§69.3. Filing of access service tariffs. — Inbound Citations

(b) Effective July 1, 2001, through December 31, 2030, local exchange carriers subject to price cap regulation, pursuant to § 61.41 of this chapter, shall assign costs from the accounts under part 32 of this chapter (part 32 account(s)) to the separations categories/sub-categories, as specified herein, based on the percentage relationships of the categorized/sub-categorized costs to their associated part 32 accounts for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2000. If a part 32 account for separations purposes is categorized into more than one category, the percentage relationship among the categories shall be utilized as well. Local exchange carriers that invest in types of telecommunications plant during the period July 1, 2001, through December 31, 2030, for which it had no separations category investment for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2000, shall assign such investment to separations categories in accordance with the separations procedures in effect as of December 31, 2000. Local exchange carriers not subject to price cap regulation, pursuant to § 61.41 of this chapter, may elect to be subject to the provisions of this paragraph (b). Such election must be made prior to July 1, 2001. Any local exchange carrier that is subject to § 69.3(e) of this chapter and that elected to be subject to this paragraph (b) may withdraw from that election by notifying the Commission by May 1, 2019, of its intent to withdraw from that election, and that withdrawal will be effective as of July 1, 2019. Any local exchange carrier that participates in an Association tariff, pursuant to §§ 69.601 through 69.610 of this chapter, and that elected to be subject to this paragraph (b) may withdraw from that election by notifying the Association by March 1, 2019, of such intent. Subject to these two exceptions, local exchange carriers that previously elected to become subject to this paragraph (b) shall not be eligible to withdraw from such regulation for the duration of the freeze.

(4) Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, if a Rate-of-Return Carrier enters or exits the National Exchange Carrier Association (Association), as defined in § 69.2(d) of this chapter, traffic-sensitive tariff pursuant to the provisions of § 69.3(e)(6) of this chapter, the Association shall adjust its switched access rate caps referenced in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(A) Determine each entering Rate-of-Return Carrier's interstate switched access revenues for the preceding calendar year;

(B) Determine the revenues that would have been realized by the entering Rate-of-Return Carrier in the preceding calendar year if it had used the Association's switched access rates (employing the rates for the appropriate bands) as of December 31 of the preceding year and the entering Rate-of-Return Carrier's switched access demand used to determine switched access revenues under paragraph (a)(4)(i)(A) of this section; and

(C) Subtract the sum of the revenues determined pursuant to paragraph (a)(4)(i)(B) of this section from the sum of the revenues determined pursuant to paragraph (a)(4)(i)(A) of this section.

(ii) The Association shall determine the amount by which each exiting Rate-of-Return Carrier is a net contributor or net recipient to or from the switched access segment of the Association pool as follows:

(A) The Association shall calculate the difference between each exiting Rate-of-Return Carrier's 2011-2012 tariff year projected interstate switched access revenues excluding Local Switching Support and the Rate-of-Return Carrier's projected switched access pool settlements excluding Local Switching Support for the same period with a net contribution amount being treated as a positive amount and a net recipient amount being treated as a negative amount. The Association shall divide the calculated difference by the Rate-of-Return Carrier's 2011-2012 tariff year projected interstate switched access revenues excluding Local Switching Support to produce a percent net contribution or net receipt factor.

(B) The Association shall multiply the factor calculated in paragraph (a)(4)(ii)(A) of this section by the Rate-of-Return Carrier's switched access revenues for the preceding calendar year to yield the amount of the Rate-of-Return Carrier's net contribution or net receipts for the calendar year.

(A) Add the amounts calculated under paragraphs (a)(4)(i) and (a)(4)(ii) of this section;

(B) Divide the amount determined in paragraph (a)(4)(iii)(A) of this section by the preceding year's switched access revenues of the Rate-of-Return Carriers that will participate in the Association traffic-sensitive tariff for the next annual tariff period;

(C) The Association shall proportionately adjust its June 30 switched access rate caps by the percentage amount determined in paragraph (a)(4)(iii)(B) of this section.

