§ 54.310   Connect America Fund for Price Cap Territories—Phase II

   (a) Geographic areas eligible for support. Connect America Phase II support
   may  be  made available for census blocks or other areas identified as
   eligible  by  public  notice,  including  locations  identified by the
   forward-looking cost model as extremely high-cost. The number of supported
   locations will be identified for each area eligible for support will be
   identified by public notice.

   (b) Term of support. Connect America Phase II model-based support shall be
   provided to price cap carriers that elect to make a state-level commitment
   for  six  years.  Connect  America  Phase II support awarded through a
   competitive bidding process shall be provided for ten years.

   (c)  Deployment  obligation.  Recipients  of  Connect America Phase II
   model-based support must complete deployment to 40 percent of supported
   locations by December 31, 2017, to 60 percent of supported locations by
   December 31, 2018, to 80 percent of supported locations by December 31,
   2019,  and to 100 percent of supported locations by December 31, 2020.
   Compliance  shall be determined based on the total number of supported
   locations in a state.

   (1) For purposes of meeting the obligation to deploy to the requisite number
   of supported locations in a state, recipients may serve unserved locations
   in census blocks with costs above the extremely high-cost threshold instead
   of locations in eligible census blocks, provided that they meet the public
   interest obligations set forth in § 54.309 for those locations and provided
   that the total number of locations covered is greater than or equal to the
   number of supported locations in the state.

   (2) Recipients of Connect America Phase II model-based support may elect to
   deploy to 95 percent of the number of supported locations in a given state
   with a corresponding reduction in support computed based on the average
   support per location in the state times 1.89.

   (d) Disbursement of Phase II funding. An eligible telecommunications carrier
   will be advised by public notice when it is authorized to receive support.
   The public notice will detail how disbursements will be made.

   (e)  Provider  eligibility. Any eligible telecommunications carrier is
   eligible to receive Connect America Phase II support in eligible areas.

   (1) An entity may obtain eligible telecommunications carrier designation
   after public notice of winning bidders in a competitive bidding process for
   the  offer  of  Phase  II Connect America support. An applicant in the
   competitive  bidding  process shall certify that it is financially and
   technically qualified to provide the services supported by Connect America
   Phase II in order to receive such support.

   (2) To the extent an applicant in the competitive bidding process seeks
   eligible telecommunications carrier designation prior to public notice of
   winning bidders for Phase II Connect America support, its designation as an
   eligible  telecommunications carrier may be conditional subject to the
   receipt of Phase II Connect America support.

   (f) Transition to model-based support. Eligible telecommunications carriers
   electing model-based support in states where that support is less than their
   Phase I frozen support will transition to model-based support as follows: In
   addition to model-based support, in the first year of Phase II, they will
   receive 75% of the difference between Phase I frozen support and model-based
   support;  in the second year of Phase II, they will receive 50% of the
   difference between Phase I frozen support and model-based support; and in
   the third year of Phase II, they will receive 25% of the difference between
   Phase I frozen support and model-based support.

   [ 79 FR 11335 , Feb. 28, 2014, as amended at  79 FR 39188 , July 9, 2014;  80 FR 4477 , Jan. 27, 2015]

   Effective Date Note: At  79 FR 39188 , July 9, 2014, § 54.310, paragraph (e)(1)
   was  revised.  This  paragraph  contains  information  collection  and
   recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has
   been given by the Office of Management and Budget.

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