§ 54.307   Support to a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier.

   (a)  Calculation of support. A competitive eligible telecommunications
   carrier shall receive universal service support to the extent that the
   competitive eligible telecommunications carrier captures the subscriber
   lines of an incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) or serves new subscriber
   lines in the incumbent LEC's service area.

   (1) A competitive eligible telecommunications carrier serving loops in the
   service area of a rural incumbent local exchange carrier, as that term is
   defined in § 54.5 of this chapter, shall receive support for each line it
   serves in a particular service area based on the support the incumbent LEC
   would  receive  for  each  such  line,  disaggregated  by cost zone if
   disaggregation zones have been established within the service area pursuant
   to  § 54.315 of this subpart. A competitive eligible telecommunications
   carrier serving loops in the service area of a non-rural incumbent local
   exchange  carrier  shall  receive support for each line it serves in a
   particular wire center based on the support the incumbent LEC would receive
   for  each such line. A competitive eligible telecommunications carrier
   serving loops in the service area of a rate-of-return carrier shall be
   eligible to receive Interstate Common Line Support for each line it serves
   in the service area in accordance with the formula in § 54.901.

   (2) A competitive eligible telecommunications carrier that uses switching
   purchased as unbundled network elements pursuant to § 51.307 of this chapter
   to provide the supported services shall receive the lesser of the unbundled
   network element price for switching or the per-line DEM support of the
   incumbent LEC, if any. A competitive eligible telecommunications carrier
   that uses loops purchased as unbundled network elements pursuant to § 51.307
   of this chapter to provide the supported services shall receive the lesser
   of the unbundled network element price for the loop or the incumbent LEC's
   per-line payment from the high-cost loop support, LTS, and Interstate Common
   Line   Support   mechanisms,  if  any.  The  incumbent  LEC  providing
   nondiscriminatory access to unbundled network elements to such competitive
   eligible telecommunications carrier shall receive the difference between the
   level of universal service support provided to the competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier and the per-customer level of support that the
   incumbent LEC would have received.

   (3) A competitive eligible telecommunications carrier that provides the
   supported  services using neither unbundled network elements purchased
   pursuant to § 51.307 of this chapter nor wholesale service purchased pursuant
   to section 251(c)(4) of the Act will receive the full amount of universal
   service  support  that  the incumbent LEC would have received for that
   customer.

   (b) In order to receive support pursuant to this subpart, a competitive
   eligible telecommunications carrier must report to the Administrator the
   number of working loops it serves in a service area pursuant to the schedule
   set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. For a competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier serving loops in the service area of a rural
   incumbent local exchange carrier, as that term is defined in § 54.5, the
   carrier must report, by customer class, the number of working loops it
   serves in the service area, disaggregated by cost zone if disaggregation
   zones have been established within the service area pursuant to § 54.315. For
   a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier serving loops in the
   service area of a non-rural telephone company, the carrier must report the
   number of working loops it serves in the service area, by customer class if
   the non-rural telephone company receives Interstate Common Line Support
   pursuant to § 54.901 and by disaggregation zone if disaggregation zones have
   been  established  within the service area pursuant to § 54.315 of this
   subpart, and the number of working loops it serves in each wire center in
   the service area. For universal service support purposes, working loops are
   defined as the number of working Exchange Line C&WF loops used jointly for
   exchange and message telecommunications service, including C&WF subscriber
   lines associated with pay telephones in C&WF Category 1, but excluding WATS
   closed end access and TWX service. Competitive eligible telecommunications
   carriers providing mobile wireless service in an incumbent LEC's service
   area shall use the customer's billing address for purposes of identifying
   the service location of a mobile wireless customer in a service area.

   (c) A competitive eligible telecommunications carrier must submit the data
   required  pursuant  to  paragraph (b) of this section according to the
   schedule.

   (1) No later than July 31st of each year, submit data as of December 31st of
   the previous calendar year;

   (2) No later than September 30th of each year, submit data as of March 31st
   of the existing calendar year;

   (3) No later than December 30th of each year, submit data as of June 30th of
   the existing calendar year;

   (4) No later than March 30th of each year, submit data as of September 30th
   of the previous calendar year.

