§  54.807   Interstate access universal service support.

   (a) Each Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) that provides
   supported service within the study area of a price cap local exchange
   carrier shall receive Interstate Access Universal Service Support for
   each line that it serves within that study area.

   (b) In any study area within which the price cap local exchange carrier
   has not established state approved geographically deaveraged rates for
   UNE loops, the Administrator shall calculate the Interstate Access
   Universal Service Support Per Line by dividing Study Area Access
   Universal Service Support by twelve times all eligible
   telecommunications carriers' base period lines in that study area
   adjusted for growth during the relevant support period based on the
   average nationwide annual growth in eligible lines during the three
   previous years. For the purpose of calculating growth, the
   Administrator shall use a simple average of annual growth rates for
   total switched access lines for the three most recent years as reported
   in the Common Carrier Bureau Report, Statistics of Communications
   Common Carriers, Table 6.10—Selected Operating Statistics. Interested
   parties may obtain this report from the U.S. Government Printing Office
   or by downloading it from the Federal Communication Commission's
   website http://www.fcc.gov/ccb/stats.

   (c) In any study area within which the price cap local exchange carrier
   has established state approved geographically deaveraged rates for UNE
   loops, the Administrator shall calculate the Interstate Access
   Universal Service Support Per Line for each customer class and zone
   using all eligible telecommunications carriers' base period lines by
   customer class and zone adjusted for growth during the relevant support
   period based on the average nationwide annual growth in eligible lines
   during the three previous years. For the purpose of calculating growth,
   the Administrator shall use a simple average of annual growth rates for
   total switched access lines for the three most recent years as reported
   in the Wireline Competition Bureau Report, Statistics of Communications
   Common Carriers, Table 6.10—Selected Operating Statistics. Support
   shall be allocated to lines in the highest cost UNE zone first, and
   will “cascade” to lines in lower cost UNE zones to the extent that
   sufficient funding is available. Beginning with the zone with the
   highest Zone Average Revenue Per Line, support will be applied in the
   following order of priority:

   (1) To all lines in the highest zone, to eliminate the amount per line
   by which Zone Average Revenue Per Line exceeds the higher of $9.20 or
   the Average Revenue Per Line in the next highest zone;

   (2) If the Zone Average Revenue Per Line in the next highest zone is
   greater than $9.20, then to all lines in both zones to eliminate the
   amount per line by which Zone Average Revenue per Line exceeds $9.20 or
   the Zone Average Revenue Per Line in the third highest zone. This
   application of support will continue to additional zones in the same
   fashion until the amount per line by which Zone Average Revenue Per
   Line exceeds $9.20 has been eliminated in all zones, or until the
   available support has been exhausted;

   (3) To all residential and single-line business lines in the highest
   zone, to eliminate the remaining amount per line that Zone Average
   Revenue Per Line for these lines exceeds the higher of $7.00 or Zone
   Average Revenue Per Line in the next highest zone;

   (4) If the Zone Average Revenue per Line in the next highest zone is
   greater than $7.00, then to all residential and single-line business
   lines in both zones to eliminate the remaining amount per line by which
   Zone Average Revenue Per Line exceeds $7.00. This application of
   support will continue to additional zones in the same fashion until the
   difference between Zone Average Revenue Per Line and $7.00 has been
   eliminated in all zones, or until the available support has been
   exhausted.

   (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 54.307(a)(2), the per-line
   support amount determined within each zone by applicable customer class
   under paragraph (b) or (c) of this section is portable among all
   eligible telecommunications carriers providing service within that
   zone.

   [ 65 FR 38690 , June 21, 2000;  65 FR 57740 , Sept. 26, 2000, as amended at
    67 FR 13228 , Mar. 21, 2002]