Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service
Federal RegisterMar 14, 1996
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Parts 36 and 69
[CC Docket No. 96-45; FCC 96-93]
Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: On March 8, 1996, the Federal Communications Commission
(``Commission'') adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order
Establishing Joint Board. The Commission initiates this rulemaking: to
define the services that will be supported by Federal universal service
support mechanisms; to define those support mechanisms; and to
otherwise recommend changes to our regulations to implement the
universal service directives of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
DATES: Comments must be filed on or before April 8, 1996, and reply
comments must be filed on or before May 3, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Office of the Secretary,
Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, NW., Washington, DC
20554.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah A. Dupont, Senior Attorney,
202-418-0850, Accounting and Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of contents Paragraph
I. Introduction.............................................. 1
II. Goals and Principles of Universal Service Support
Mechanisms.................................................. 3
III. Support for Rural, Insular, and High-Cost Areas and Low-
Income Consumers............................................
A. Goals and Principles.................................... 13
B. Support for Rural, Insular, and High Cost Areas.........
1. What Services to Support.............................. 15
2. How to Implement...................................... 24
3. Who Is Eligible for Support........................... 41
C. Support for Low-Income Consumers........................
1. What Services to Support.............................. 50
2. How to Implement and Who Is Eligible for Support...... 59
D. Ensuring that Supported Services for Rural, Insular, and
High-Cost Areas and Low-Income Consumers Evolve........... 66
IV. Schools, Libraries, and Health Care Providers
A. Goals and Principles.................................... 71
B. Schools and Libraries...................................
1. What Services to Support.............................. 77
2. How to Implement...................................... 82
3. Who Is Eligible for Support........................... 87
C. Health Care Providers...................................
1. What Services to Support.............................. 89
2. How to Implement...................................... 95
3. Who Is Eligible for Support........................... 104
V. Enhancing Access to Advanced Services for Schools,
Libraries, and Health Care Providers
A. Goals and Principles.................................... 107
B. How to Implement........................................ 109
C. Who Is Eligible for Support............................. 111
VI. Other Universal Service Support Mechanisms............... 112
VII. Administration of Support Mechanisms....................
A. Goals and Principles.................................... 116
B. Administration
1. Who Should Contribute................................. 118
2. How Should Contributions Be Assessed.................. 121
3. Who Should Administer................................. 127
VIII Composition of the Joint Board.......................... 132
IX. Procedural Matters
A. Ex Parte................................................ 134
B. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis......................... 135
C. Comment Dates........................................... 143
X. Ordering Clauses.......................................... 145
Attachment: Service List
[[Page 10500]]
I. Introduction
1. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order Establishing Joint
Board (Notice) implements, in part, the Congressional directives set
out in Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996 Act).1 As required by Section
254(a)(1), we initiate this rulemaking to do the following: (1) Define
the services that will be supported by Federal universal service
support mechanisms; (2) define those support mechanisms; and (3)
otherwise recommend changes to our regulations to implement the
universal service directives of the 1996 Act.2 We seek comment on
all the matters discussed in this Notice. Also, pursuant to Section
254(a)(1), we order that a Federal-State Joint Board be convened in
this docket, we appoint the individual members of the Federal-State
Joint Board, and we refer the issues raised in this Notice to that
Joint Board for the preparation of a Recommended Decision on these
matters by November 8, 1996.3
\1\ Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110
Stat. 56 (1996) (to be codified at 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). For
clarity, we refer to provisions of the 1996 Act using the sections
at which they will be codified.
\2\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Section 254(a)(1).
\3\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 131 (1996).
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2. We intend that our undertaking in this Notice be consistent with
the language of the 1996 Act and the underlying Congressional intent.
We are further guided by our past experience in addressing universal
service issues, but only to the extent that experience can assist us in
interpreting and effectuating our new statutory mandate. This Notice
reflects our newly articulated statutory obligation to ensure that the
definition of services supported by universal service support
mechanisms and those mechanisms themselves evolve as advances in
telecommunications and information technologies continue to present
consumers with an ever increasing array of telecommunications and
information services.4 In accordance with Section 254(c)(2) of the
1996 Act, and as described below, we will periodically review, after
obtaining further Joint Board recommendations, the definition of
services supported by universal service mechanisms that we adopt in
this proceeding, as well as the regulations adopted to implement the
universal service mandates of the 1996 Act.5
\4\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(c)(1).
\5\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(2).
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II. Goals and Principles of Universal Service Support Mechanisms
3. Section 254(a)(1) of the Communications Act, as amended,
requires the Commission to ``institute and refer to a Federal-State
Joint Board under section 410(c) a proceeding to recommend changes to
any of its regulations in order to implement sections 214(e) and
[Section 254], including the definition of the services that are
supported by Federal universal service support mechanisms and a
specific timetable for completion of such recommendations.'' 6
Section 254(b) requires that:
\6\ Id. Sec. 254(a)(1).
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[T]he Joint Board and the Commission shall base policies for the
preservation and advancement of universal service on the following
principles:
(1) QUALITY AND RATES.--Quality services should be available at
just, reasonable, and affordable rates.
(2) ACCESS TO ADVANCED SERVICES.--Access to advanced
telecommunications and information services should be provided in
all regions of the Nation.
