Sec. 69.3  Filing of access service tariffs.

    (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section, a 
tariff for access service shall be filed with this Commission for a two-
year period. Such tariffs shall be filed on a minimum of 90 days' notice 
with a scheduled effective date of July 1. Such tariff filings shall be 
limited to rate level changes.
    (b) The requirements imposed by paragraph (a) of this section shall 
not preclude the filing of revisions to those annual tariffs that will 
become effective on dates other than July 1.
    (c) Any access service tariff filing, the filing of any petitions 
for rejection, investigation or suspension and the filing of any 
responses to such petitions shall comply with the applicable rules of 
this Commission relating to tariff filings.
    (d) The association shall file a tariff as agent for all telephone 
companies that participate in an association tariff.
    (e) A telephone company or group of telephone companies may file a 
tariff that is not an association tariff, except that a group rate for 
non-affiliated telephone companies may not be filed under Sec. 61.50 of 
this chapter; e.g., the Association. Such a tariff may cross-reference 
the association tariff for

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some access elements and include separately computed charges of such 
company or companies for other elements. Any such tariff must comply 
with the requirements hereinafter provided:
    (1) Such a tariff must cross reference association charges for the 
Carrier Common Line and End User Common Line element or elements if such 
company or companies participate in the pooling of revenues and revenue 
requirements for such elements.
    (2) Such a tariff that cross-references an association charge for 
any end user access element must cross-reference association charges for 
all end user access elements;
    (3) Such a tariff that cross-references an association charge for 
any carrier's carrier access element other than the Carrier Common Line 
element must cross-reference association charges for all carrier's 
carrier access charges other than the Carrier Common Line element;
    (4) Except for charges subject to price cap regulation as that term 
is defined in Sec. 61.3(v) of this chapter, any charge in such a tariff 
that is not an association charge must be computed to reflect the 
combined investment and expenses of all companies that participate in 
such a charge;
    (5) A telephone company or companies that elect to file such a 
tariff for 1984 access charges shall notify AT&T on or before the 40th 
day after the release of the Commission order adopting this part;
    (6) A telephone company or companies that elect to file such a 
tariff shall notify the association not later than December 31 of the 
preceding year, if such company or companies did not file such a tariff 
in the preceding annual period or cross-reference association charges in 
such preceding period that will not be cross-referenced in the new 
tariff.
    (7) Such a tariff shall not contain charges for any access elements 
that are disaggregated or deaveraged within a study area that is used 
for purposes of jurisdictional separations.
    (8) Such a tariff shall not contain charges included in the billing 
and collection category.
    (9) A telephone company or group of affiliated telephone companies 
that elects to file it own Carrier Common Line tariff effective April 1, 
1989 shall notify the association not later than August 30 of the 
preceding year that it will no longer participate in the association 
tariff. A telephone company or group of affiliated telephone companies 
that elects to file its own Carrier Common Line tariff effective July 1, 
1990 or thereafter pursuant to Sec. 69.3(a) shall notify the association 
not later than December 31 of the preceding year that it will no longer 
participate in the association tariff. A telephone company or group of 
affiliated telephone companies that electes to file its own Carrier 
Common Line tariff for one its study areas shall file its own Carrier 
Common Line tariff(s) for all of its study areas.
    (10) Any data supporting a tariff that is not an association tariff 
shall be consistent with any data that the filing carrier submitted to 
the association.
    (11) Any changes in Association common line tariff participation and 
Long Term and Transitional Support resulting from the merger or 
acquisition of telephone properties are to be made effective on the next 
annual access tariff filing effective date following consummation of the 
merger or acquisition transaction, in accordance with the provisions of 
Sec. 69.3(e)(9).
    (f) A tariff for access service provided by a telephone company that 
may file an access tariff pursuant to Sec. 61.39 may be filed for a 
biennial period with a minimum of 90 days notice and scheduled effective 
date of July 1 of any odd numbered year. An eligible telephone company 
that does not elect to file an access tariff pursuant to the Sec. 61.39 
procedures may elect to file a biennial tariff pursuant to this section. 
For purposes of computing charges for access elements other than Common 
Line elements to be effective on July 1 of any even-numbered year, the 
association may compute rate changes based upon statistical methods 
which represent a reasonable equivalent to the cost support information 
otherwise required under part 61 of this chapter.
    (g) The following rules apply to telephone company participation in 
the

