[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 52 (Monday, March 20, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14338-14340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04715]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 54 and 69

[WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 14-58; CC Docket No. 01-92; FCC 16-33]


Connect America Fund, ETC Annual Reports and Certifications, 
Developing a Unified Intercarrier Compensation Regime

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; correction and technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects errors in the supplementary information 
and final rules portions of a Federal Register document adopting 
significant reforms to place the universal service program on solid 
footing for the next decade to ``preserve and advance'' voice and 
broadband service in areas served by rate-of-return carriers. The 
summary was published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2016.

DATES: Effective March 20, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexander Minard, Wireline Competition 
Bureau, (202) 418-7400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This summary contains corrections and 
technical amendments to the supplementary information portion of a 
Federal Register summary, 81 FR 24282 (April 25, 2016). The full text 
of the Commission's Report and Order, Order and Order on 
Reconsideration in WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 14-58; CC Docket No. 01-92; 
FCC 16-33, released on March 30, 2016 is available for public 
inspection during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Center, 
Room CY-A257, 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554.

Corrections

    In final rule FR Doc. 2016-08375, published April 25, 2016 (81 FR 
24282), make the following preamble corrections:
    1. On page 24286, in the first column, in paragraph 24, twenty 
first, twenty second, twenty third, twenty fourth, twenty fifth, twenty 
sixth, twenty seventh, twenty eighth, twenty ninth, thirtieth and 
thirty first lines, replace ``The Commission does not set interim 
milestones for the deployment of broadband speeds of 25/3 Mbps; the 
Commission requires carriers receiving model-based support to offer to 
at least 25/3 Mbps broadband service carriers to 25 percent or 75 
percent of the requisite locations by the end of the 10-year term, 
depending upon the state-level density discussed above'' with ``The 
Commission does not set interim milestones for the deployment of 
broadband speeds of 25/3 Mbps; the Commission requires carriers 
receiving model-based support to offer at least 25/3 Mbps broadband 
service to 25 percent, 50 percent or 75 percent of the requisite 
locations by the end of the 10-year term, depending upon the state-
level density discussed above.''
    2. On page 24286, in the third column, in paragraph 28, third line, 
replace ``final version A-CAM'' with ``final version of A-CAM.''
    3. On page 24287, in the first column, in paragraph 29, thirteenth 
line, replace ``where the incumbent'' with ``where an incumbent.''
    4. On page 24296, in the second column, in paragraph 93, first and 
second lines, replace ``Within 30 days of the effective date of this 
Report and Order'' with ``Within 30 days of the release of a Public 
Notice announcing that the Commission has obtained the appropriate 
Paperwork Reduction Act approval.''
    5. On page 24300, in the first column, replace the current chart 
with the corrected chart below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Reduction
                  Competitive ratio (%)                      ratio (%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0-20....................................................             N/A
25......................................................             3.3
30......................................................             6.7
35......................................................            10.0
40......................................................            13.3
45......................................................            16.7
50......................................................            20.0
55......................................................            25.0
60......................................................            30.0
65......................................................            35.0
70......................................................            40.0
75......................................................            45.0
80......................................................            50.0
85......................................................            62.5
90......................................................              75
95......................................................            87.5
100.....................................................             100
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    6. On page 24303, in the second column, in paragraph 142, twelfth 
and thirteenth lines, replace ``specific five-year'' with ``specific 
amount of.''
    7. On page 24304, in the third column, in paragraph 152, fifteenth 
line, replace ``$647.42'' with ``$647.87.''
    8. On page 24304, in the third column, eighteenth line, replace 
``$744.53'' with ``$745.06'' and ``$62.04'' with ``$62.09.''

Technical Amendments

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 54

    Communications common carriers, Health facilities, Infants and 
children, Internet, Libraries, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Schools, Telecommunications, Telephone.

47 CFR Part 69

    Communications common carriers, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Telephone.

    Accordingly, 47 CFR parts 54 and 69 are corrected by making the 
following correcting amendments:

PART 54--UNIVERSAL SERVICE

0
1. The authority citation for part 54 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 155, 201, 205, 214, 219, 220, 
254, 303(r), 403, and 1302 unless otherwise noted.


[[Page 14339]]



0
2. In Sec.  54.302, revise paragraphs (b) and (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  54.302  Monthly per-line limit on universal service support.