(3) ACCESS IN RURAL AND HIGH COST AREAS.--Consumers in all
regions of the Nation, including low-income consumers and those in
rural, insular, and high cost areas, should have access to
telecommunications and information services, including interexchange
services and advanced telecommunications and information services,
that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban
areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable
to rates charged for similar services in urban areas.
(4) EQUITABLE AND NONDISCRIMINATORY CONTRIBUTIONS.--All
providers of telecommunications services should make an equitable
and nondiscriminatory contribution to the preservation and
advancement of universal service.
(5) SPECIFIC AND PREDICTABLE SUPPORT MECHANISMS.--There should
be specific, predictable and sufficient Federal and State mechanisms
to preserve and advance universal service.
(6) ACCESS TO ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS,
HEALTH CARE, AND LIBRARIES.--Elementary and secondary schools and
classrooms, health care providers, and libraries should have access
to advanced telecommunications services as described in subsection
(h).
(7) ADDITIONAL PRINCIPLES.--Such other principles as the Joint
Board and the Commission determine are necessary and appropriate for
the protection of the public interest, convenience, and necessity
and are consistent with this Act.7
\7\ Id. 254(b).
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Prior to the 1996 Act, the Commission relied on Section 1 of the
Communications Act of 1934 8 as the touchstone for virtually all
major universal service policy discussions. The principles in Section
254(b) particularize and supplement our responsibility under that
section of the Communications Act, as amended by the 1996 Act, ``to
make available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United
States without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion,
national origin, or sex a rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide
wire and radio communication service with adequate facilities at
reasonable charges. * * *'' 9
\8\ 47 U.S.C. 151.
\9\ 47 U.S.C. 151, as amended by 1996 Act sec. 104, 151 (new
language emphasized).
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4. We solicit comment on how each of the seven principles
enunciated in Section 254(b) should influence our policies on universal
service. For example, the first principle introduces the concept of
``quality services.'' 10 We seek comment on how we can assess
whether quality services are being made available. In particular, we
seek comment on the utility of performance-based measurements to
evaluate our success in reaching that Congressional objective. The
first principle also directs us to ensure that quality service be
available at ``just, reasonable, and affordable rates.'' 11 While
the Commission has often determined ``just and reasonable'' rates, we
have not generally grappled with the notion of ``affordable'' 12
in the context of universal service. We seek comment on whether there
are appropriate measures that could help us assess whether
``affordable'' service is being provided to all Americans.13
\10\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(1).
\11\ Id.
\12\ Webster's New World Dictionary defines the term ``afford''
as follows: ``to have enough or the means for; bear the cost of
without serious inconvenience.'' Webster's New World Dictionary at
23 (William Collins, Second College ed. 1980).
\13\ For example, one such measure might be the level of
telecommunications service subscribership among targeted
populations.
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5. As to the second principle, we seek comment on how to design our
policies to foster access to advanced telecommunications and
information services for ``all regions of the Nation.'' 14 While
in the past, the Commission has focused on bringing basic
telecommunications services to as many American homes as possible, this
principle instructs us to focus specifically on advanced
telecommunications and information services. We seek comment on which
advanced telecommunications and information services should be
provided, and how to provide access effectively to Americans in various
[[Page 10501]]
geographic regions. We also seek comment on the cost of providing such
access.
\14\ 1996 Act Sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(2).
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6. The third principle stresses that consumers in ``rural, insular,
and high-cost areas'' and ``low-income consumers'' should have access
to ``telecommunications and information services'' that are
``reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas.''
15 In light of the further legislative intent to ``accelerate
rapidly private sector deployment of advanced services to all
Americans,'' 16 we believe that our goal should be to ensure that
consumers ``in all regions of the Nation'' 17 and at all income
levels, including low-income consumers, enjoy affordable access to the
range of services available to urban consumers generally. We recognize,
however, that the range of services is not likely to be identical for
all urban areas, and may, as a practical matter, vary according to the
demographic characteristics of consumers located in a given urban area.
We seek comment on how best to incorporate that variation in our use of
urban area service as a benchmark for comparative purposes.
\15\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(3). ``Insular'' areas refer to areas such
as the Pacific Island territories. S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th
Cong., 2d Sess. at 131.
\16\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong. 2d Sess 1 (1996).
\17\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(2).
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7. The fourth and fifth principles refer to support mechanisms for
universal service and will guide our efforts to establish those
mechanisms through which funding essential to realizing our universal
service goals will be collected and distributed. The fourth principle
calls for ``equitable and non-discriminatory contributions: from ``all
providers of telecommunications services,'' 18 while the fifth
principle directs that the ``Federal and State mechanisms'' be
``specific, predictable and sufficient.'' 19 The sixth principle
that will shape our deliberations states that ``elementary and
secondary schools and classrooms, health care providers, and libraries
should have access to advanced telecommunications services. * * *''
20 We discuss these principles in Sections V and VI, below.
\18\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(4).
\19\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(5).
\20\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(6).