(iv) The interstate switched access rate caps determined pursuant to paragraph (a)(4)(iii)(C) of this section shall be the new capped interstate switched access rates for purposes of § 51.909(a). The Association shall provide support in its annual access tariff filing to justify the revised interstate switched access rate caps, the Access Recovery Charges that will be assessed, and the amount of Connect America Fund ICC support each carrier will be eligible to receive.

(2) Charges for subelements associated with physical collocation or virtual collocation, other than the subelement described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section and subelements recovering the cost of the virtual collocation equipment described in § 64.1401(e)(1) of this chapter, may reasonably differ in different central offices, notwithstanding § 69.3(e)(7).

(c) Notwithstanding § 69.3(e)(7), in study areas in which a telephone company offers a cross-connect, as described in § 69.121(a)(1), for the transmission of interstate special access traffic, telephone companies may charge rates for special access sub-elements of DS1, DS3, and such other special access services as the Commission may designate, that differ depending on the zone in which the service is offered, provided that the charges for any such service shall not be deaveraged within any such zone.

(1) A special access service subelement shall be deemed to be offered in the zone that contains the telephone company location from which the service is provided.

(2) A special access service subelement provided to a customer between telephone company locations shall be deemed to be offered in the highest priced zone that contains one of the locations between which the service is offered.

(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 § 69.3(e)(9).

(4) A local exchange carrier engaging in Access Stimulation is subject to revised interstate switched access charge rules under § 61.26(g) (for Competitive Local Exchange Carriers) or § 61.38 and § 69.3(e)(12) of this chapter (for rate-of-return local exchange carriers).

(g) A local exchange carrier otherwise eligible to file a tariff pursuant to this section may not do so if it is engaging in Access Stimulation, as that term is defined in § 61.3(bbb). A carrier so engaged must file interstate access tariffs in accordance with § 61.38 and § 69.3(e)(12) of this chapter.

(ddd) The term means, for purposes of this part and §§ 69.3(e)(12)(iv) and 69.5(b) of this chapter, a retail or wholesale telecommunications carrier that uses the exchange access or information access services of another telecommunications carrier for the provision of telecommunications.

(1) Competitive local exchange carriers and rate-of-return local exchange carriers shall not assess terminating interstate or intrastate switched access tandem switching or terminating switched access tandem transport charges described in § 69.4(b)(5) on Interexchange Carriers when the terminating traffic is destined for a competitive local exchange carrier, or a rate-of-return local exchange carrier, or is destined, directly or indirectly, for an IPES Provider, where such carrier or Provider is engaged in Access Stimulation, as that term is defined in § 61.3(bbb) of this chapter, consistent with the provisions of § 61.26(g)(3) of this chapter and § 69.3(e)(12)(iv).

(c) The following provisions of this part shall apply to telephone companies subject to price cap regulation only to the extent that application of such provisions is necessary to develop the nationwide average carrier common line charge, for purposes of reporting pursuant to §§ 43.21 and 43.22 of this chapter, and for computing initial charges for new rate elements: §§ 69.3(f), 69.106(b), 69.106(f), 69.106(g), 69.109(b), 69.110(d), 69.111(c), 69.111(g)(1), 69.111(g)(2), 69.111(g)(3), 69.111(l), 69.112(d), 69.114(b), 69.114(d), 69.125(b)(2), 69.301 through 69.310, and 69.401 through 69.412. The computation of rates pursuant to these provisions by telephone companies subject to price cap regulation shall be governed by the price cap rules set forth in part 61 of this chapter and other applicable Commission rules and orders.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 61.41(c)(2), when a telephone company subject to price cap regulation acquires, is acquired by, merges with, or otherwise becomes affiliated with a telephone company that qualifies as an “average schedule” company, the latter company may retain its “average schedule” status or become subject to price cap regulation in accordance with § 69.3(i)(3) of this chapter and the requirements referenced in that section.