* * * * *
    (b) For purposes of this section, universal service support is 
defined as the sum of the amounts calculated pursuant to Sec. Sec.  
54.1304, 54.1310, 54.305, and 54.901 through 54.904. Line counts for 
purposes of this section shall be as of the most recent line counts 
reported pursuant to Sec.  54.903(a)(1).
    (c) The Administrator, in order to limit support to $250 for 
affected carriers, shall reduce safety net additive support, high-cost 
loop support, safety valve support, and Connect America Fund Broadband 
Loop Support in proportion to the relative amounts of each support the 
study area would receive absent such limitation.

0
3. In Sec.  54.303, revise paragraphs (a)(1), (b), (e), and (f)(1) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  54.303  Eligible Capital Investment and Operating Expenses.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Total eligible annual operating expenses per location shall be 
limited as follows: Calculate Exp(Y + 1.5 * mean square error of the 
regression), where

Y = [alpha] + [beta]1X1 + 
[beta]2X2 + [beta]3X3

[alpha], [beta]1, [beta]2, and 
[beta]3 are the coefficients from the regression,
X1 is the natural log of the number of housing units in 
the study area,
X2 is the natural log of the number of density (number of 
housing units per square mile), and
X3 is the square of the natural log of the density
* * * * *
    (b) Loop Plant Investment allowances. Data submitted by rate-of-
return carriers for purposes of obtaining high-cost support under 
subparts K and M of this part may include any Loop Plant Investment as 
described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section and any Excess Loop Plant 
Investment as described in paragraph (h) of this section, but may not 
include amounts in excess of the Annual Allowed Loop Plant Investment 
(AALPI) as described in paragraph (d) of this section. Amounts in 
excess of the AALPI will be removed from the categories or accounts 
described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section either on a direct basis 
when the amounts of the new loop plant investment can be directly 
assigned to a category or account, or on a pro-rata basis in accordance 
with each category or account's proportion to the total amount in each 
of the categories and accounts described in paragraph (c)(1) of this 
section when the new loop plant cannot be directly assigned. This 
limitation shall apply only with respect to Loop Plant Investment 
incurred after the effective date of this rule. If a carrier's required 
Loop Plant Investment exceeds the limitations set forth in this section 
as a result of deployment obligations in Sec.  54.308(a)(2), the 
carrier's AALPI will be increased to the actual Loop Plant Investment 
required by the carrier's deployment obligations, subject to the 
limitations of the Construction Allowance Adjustment in paragraph (f) 
of this section.
    (c) * * *
    (2) Total Loop Plant Investment equals amounts booked to the 
categories described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, adjusted for 
inflation using the Department of Commerce's Gross Domestic Product 
Chain-type Price Index (GDP-CPI), as of December 31 of the Reference 
Year. Inflation adjustments shall be based on vintages where possible 
or otherwise calculated based on the year plant was put in service.
* * * * *
    (e) Broadband Deployment AALPI adjustment: The AALPI calculated in 
paragraph (d) of this section shall be adjusted by the Administrator 
based upon the difference between a carrier's broadband availability 
for each study area as reported on that carrier's most recent Form 477, 
and the weighted national average broadband availability for all rate-
of-return carriers based on Form 477 data, as announced annually by the 
Wireline Competition Bureau in a Public Notice. For every percentage 
point that the carrier's broadband availability exceeds the weighted 
national average broadband availability for the Reference Year, that 
carrier's AALPI will be reduced by one percentage point. For every 
percentage point that the carrier's broadband availability is below the 
weighted national average broadband availability for the Reference 
Year, that carrier's AALPI will be increased by one percentage point.
    (f) * * *
    (1) Maximum Average Per Location Construction Project Loop Plant 
Investment Limitation equals the inflation adjusted equivalent to 
$10,000 in the Reference Year calculated by multiplying $10,000 times 
the applicable annual GDP-CPI. This inflation adjusted amount will be 
normalized across all study areas by multiplying the product above by 
(the Loop Cap Adjustment Factor times the Construction Limit Factor)


Where:


The Loop Cap Adjustment Factor equals the lesser of 1.0 or the 
annualized monthly per loop limit described in Sec.  54.302 (i.e., 
$3,000) divided by the unadjusted per loop support amount for the study 
area (the annual HCLS and CAF-BLS support amount per loop in the study 
not capped by Sec.  54.302)

and the


Construction Limitation Factor equals the study area Total Loop 
Investment per Location divided by the overall Total Loop Investment 
per Location for all rate-of-return study areas.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  54.308, revise paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(B) to read as follows:


Sec.  54.308  Broadband public interest obligations for recipients of 
high-cost support.