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8. The final principle listed in Section 254 of the new legislation
authorizes the Commission and the Federal-State Joint Board to base
universal service policies on ``[s]uch other principles as [they]
determine are necessary and appropriate for the protection of the
public interest, convenience, and necessity and are consistent with
this Act.'' 21 We invite interested parties to propose additional
principles relevant to the choice of services that should receive
universal service support. We note, for example, a fundamental
underlying principle of the 1996 Act is the Congressional desire ``to
provide for a pro-competitive, de-regulatory national policy framework
designed to accelerate rapidly private sector deployment of advanced
telecommunications and information technologies to all Americans.''
22 In that context, we seek comment on whether we should ensure
that the means of distributing universal service support should be
competitively-neutral,23 and the least regulatory possible,
consistent with our statutory obligations. In addition, we specifically
ask that commenters address whether and to what extent concerns for low
income consumers or those in rural, insular, or high cost areas can or
should be articulated as additional universal service principles
pursuant to Section 254(b)(7) or should be considered in determining
whether a particular service is ``consistent with the public interest,
convenience, and necessity under Section 254(c)(1)(D).'' 24 We
request the Joint Board's recommendations regarding all of these
general policy issues raised by Section 254(b).
\21\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(7).
\22\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 1 (1996).
\23\ The contribution mechanism is expressly required to be
``equitable and non-discriminatory.'' 1996 Act sec. 101(a),
Sec. 254(d).
\24\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(7).
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9. Section 254(c)(1) of the Act directs that:
[T]he Joint Board in recommending, and the Commission in
establishing, the definition of the services that are supported by
Federal universal service support mechanisms shall consider the
extent to which such telecommunications services--
(A) are essential to education, public health, or public safety;
(B) have, through the operation of market choices by customers,
been subscribed to by a substantial majority of residential
customers;
(C) are being deployed in public telecommunications networks by
telecommunications carriers; and
(D) are consistent with the public interest, convenience, and
necessity.25
\25\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1).
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We interpret the statutory language of Section 254(c)(1) as
manifesting Congressional intent that the Joint Board and the
Commission consider all four criteria when deciding what services to
support through Federal universal service. We interpret this language,
however,--particularly the use of the word ``consider''--to allow the
Joint Board and the Commission to include services that do not
necessarily meet all of the four criteria. We seek comment and the
Joint Board's recommendation on this interpretation. We also ask how we
should evaluate whether a service or feature is ``essential to
education, public health, or public safety.'' 26
\26\ See Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(A).
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10. The fourth principle dictates that we must collect the revenues
required to fund the universal service support mechanisms discussed
here in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner. We seek detailed
comments on the implications of this directive with respect to the
mechanisms that will be employed to collect universal service
contributions, below. Here, however, we seek comment on what standards
we might use to help determine which, if any, ``providers of
telecommunications services'' might be treated differently than others
for ``equitable'' reasons.
11. The 1996 Act provides universal service support for two primary
categories of services, each of which has two separate subcategories of
intended beneficiaries: (1) A ``core'' group of services, the provision
of which is to be supported for consumers with low incomes or in rural,
insular, and high cost areas; and (2) additional services, including
advanced telecommunications and information services, for providers of
health care or educational services, as described in Sections 254(b)(6)
and 254(h). As we interpret the 1996 Act, our first responsibility is
to identify what core group of services should be supported by Federal
universal support mechanisms, to enable the first group of
beneficiaries to purchase those services at just, reasonable, and
affordable rates. As to the second category of services, advanced
telecommunications services for schools, libraries, and health care
providers, Section 254(c)(3) authorizes the Commission ``to designate a
separate definition of universal service applicable only to public
institutional telecommunications users.'' 27 We note that, in
regard to this provision, ``the conferees expect the Commission and the
Joint Board to take into account the particular needs of hospitals, K-
12 schools and libraries.'' 28 In Section 254(h), the Act created
two distinct mechanisms for assuring the availability of these
additional services to schools, libraries and health care providers.
Section 254(h)(1) contemplates that there will be Federal support
[[Page 10502]]
mechanisms to enable eligible health care providers in rural areas,
schools and libraries to obtain access to these additional services, as
well as the core services discussed above. In addition, the second
mechanism, found in Section 254(h)(2), directs the Commission to adopt
competitively neutral rules to enhance for all eligible health care
providers,29 libraries and schools access to advanced
telecommunications and information services to the extent technically
feasible and economically reasonable. In this Notice, we will address
both of these definitions and their respective potential support
mechanisms separately.
\27\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Conf., 2d Sess. 133
(1996).
\28\ Id.
\29\ Section 254(h)(5)(B) defines ``health care provider'' to
mean:
(i) post-secondary educational institutions offering health care
instruction, teaching hospitals, and medical schools;
(ii) community health centers or health centers providing health
care to migrants;
(iii) local health departments or agencies;
(iv) community mental health centers;
(v) not-for-profit hospitals;
(vi) rural health clinics; and
(vii) consortia of health care providers consisting of one or
more entities described in clauses (i) through (vi).
