommended decision on 
the record developed from the NPRM and present its recommended decision 
to the Commission no later than August 15, 2002. The Commission will 
then expeditiously consider the Joint Board's recommendations and issue 
an order in response to the court's remand.
    3. Finally, although the Commission has determined that all 
carriers will eventually receive universal service support based upon 
their forward-looking costs, it has allowed rural carriers to continue 
to calculate support under a modified version of the embedded cost 
mechanism for five years. The Commission previously stated that it 
intended to refer the complex issues surrounding rural high-cost 
support to the Joint Board, ``no later than January 1, 2002'' in order 
to begin the process of determining what regime should be in place upon 
the expiration of the Rural Task Force plan. The Commission further 
stated that, ``in the context of the Joint Board's consideration of an 
appropriate high-cost mechanism for rural telephone companies, [it 
anticipates] conducting a comprehensive review of the high-cost support 
mechanisms for rural and non-rural carriers as a whole to ensure that 
both mechanisms function efficiently and in a coordinated fashion.''
    4. In light of the need to expeditiously address the issues 
remanded by the court, the Commission now believes it appropriate to 
delay briefly the initiation of a comprehensive examination of how the 
rural and non-rural mechanisms function together. The Commission will 
refer issues concerning the rural high-cost support mechanism and how 
that mechanism functions with the non-rural mechanism to the Joint 
Board at a later date.

III. Ordering Clauses

    5. Pursuant to sections 1, 4(i) and (j), 254, and 410 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 
254, and 410, that the issues specified in the Order are referred to 
the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service for a recommendation 
to be received by the Commission no later than August 15, 2002.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 54

    Communications common carriers, Telecommunications, Telephone.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-5675 Filed 3-8-02; 8:45 am]
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