   (d) Newly designated eligible telecommunications carriers. Notwithstanding
   the deadlines in paragraph (c) of this section, a carrier shall be eligible
   to  receive  support as of the effective date of its designation as an
   eligible telecommunications carrier under section 214(e)(2) or (e)(6),
   provided that it submits the data required pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
   section within 60 days of that effective date. Thereafter, the eligible
   telecommunications carrier must submit the data required in paragraph (b) of
   this section pursuant to the schedule in paragraph (c) of this section.

   (e)   Support   Beginning   January   1,  2012.  Competitive  eligible
   telecommunications carriers will, beginning January 1, 2012, receive support
   based  on the methodology described in this paragraph and not based on
   paragraph (a) of this section.

   (1) Baseline Support Amount. Each competitive eligible telecommunication
   carrier  will have a “baseline support amount” equal to its total 2011
   support in a given study area, or an amount equal to $3,000 times the number
   of reported lines for 2011, whichever is lower. Each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier will have a “monthly baseline support amount”
   equal to its baseline support amount divided by twelve.

   (i) “Total 2011 support” is the amount of support disbursed to a competitive
   eligible telecommunication carrier for 2011, without regard to prior period
   adjustments  related to years other than 2011 and as determined by the
   Administrator on January 31, 2012.

   (ii) For the purpose of calculating the $3,000 per line limit, the average
   of  lines reported by a competitive eligible telecommunication carrier
   pursuant to line count filings required for December 31, 2010, and December
   31,  2011 shall be used. The $3,000 per line limit shall be applied to
   support amounts determined for each incumbent study area served by the
   competitive eligible telecommunications carrier.

   (2)  Monthly  Support Amounts. Competitive eligible telecommunications
   carriers shall receive the following support amounts, except as provided in
   paragraphs (e)(3) through (e)(6) of this section.

   (i)  From January 1, 2012, to June 30, 2012, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive its monthly baseline support amount
   each month.

   (ii)  From  July  1,  2012 to June 30, 2013, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 80 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (iii)  From  July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 60 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (iv)  From  July  1, 2014, to June 30, 2015, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 40 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (v)  From  July  1,  2015, to June 30, 2016, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 20 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (vi) Beginning July 1, 2016, no competitive eligible telecommunications
   carrier shall receive universal service support pursuant to this section.

   (3) Delayed Phase Down for Remote Areas in Alaska. Certain competitive
   eligible telecommunications carriers serving remote areas in Alaska shall
   have their support phased down on a later schedule than that described in
   paragraph (e)(2) of this section.

   (i) Remote Areas in Alaska. For the purpose of this paragraph, “remote areas
   in Alaska” includes all of Alaska except;

   (A) The ACS-Anchorage incumbent study area;

   (B) The ACS-Juneau incumbent study area;

   (C) The fairbankszone1 disaggregation zone in the ACS-Fairbanks incumbent
   study area; and

   (D) The Chugiak 1 and 2 and Eagle River 1 and 2 disaggregation zones of the
   Matunuska Telephone Association incumbent study area.

   (ii)  Carriers  Subject  to Delayed Phase Down. A competitive eligible
   telecommunications  carrier shall be subject to the delayed phase down
   described in paragraph (e)(3) of this section to the extent that it serves
   remote areas in Alaska, and it certified that it served covered locations in
   its September 30, 2011, filing of line counts with the Administrator. To the
   extent a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier serving Alaska is
   not subject to the delayed phase down, it will be subject to the phase down
   of support on the schedule described in paragraph (e)(2) of this section.

   (iii) Baseline for Delayed Phase Down. For purpose of the delayed phase down
   for  remote  areas in Alaska, the baseline amount for each competitive
   eligible telecommunications carrier subject to the delayed phase down shall
   be the annualized monthly support amount received for June 2014 or the last
   full month prior to the implementation of Mobility Fund Phase II, whichever
   is later.

   (iv)  Monthly Support Amounts. Competitive eligible telecommunications
   carriers subject to the delayed phase down for remote areas in Alaska shall
   receive the following support amounts, except as provided in paragraphs
   (e)(4) through (e)(6) of this section.