1996 Act sec. 101(a), 254(h)(5)(B).
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12. We do not address Sections 254(f), 254(g), or the last sentence
in Section 254(k) in this Notice, nor do we refer issues relating to
them to the Federal-State Joint Board convened by this Order. Section
254(f) is directed to the states and to what they may or may not do to
advance universal service goals. Section 254(g) has an explicit
timetable separate and distinct from that in Section 254(a),\30\ and we
believe these separate timetables, which are not reconcilable, indicate
that Section 254(g) does not need Joint Board consideration. The last
sentence in Section 254(k) states that ``[t]he Commission, with respect
to interstate services, and the States, with respect to intrastate
services, shall establish any necessary cost allocation rules,
accounting safeguards, and guidelines to ensure that the services
included in the definition of universal service bear no more than a
reasonable share of the joint and common costs of facilities used to
provide those services.'' \31\ The explicit use of the language ``the
Commission, with respect to interstate services, and the States, with
respect to intrastate services,'' indicates that Congress intended to
give the separate jurisdictions the flexibility to review these issues
separately.\32\
\30\ Section 254(a) requires the Joint Board to make its
recommendation to the Commission nine months after the date of
enactment of the 1996 Act and requires the Commission to complete
its proceedings within 15 months of the date of enactment. Id.
Sec. 254(a). Section 254(g), however, requires the Commission to
adopt rules ``within 6 months after the date of enactment'' of the
1996 Act ``to require that the rates charged by providers of
interexchange telecommunications services to subscribers in rural
and high cost areas shall be no higher than the rates charged by
each such provider to its subscribers in urban areas.'' Id.
Sec. 254(g).
\31\ Id. Sec. 254(k).
\32\ We are planning to commence a rulemaking shortly to
implement the provision in Section 254(k) calling for the Commission
``with respect to interstate services * * * [to] establish any
necessary cost allocation rules, accounting safeguards, and
guidelines to ensure that services included in the definition of
universal service bear no more than a reasonable share of the joint
and common costs of facilities used to provide those services.'' Id.
Sec. 254(k). This proceeding will be a vehicle for all interested
parties, including State regulators and consumer advocates, to
address issues of common concern and interest relating to
development of accounting safeguards for universal service support
mechanisms.
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III. Support for Rural, Insular, and High-Cost Areas and Low-Income
Consumers
A. Goals and Principles
13. In this section, we seek to answer several basic questions
concerning the design and operation of the support mechanisms for
rural, insular, and high cost areas as well as for low-income
consumers. In our search, we are guided by the principles in Section
254 relating to our obligations toward rural, insular, and high-cost
areas and low-income consumers.
14. The first universal service principle relevant to consumers in
rural, insular, and high-cost areas set forth in the 1996 Act is that
``[q]uality services should be available at just, reasonable, and
affordable rates.'' \33\ Prior to the 1996 Act, the Communications Act
of 1934 required that rates for telephone services subject to our
jurisdiction be just and reasonable, without unjust or unreasonable
discrimination,\34\ but did not expressly require that the rates be
affordable to the average telephone subscriber or to any designated
group of subscribers. The 1996 Act makes explicit that our universal
service policies should promote affordability of quality
telecommunications services. We seek comment proposing standards for
evaluating the affordability of telecommunications services. We note
that the Act specifically provides that telecommunications services--
not just the narrow category of telephone exchange service--be
affordable.\35\ The second relevant principle is that ``[a]ccess to
advanced telecommunications and information services should be provided
in all regions of the Nation.'' \36\ We seek comment on whether the Act
requires that all regions of the country must have access to all
telecommunications and information services, and if so, how this can
best be effectuated in a ``pro-competitive, de-regulatory
environment.'' \37\ The third principle we address here is that
``[c]onsumers in all regions of the Nation, including low-income
consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should have
access to telecommunications and information services, including
interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information
services'' reasonably comparable to those provided in urban areas and
at reasonably comparable rates.\38\ This principle directs us to go
beyond the purpose and approach of the current Universal Service Fund
(USF) program \39\ by focusing on the comparability of access to
services available throughout the country, as well as on the
comparability of rates.\40\
\33\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(1).
\34\ See 47 U.S.C. 201-202.
\35\ See 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254 (c), (i). The 1996 Act
defines ``telecommunications service'' as ``the offering of
telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such
classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the
public, regardless of the facilities used.'' Id. Sec. 153(51).
\36\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(2).
\37\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 1 (1996).
\38\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(3).
\39\ The current USF program is designed to ``preserve universal
service by enabling high cost companies to establish local exchange
rates that do not substantially exceed rates charged by other
companies.'' MTS and WATS Market Structure, Third Report and Order,
93 FCC 2d 241 (1983).
\40\ By means other than through the USF, the Commission has
also sought to ensure service to rural areas. For example, in Basic
Exchange Telecommunications Radio Service, Report and Order, 3 FCC
Rcd 214 (1988), we acknowledged that many rural households do not
have standard telephone service because the cost of wiring remote
locations is prohibitive. In response, the Commission established
the Basic Exchange Telephone Radio Systems (BETRS) to allow access
by LECs to shared frequencies to provide wireless local loops. More
recently, in amending our rules for competitive bidding for Personal
Communications Systems (PCS) licenses, we permitted rural telephone
companies to obtain broadband PCS licenses that are geographically
partitioned from larger PCS service areas (through a partial license
transfer) in an effort to ensure that rural areas receive broadband
PCS. Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications Act--
Competitive Bidding, Fifth Report and Order, 9 FCC Rcd 5532 (1994).