    (a) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (B) No rate-of-return carrier shall deploy terrestrial wireline 
technology to unserved locations to meet this obligation if that would 
exceed the per location/per project capital investment allowance set 
forth in Sec.  54.303(f)(1).
* * * * *

0
5. In Sec.  54.311, revise paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  54.311  Connect America Fund Alternative-Connect America Cost 
Model Support.

* * * * *
    (d) Interim deployment milestones. Recipients of CAF-ACAM model-
based support must complete deployment to 40 percent of fully funded 
locations by the end of 2020, to 50 percent of fully funded locations 
by the end of 2021, to 60 percent of fully funded locations by the end 
of 2022, to 70 percent of fully funded locations by the end of 2023, to 
80 percent of fully funded locations by the end of 2024, to 90 percent 
of fully funded locations by the end of 2025, and to 100 percent of 
fully funded locations by the end of 2026. By the end of 2026, carriers 
must complete deployment of broadband meeting a standard of at least 25 
Mbps downstream/3 Mbps upstream to the requisite number of locations 
specified in Sec.  54.308(a)(1)(i). Compliance shall be determined 
based on the total number of fully funded locations in a state. 
Carriers that complete deployment to at least 95 percent of the 
requisite number of locations will be deemed to be in compliance with 
their deployment obligations. The remaining locations that receive 
capped support are subject

[[Page 14340]]

to the standard specified in Sec.  54.308(a)(1)(ii).
* * * * *

0
6. In Sec.  53.316, revise paragraph (c)(1)(i) to read as follows:


Sec.  54.316  Broadband deployment reporting and certification 
requirements for high-cost recipients.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) An eligible telecommunications carrier that files after the 
March 1 deadline, but by March 8, will have its support reduced in an 
amount equivalent to seven days in support;
* * * * *

0
7. In Sec.  54.319, revise paragraphs (a) and (g)(1) through (5) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  54.319  Elimination of high-cost support in areas with 100 
percent coverage by an unsubsidized competitor.

    (a) High-cost universal service support provided pursuant to 
subparts K and M of this part shall be eliminated in an incumbent rate-
of-return local exchange carrier study area where an unsubsidized 
competitor, or combination of unsubsidized competitors, as defined in 
Sec.  54.5, offer(s) to 100 percent of the residential and business 
locations in the study area voice and broadband service at speeds of at 
least 10 Mbps downstream/1 Mbps upstream, with latency suitable for 
real-time applications, including Voice over Internet Protocol, and 
usage capacity that is reasonably comparable to comparable offerings in 
urban areas, at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates for 
comparable offerings in urban areas.
* * * * *
    (g) * * *
    (1) In the first year, 83 percent of the incumbent's disaggregated 
support for the competitive census blocks will be provided;
    (2) In the second year, 66 percent of the incumbent's disaggregated 
support for the competitive census blocks will be provided;
    (3) In the third year, 49 percent of the incumbent's disaggregated 
support for the competitive census blocks will be provided;
    (4) In the fourth year, 32 percent of the incumbent's disaggregated 
support the competitive census block will be provided;
    (5) In the fifth year, 15 percent of the incumbent's disaggregated 
support the competitive census blocks will be provided;
* * * * *

0
8. In Sec.  54.901, revise paragraph (c)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  54.901  Calculation of Connect America Fund Broadband Loop 
Support.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (2) The portion of the monthly per-loop amount computed pursuant to 
Sec.  54.1308(a)(4)(ii) that would be allocated to the Interstate 
Common Line Revenue Requirement or Consumer Broadband-only Loop Revenue 
Requirement pursuant to Sec.  69.409 of this chapter.
* * * * *

PART 69--ACCESS CHARGES

0
9. The authority citation for part 69 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 201, 202, 203, 205, 218, 220, 254, 
403.


0
10. In Sec.  69.311, revise paragraph (b)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  69.311  Consumer Broadband-Only Loop investment.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) To determine the investment in Common Line facilities as if 100 
percent were allocated to the interstate jurisdiction, a carrier shall 
use 100 percent as the interstate allocator in determining investment 
and the allocation of investment to the common line category under part 
36 of this chapter and this part.
* * * * *

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-04715 Filed 3-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P