   (A)  From  July  1,  2014  to June 30, 2015, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 80 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (B)  From  July  1,  2015, to June 30, 2016, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 60 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (C)  From  July  1,  2016, to June 30, 2017, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 40 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (D)  From  July  1,  2017, to June 30, 2018, each competitive eligible
   telecommunications carrier shall receive 20 percent of its monthly baseline
   support amount each month.

   (E) Beginning July 1, 2018, no competitive eligible telecommunications
   carrier serving remote areas in Alaska shall receive universal service
   support pursuant to this section.

   (v) Interim Support for Remote Areas in Alaska. From January 1, 2012, until
   June 30, 2014 or the last full month prior to the implementation of Mobility
   Fund Phase II, whichever is later, competitive eligible telecommunications
   carriers subject to the delayed phase down for remote areas in Alaska shall
   continue to receive the support, as calculated by the Administrator, that
   each competitive telecommunications carrier would have received under the
   frozen per-line support amount as of December 31, 2011 capped at $3,000 per
   year, provided that the total amount of support for all such competitive
   eligible telecommunications carriers shall be capped pursuant to paragraph
   (e)(3)(v)(A) of this section.

   (A) Cap Amount. The total amount of support available on an annual basis for
   competitive eligible telecommunications carriers subject to the delayed
   phase down for remote areas in Alaska shall be equal to the sum of “total
   2011 support,” as defined in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section, received
   by all competitive eligible telecommunications carriers subject to the
   delayed phase down for serving remote areas in Alaska.

   (B) Reduction Factor. To effectuate the cap, the Administrator shall apply a
   reduction  factor  as necessary to the support that would otherwise be
   received by all competitive eligible telecommunications carriers serving
   remote areas in Alaska subject to the delayed phase down. The reduction
   factor will be calculated by dividing the total amount of support available
   amount by the total support amount calculated for those carriers in the
   absence of the cap.

   (4) Further reductions. If a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier
   ceases to provide services to high-cost areas it had previously served, the
   Commission may reduce its baseline support amount.

   (5) Implementation of Mobility Fund Phase II Required. In the event that the
   implementation of Mobility Fund Phase II has not occurred by June 30, 2014,
   competitive eligible telecommunications carriers will continue to receive
   support at the level described in paragraph (e)(2)(iii) of this section
   until Mobility Fund Phase II is implemented. In the event that Mobility Fund
   Phase II for Tribal lands is not implemented by June 30, 2014, competitive
   eligible telecommunications carriers serving Tribal lands shall continue to
   receive support at the level described in paragraph (e)(2)(iii) of this
   section until Mobility Fund Phase II for Tribal lands is implemented, except
   that competitive eligible telecommunications carriers serving remote areas
   in Alaska and subject to paragraph (e)(3) of this section shall continue to
   receive  support at the level described in paragraph (e)(3)(v) of this
   section.

   (6)  Eligibility  after Implementation of Mobility Fund Phase II. If a
   competitive eligible telecommunications carrier becomes eligible to receive
   high-cost support pursuant to the Mobility Fund Phase II, it will cease to
   be eligible for phase-down support in the first month for which it receives
   Mobility Fund Phase II support.

   (7) Line Count Filings. Competitive eligible telecommunications carriers,
   except those subject to the delayed phase down described in paragraph (e)(3)
   of this section, shall no longer be required to file line counts beginning
   January 1, 2012. Competitive eligible telecommunications carriers subject to
   the delayed phase down described in paragraph (e)(3) of this section shall
   no longer be required to file line counts beginning July 1, 2014, or the
   date after the first line count filing following the implementation of
   Mobility Fund Phase II, whichever is later.

   [ 62 FR 32948 , June 17, 1997, as amended at  63 FR 2128 , Jan. 13, 1998;  64 FR 67431 , Dec. 1, 1999;  65 FR 26516 , May 8, 2000;  66 FR 30087 , June 5, 2001;  66 FR 59726 , Nov. 30, 2001;  68 FR 31623 , May 28, 2003;  69 FR 34602 , June 22,
   2004;  70 FR 29979 , May 25, 2005;  76 FR 73871 , Nov. 29, 2011;  77 FR 14302 ,
   Mar. 9, 2012;  77 FR 30913 , May 24, 2012;  77 FR 52618 , Aug. 30, 2012]

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