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B. Support for Rural, Insular, and High Cost Areas
1. What Services to Support
15. In this section, we discuss specific telecommunications
services we propose to include among the services that, with respect to
rural, insular, and high cost areas, should receive universal service
support. As to each of these ``core'' services, we seek comment on our
proposal to designate the service for
[[Page 10503]]
universal service support. We also ask commenters to discuss the extent
to which each of the proposed services is in accordance with the
principles and criteria in Sections 254(b) and 254(c)(1), discussed
above. In accordance with the principle of the 1996 Act that support
mechanisms should be ``specific, predictable, and sufficient,'' \41\ we
also ask the commenters to identify the total amount currently required
for each included service.
\41\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(5).
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16. We seek comment regarding whether the following services should
be included among those core services receiving universal service
support: (1) Voice grade access to the public switched network, with
the ability to place and receive calls; (2) touch-tone; (3) single
party service; (4) access to emergency services (911); and (5) access
to operator services.
17. We invite commenters to identify additional services that meet
the statutory criteria of Section 254(c)(1) and therefore should be
among the services that should receive universal service
support.42 Commenters should discuss the extent to which each of
the proposed services specifically meet those statutory criteria and
further the principles established in Section 254(b). In addition,
given that the 1996 Act specifies that common carriers ``shall * * *
offer the services that are supported by Federal universal service
support mechanisms'' in order to be designated as eligible
telecommunications carriers and thus eligible for universal service
support,43 and that the Joint Statement stresses the importance of
``opening all telecommunications markets to competition,'' 44 we
seek comment regarding the competitive effect of our proposed
definition. Specifically, we ask whether providing universal service
support for each proposed service could serve as a barrier to entry by
new competitors or favor one technology over another, perhaps more
efficient, technology. Our goal is to adopt universal service rules
that are competitively and technologically neutral so that our rules do
not unreasonably advantage one particular technology or class of
service provider over another technology or service provider.45
\42\ We have expressly not included Telecommunications Relay
Services (TRS) within the list of services proposed for universal
service support, because those services are already served by the
existing TRS support mechanism, established pursuant to Section 401
of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 47 U.S.C. 225.
\43\ 1996 Act sec. 102(a), Sec. 214(e)(1).
\44\ See S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 1
(1996).
\45\ See, e.g., 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(2) (directing
Commission to ``establish competitively neutral rules--to enhance *
* * access to advanced * * * services for * * * school classrooms,
health care providers, and libraries'') (emphasis added).
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18. Voice Grade Access to the Public Switched Telecommunications
Network. We believe that voice grade service, whether provided by
wireline or wireless technologies,46 should be considered
indispensable because it enables direct calling into the network, is
provided throughout public telecommunications networks,47 and is
subscribed to by a substantial majority of residential
customers.48 Because it enables consumers to reach schools,
emergency medical assistance, doctors, law enforcement authorities, and
fire departments, it appears to be essential to education, public
health, and public safety.49 Including voice grade service among
the services that should receive universal service support would also
appear to be consistent with the public interest, convenience, and
necessity. We seek comment as to whether, and at what performance
level, voice grade service should be included among the services that
should receive universal service support.
\46\ We recognize that all voice grade services may not have
identical transmission characteristics and, in particular, that
there may in some cases be differences in the capacity of wireline
and wireless services.
\47\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Section 254(c)(1)(C).
\48\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(B).
\49\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(A).
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19. Touch-tone. Touch-tone is a generic term for technology that
involves the use of a push-button telephone set that transmits, and a
local switch that receives, a dual-tone multifrequency signal (DTMF).
Touch-tone is widely deployed throughout public telecommunications
networks, and consumers widely subscribe to it.50 We note that
touch-tone is becoming increasingly indispensable for subscribers in
order for them to interact with automated information systems, and thus
may be essential for effective use of educational services. It also
increases the speed at which subscribers are able to reach emergency
service providers, and thus appears essential for public health and
safety.51 Including touch-tone service among the services that
should receive universal service support would also appear to be
consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity.52
We seek comment as to whether touch-tone service should be included
among those supported services. We also request that interested parties
provide information regarding any service other than touch-tone that
would serve the same general function as touch-tone service.53 In
addition, we ask whether the provision of such services should be
treated the same as the provision of touch-tone service for purposes of
determining a carrier's designation as an eligible carrier.54
\50\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1) (B)-(C).
\51\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(A).
\52\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(D).
\53\ Push button telephone sets are used with ISDN lines but
signalling typically is accomplished through the transmission of
digital signals instead of DTMF signals. Bellcore's BOC Notes on the
LEC Networks, 1994, Section 14. These digital signals provide all of
the functionalities available with DTMF signals.
\54\ See 1996 Act sec. 102(a), Sec. 214(e)(1)(A).
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20. Single Party Service. Single party service is also generally
available throughout the public telecommunications network and is
subscribed to by a majority of residential customers.55 Single
party service helps ensure that subscribers will be able to reach
emergency service and health care providers without delay and may
therefore be essential to public health and public safety.56 In
addition to affording subscribers privacy, single party service
facilitates access to many information technologies. Many residential
subscribers use modems to access advanced services like home banking,
the Internet and commercial computing services. Because modems
currently are required for computer users to have access to those
services, single party service may be becoming even more important to
residential computer users in the future, and requiring it may
therefore be consistent with the public interest, convenience, and
necessity. We seek comment as to whether single party service should be
included among the services that should receive universal service
support.