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Association common line pool for telephone companies involved in a 
merger or acquisition.
    (1) Notwithstanding the requirements of Sec. 69.3(e)(9), any 
Association common line tariff participant that is party to a merger or 
acquisition may continue to participate in the Association common line 
tariff.
    (2) Notwithstanding the requirements of Sec. 69.3(e)(9), any 
Association common line tariff participant that is party to a merger or 
acquisition may include other telephone properties involved in the 
transaction in the Association common line tariff, provided that the net 
addition of common lines to the Association common line tariff resulting 
from the transaction in not greater than 50,000, and provided further 
that, if any common lines involved in a merger or acquisition are 
returned to the Association common line tariff, all of the common lines 
involved in the merger or acquisition must be returned to the 
Association common line tariff.
    (3) Telephone companies involved in mergers or acquisitions that 
wish to have more than 50,000 common lines reenter the Association 
common line pool must request a waiver of Sec. 69.3(e)(9). If the 
telephone company has met all other legal obligations, the waiver 
request will be deemed granted on the sixty-first (61st) day from the 
date of public notice inviting comment on the requested waiver unless:
    (i) The merger or acquisition involves one or more partial study 
areas;
    (ii) The waiver includes a request for confidentiality of some or 
all of the materials supporting the request;
    (iii) The waiver includes a request to return only a portion of the 
telephone properties involved in the transaction to the Association 
common line tariff;
    (iv) The Commission rejects the waiver request prior to the 
expiration of the sixty-day period;
    (v) The Commission requests additional time or information to 
process the waiver application prior to the expiration of the sixty-day 
period; or
    (vi) A party, in a timely manner, opposes a waiver request or seeks 
conditional approval of the waiver in response to our public notice of 
the waiver request.
    (h) Local exchange carriers subject to price cap regulation as that 
term is defined in Sec. 61.3(v) of this chapter, shall file with this 
Commission a price cap tariff for access service for an annual period. 
Subject to Sec. 61.48, such tariffs shall be filed to provide a minimum 
of 90 days' notice with a scheduled effective date of July 1. Such 
tariff filings shall be limited to changes in the Price Cap Indexes, 
rate level changes (with corresponding adjustments to the affected 
Actual Price Indexes and Service Band Indexes), and the incorporation of 
new services into the affected indexes as required by Sec. 61.49 of this 
chapter.
    (i) The following rules apply to the withdrawal from Association 
tariffs under the provision of paragraph (e)(6) or (e)(9) of this 
section or both by telephone companies electing to file price cap 
tariffs pursuant to paragraph (h) of this section or optional incentive 
plan tariffs pursuant to Sec. 61.50 of this chapter.
    (1) In addition to the withdrawal provisions of paragraphs (e) (6) 
and (9) of this section, a telephone company or group of affiliated 
telephone companies that participates in one or more Association tariffs 
during the current tariff year and that elects to file price cap tariffs 
or optional incentive regulation tariffs effective July 1 of the 
following tariff year, shall give the Association at least 6 months' 
notice that it is withdrawing from Association tariffs, subject to the 
terms of this section, to participate in price cap regulation or 
optional incentive regulation.
    (2) The Association shall maintain records of such withdrawals 
sufficient to discharge its obligations under these Rules and to detect 
efforts by such companies or their affiliates to rejoin any Association 
tariffs in violation of the provisions of paragraph (i)(4) of this 
section.
    (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (e) (3), (6), and 
(9) of this section, in the event a telephone company withdraws from all 
Association tariffs for the purpose of filing price cap tariffs or 
optional incentive plan tariffs, such company shall exclude from such 
withdrawal all ``average schedule'' affiliates and all affiliates so

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excluded shall be specified in the withdrawal. However, such company may 
include one or more ``average schedule'' affiliates in price cap 
regulation or optional incentive plan regulation provided that each 
price cap or optional incentive plan affiliate relinquishes ``average 
schedule'' status and withdraws from all Association tariffs and any 
tariff filed pursuant to Sec. 61.39(b)(2) of this chapter. See generally 
Secs. 69.605(c), 61.39(b) of this chapter; MTS and WATS Market 
Structure: Average Schedule Companies, Report and Order, 103 FCC 2d 
1026-1027 (1986).
    (4) If a telephone company elects to withdraw from Association 
tariffs and thereafter becomes subject to price cap regulation as that 
term is defined in Sec. 61.3(v) of this chapter, neither such telephone 
company nor any of its withdrawing affiliates shall thereafter be 
permitted to participate in any Association tariffs.
    (j) A telephone company or group of affiliated telephone companies 
that participates in an association tariff and elects to file its own 
tariff pursuant to Sec. 61.50 of this chapter by January 1, 1994 shall 
notify the association not later than September 1, 1993 that it will no 
longer participate in the association tariff. This January 1, 1994 
filing shall be for an 18-month tariff period. A telephone company or 
group of affiliated telephone companies that participates in an 
association tariff and elects to file its own tariff pursuant to 
Sec. 61.50 of this chapter, by July 1, 1994 or thereafter pursuant to 
paragraph (a) of this section, shall notify the association not later 
than December 31 of the preceding year that it will no longer 
participate in that association tariff.

(47 U.S.C. 154 (i) and (j), 201, 202, 203, 205, 218 and 403 and 5 U.S.C. 
)

[48 553 FR 10358 , Mar. 11, 1983, as amended at  48 FR 43017 , Sept. 21, 1983; 
 50 FR 41356 , Oct. 10, 1985;  51 FR 6119 , Feb. 20, 1986;  51 FR 42236 , Nov. 
24, 1986;  52 FR 21540 , June 8, 1987;  52 FR 37310 , Oct. 6, 1987;  53 FR 36289 , Sept. 19, 1988;  54 FR 39534 , Sept. 27, 1989;  55 FR 6990 , Feb. 28, 
1990;  55 FR 42385 , Oct. 19, 1990;  55 FR 50558 , Dec. 7, 1990;  58 FR 36149 , July 6, 1993]