Sec. 69.111  Tandem-switched transport and tandem charge.

    (a) Tandem-Switched transport shall consist of two rate elements, a 
transmission charge and a tandem switching charge.
    (b) A tandem-switched transmission charge expressed in dollars and 
cents per access minute shall be assessed upon all interexchange 
carriers and other persons that use telephone company tandem-switched 
transport facilities.
    (c) Tandem-switched transport transmission charges generally shall 
be presumed reasonable if the telephone company bases the charges on a 
weighted per-minute equivalent of direct-trunked transport DS1 and DS3 
rates that reflects the relative number of DS1 and DS3 circuits used in 
the tandem to end office links (or a surrogate based on the proportion 
of copper and fiber facilities in the interoffice network), calculated 
using a loading factor of 9000 minutes per month per voice-grade 
circuit. Tandem-switched transport transmission charges that are not 
presumed reasonable generally shall be suspended and investigated absent 
a substantial cause showing by the telephone company.
    (d) Tandem-switched transport transmission charges may be distance-
sensitive. Milage shall be measured as airline milage between the 
serving wire center and the end

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office, unless the customer has ordered tandem-switched transport 
between the tandem office and the end office, in which case milage shall 
be measured as airline milage between the tandem office and the end 
office.
    (e) If the telephone company employs distance-sensitive rates:
    (1) A distance-sensitive component shall be assessed for use of the 
transmission facilities, including intermediate transmission circuit 
equipment between the end points of the interoffice circuit; and
    (2) A nondistance-sensitive component shall be assessed for use of 
the circuit equipment at the ends of the interoffice transmissionlinks.
    (f) A tandem switching charge expressed in dollars and cents per 
access minute shall be assessed upon all interexchange carriers and 
other persons that use telephone company tandem switching facilities.
    (g) The tandem charge shall be set to recover twenty percent of the 
annual part 69 interstate tandem revenue requirements.

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