\55\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1) (B)-(C). Single party service occurs
when exactly one subscriber may use a local loop to originate or
terminate calls.
\56\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1) (A), (D).
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21. Access to Emergency Services. Access to emergency services,
including 911 service, is essential to public health or public safety
and, as such, consistent with the public interest, convenience, and
necessity.57 Additionally, such services are widely deployed
throughout public telecommunications networks and, though generally
provided as part of residential service without any customer
intervention, are available to a substantial majority of residential
customers.58 In much of the nation, 911 service merely connects
subscribers with an emergency service that includes local police and
fire
[[Page 10504]]
departments. Enhanced 911 service adds capabilities, such as automatic
number identification and automatic location information,59 to the
basic 911 service. These additional capabilities ``are being deployed
in public telecommunications networks by telecommunications carriers''
60 and appear ``consistent with the public interest, convenience,
and necessity.'' 61 They also may be ``essential to ``public
health[] or public safety,'' 62 and, in the future, provided to a
substantial majority of residential subscribers.63 To ensure a
complete record on this issue, we invite comment on whether we should
include access to enhanced 911 service among the services that should
receive universal service support in the event we include basic 911
service in that group.
\57\ Id.
\58\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(B)-(C).
\59\ Automatic number identification provides the called party
with the telephone number from which the call was placed. Automatic
location information allows the called party to use that telephone
number to determine the address or other location from which the
call was placed.
\60\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(c)(1)(C).
\61\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(D).
\62\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(A).
\63\ See id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(B).
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22. Access to Operator Services. Similarly, access to operator
services would appear indispensable for both at-home and away-from-home
users in public health or public safety emergencies and, as such, would
appear to be consistent with the public interest, convenience, and
necessity.64 Operator services are available throughout the public
switched network and are used by at least a substantial majority of
residential customers, even though customers are often charged for
using those services.65 We seek comment as to whether access to
operator services should be included among the services that should
receive universal service support.
\64\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(A), (D).
\65\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(D).
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23. We also invite commenters to identify services other than those
listed above that should be included among the services that should
receive universal service support, based on the four criteria specified
in Section 254(c)(1). For instance, interested parties may wish to
address the inclusion of relay services, directory listings, and equal
access, to the extent that such a requirement would be consistent with
the Act.66 In particular, because of the directive in Section
254(b)(3) relating to ``access to * * * interexchange services,''
67 we seek comment on whether access to interexchange services
should also be included among those services receiving universal
service support. Finally, we invite parties to discuss advanced
services that may warrant inclusion, now or in the future, in the list
of services that are supported by universal service support mechanisms.
For example, within the context of the criteria discussed in Section
254(c)(1),68 commenters may wish to discuss Internet access
availability, data transmission capability, optional Signalling System
Seven features or blocking of such features, enhanced services, and
broadband services.
\66\ We note, for example, that Section 705 of the 1996 Act
leaves, for a future Commission proceeding, the issue of whether
commercial mobile service providers should be required to provide
equal access. Any proposal to include unblocked access as an element
of universal service obligation for commercial mobile service
providers thus would be premature. 1996 Act sec. 705.
\67\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(3).
\68\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1).
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2. How to Implement
24. With respect to each support mechanism, we must determine the
beneficiaries of the support. For example, we ask parties to address
whether support for rural, insular, and high-cost areas should be
limited to residential users or residential and single-line business
users, or should be provided to all users in such areas. We also seek
comment on the method for calculating support amounts. We ask parties
to address whether support should be calculated based on inputs (for
example, facility costs would determine subsidy amounts) or based on
outputs (the price of services would determine support levels). In
answering these questions, commenters should consider all applicable
provisions of the 1996 Act, especially the three general principles
enumerated in the Act applicable to support for rural, insular and
high-cost areas and for low-income consumers.69 We seek comment on
how assistance for rural, insular, and high cost areas should be
calculated and distributed, and request that the Federal-State Joint
Board prepare recommendations in this regard.
\69\ See part III.B.1, supra.
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a. How to Determine ``Affordable'' and ``Reasonably Comparable''.
25. Section 254(b)(3) states that rates for services in rural,
insular, and high cost areas should be reasonably comparable to rates
charged for similar services in urban areas of the country.'' 70
Section 254(i) charges this Commission and the States with
responsibility for assuring that the service rates throughout this
country should be ``just, reasonable and affordable.'' 71 We seek
comment on how we should determine rate levels that would be
``affordable'' and ``reasonably comparable'' for services identified as
requiring universal service support. We ask commenters to identify the
criteria or principles that should guide this determination, the
methods we should use to evaluate the required rate levels, and whether
there should be procedures to recalibrate these rate levels to reflect
changes in inflation or other factors that may make such recalibration
periodically necessary.
\70\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(3).
\71\ Id. Sec. 254(i).
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26. We seek comment on, for example, whether support should be
based on achieving specific end-user prices. We also seek comment on
how we should determine the level of prices for designated
telecommunications services that are ``comparable to rates charged for
similar services in urban areas.'' 72 In addition, we ask whether
prices should vary depending on whether the customer is a non-business
subscriber, a single-line business subscriber, or a multi-line business
subscriber. Finally, we seek comment on the extent to which a subsidy
should be provided to assure affordable and reasonably comparable rates
for services using other than a primary line to a principal residence.
We refer these issues to the Joint Board for its recommendation.
\72\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(3).
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b. How to Calculate the Subsidy.
27. We also seek comment to identify methods for determining the
level of support required to assure that carriers are financially able
to provide the services identified for inclusion among those to be
supported by universal service funds in rural, insular, and high-cost
areas. The method we ultimately adopt should be as simple to administer
as possible, technology-neutral, and designed to identify the minimum
subsidy required to achieve the statutory goal of affordable and
reasonably comparable rates throughout the country. It should be
equitable and non-discriminatory in the burden that it imposes upon
contributors, and its distribution procedures should be direct,
explicit, and specific.
28. The existing universal fund mechanism operates through our Part
36 rules. The subpart that concerns the universal service fund allows
LECs with above-average costs to recover a designated portion of those
above-average costs from the interstate jurisdiction and, in
particular, from the universal service fund, to which only some
interexchange carriers must contribute. This frees the LEC recipients
[[Page 10505]]
from the need to recover all of their costs from their own customers
and in so doing is intended to moderate local rate levels. The existing
mechanism may, however, give recipients of assistance, currently
limited to incumbent LECs, a substantial advantage over competitors who
must recover all of their costs from their customers. It may also not
be the sort of ``explicit'' support mechanism contemplated in Section
254(e).73
\73\ Id. Sec. 254(e).
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29. The dial equipment minute (DEM) weighting assistance program is
based on the theory that smaller telephone companies have higher local
switching costs than larger LECs have, because the smaller companies
cannot take advantage of certain economies of scale.74 Our
jurisdictional separations rules allow LECs with fewer than 50,000
access lines to allocate to the interstate jurisdiction a greater
proportion of these local switching costs than larger LECs may
allocate. For these small LECs, the actual DEM is weighted (i.e.
multiplied by a factor) to shift some intrastate costs to the
interstate jurisdiction. DEM weighting is specifically provided outside
of, and unrelated to, the USF program. Unlike the USF, DEM weighting
applies only to small LECs, and to all small LECs, regardless of their
actual costs.
\74\ Dial equipment minutes are the minutes of holding time of
originating and terminating local dial switching equipment. The
jurisdictional separations rules allocate local switching equipment
costs between the interstate and intrastate jurisdictions on the
basis of each jurisdiction's relative number of dial equipment
minutes of use.
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30. We seek comment on whether continuing to use the Commission's
jurisdictional separations rules to subsidize LECs with above-average
loop costs, or the local switching costs of small LECs, is consistent
with Congress's intent ``to provide for a pro-competitive, de-
regulatory national policy framework * * * opening all
telecommunications markets to competition,'' 75 or with its intent
relating to the characteristics of universal service support mechanisms
to be adopted pursuant to Section 254. Many entities, among them non-
wireline and non-dominant carriers, that might be designated ``eligible
telecommunications carrier[s]'' by the appropriate State commission,
are not now subject to our separations rules, which apply only to
LECs.76 We also seek comment in this connection regarding the
statutory requirement ``that any support mechanisms continued or
created under new section 254 should be explicit,'' 77 and we
request the Joint Board to address this principle in its
recommendation.
\75\ See S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 1
(1996).
\76\ 1996 Act sec. 102(a), Sec. 214(e).
\77\ Id. Sec. 254(e).
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31. We also request comment regarding a specific proxy model
submitted to this Commission by several telecommunications carriers
(Joint Sponsors), which we specifically incorporate by reference into
this proceeding.78 Once we determine what constitutes affordable
rates for services designated for universal service support, this model
might be used to determine the level of subsidy required to bring
services priced at affordable levels to consumers in high-cost, rural,
and insular areas. We seek comment on how this objective could be
achieved. The Joint Sponsors collaborated during the past year to
develop a Benchmark Costing Model (Model) for calculating a
``benchmark'' cost, or standard assumed level of expense, for the
provision of local telecommunications access in every census block
group 79 in the United States, excluding Alaska and the
territories, if service is provided by a wireline carrier.80
\78\ MCI Communications Inc., NYNEX Corporation, Sprint/United
Management Co., and US West, Inc., Benchmark Costing Model: A Joint
Submission, Copyright 1995, CC Docket No. 80-286 (Dec. 1, 1995)
(Joint Submission). The Joint Sponsors are US West, Nynex, MCI, and
Sprint.
\79\ A census block group is a geographic unit defined by the
Bureau of the Census. Each census block group contains approximately
400 households.
\80\ See Joint Submission.
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32. The purpose of the Model is to identify areas where the cost of
service can reasonably be expected to be so high as to require explicit
high-cost support for the preservation of universal service. The Model
produces a benchmark cost range for a defined set of residential
telecommunications services assuming efficient wireline engineering and
design, and using current technology. It is not based upon the costs
reported by any company, nor the embedded cost to a company of
providing service today. The Model bases projected costs on the least-
cost wireline technology to serve a particular area, given that area's
geographic and population characteristics. As a threshold inquiry, we
ask whether the model should be made technology neutral, in order to
provide for non-wireline service where such service would be
economical. In addition, we ask whether, in addressing the Model
specifically or these issues generally, we should base our
determinations on embedded costs or forward-looking costs, to the
extent that costs are relevant to the support mechanisms for rural,
insular, and high-cost areas.
33. We also solicit comment regarding a proxy model that
incorporates data showing the location of actual residential and
business customers.81 The party offering this model claims it can
be adapted for use by wire center, or even by specific consumer, as
well as by census block group, but also acknowledges that, as currently
designed, it relies on proprietary information that cannot be reviewed
by other interested parties. We seek comment regarding the merits of
this proxy model. Specifically, we ask whether using an incumbent LEC's
wire centers as the geographic unit for calculating universal service
support accords with our policy of competitive and technological
neutrality.
\81\ See ex parte submission in CC Docket No. 80-286 by Gina
Harrison, Director, Federal Regulatory Relations, Pacific Telesis
Group (February 29, 1996).
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34. In addition, we ask whether census block groups are the best
geographic units for developing a proxy model, or whether alternative
units would be more accurate or easier to administer. We invite comment
regarding the Model's assumptions about the likely distribution of
subscribers within a census block group. For example, we seek comment
whether the assumption of uniform population distribution adequately
reflects the possibility that in some rural areas, despite the
theoretical sparsity, all lines are clustered near a single location.
The Model also excludes business lines from its analysis.82 We
invite comment as to whether the Model might therefore show unduly high
residential costs in some census block groups, in that the exclusion of
business lines could produce an overstated calculation of the projected
cost per line. We also ask whether a model that included business lines
might be more accurate. We also seek comment regarding the engineering
assumptions on which the Joint Sponsors rely, and whether the Model
could be improved by the addition of other variables, such as climate
or slope. Conversely, we seek comment on whether the Model contains any
redundant or superfluous variables.
\82\ Joint Submission at I-2.
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35. We also solicit comment on whether relying on a competitive
bidding process to set the level of subsidies required in rural,
insular, and high-cost areas would be consistent with Section 214(e),
which addresses the circumstances under which telecommunications
carriers are eligible
[[Page 10506]]
to receive universal service support.83 Carriers offering all of
the services supported by universal service mechanisms would bid on the
level of assistance per line that they would need to provide all
supported services. Such an approach would attempt to harness
competitive forces to minimize the level of high-cost assistance needed
to implement our statutory mandate in areas where competition has
developed.84
\83\ Amendment of Part 36 of the Commission's Rules and
Establishment of a Joint Board, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and
Notice of Inquiry, 10 FCC Rcd 12309 (1995). We discuss Section
214(e) in part III.B.3., infra.
\84\ We acknowledge that, at present, there may be only one
eligible carrier in some rural, insular, or high cost areas. Bidding
to set the level of support payments cannot take place until
competitors enter the market.
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36. In such areas, competing carriers would bid to set the level of
assistance per line that any carrier serving a specified area would
receive, with the lowest bid winning. Although the low bidder would
determine the amount of support per line served that eligible carriers
would receive, any authorized carrier would be able to receive
assistance at that level. The low bidder, however, would receive an
additional ``incentive bonus.'' The bonus would be necessary to induce
competitors to underbid one another, rather than merely accepting the
established level of assistance.
37. We acknowledge that market conditions may not warrant the
introduction of this plan at present. Nevertheless, we believe
competitive local exchange markets may develop even in high-cost areas,
and therefore request comment regarding distributing high-cost
assistance on the basis of competitive bids.
38. We request that the Federal-State Joint Board prepare
recommendations regarding the best means of establishing a new
universal service support mechanism for rural, insular, and high-cost
areas. In preparing its recommendation, we ask the Joint Board to give
the greatest weight to effective implementation of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, enabling us to carry out the
requirements of the Act in the manner most consistent with the
principles and intentions expressed in the Act itself.
39. The legislative history of the 1996 Act makes clear that we are
to take a new approach in designing support mechanisms for universal
service, and that the proceeding in CC Docket No. 80-286 is not an
appropriate foundation on which to base this proceeding.85 We
wish, however, to preserve the relevant portion of the record that
would be consistent with the principles of the 1996 Act. To avoid
unnecessary duplication of efforts by interested parties and
regulators, we are incorporating by reference that portion of the CC
Docket No. 80-286 record that relates to changing the support
mechanisms in our jurisdictional separations rules into this
proceeding.86 With respect to the proposals raised in that
proceeding, we request that interested parties specifically comment on
which, if any, of those proposals are consistent with the requirements
and intent of the 1996 Act.
\85\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 131
(1996).
\86\ Amendment of Part 36 of the Commission's Rules and
Establishment of a Joint Board, Notice of Inquiry, 9 FCC Rcd 7404
(1994), and comments, reply comments, and ex parte submissions
responsive thereto; Amendment of Part 36 of the Commission's Rules
and Establishment of a Joint Board, Order, 9 FCC Rcd 7962 (1994)
(Data Request) and responses thereto; and Amendment of Part 36 of
the Commission's Rules and Establishment of a Joint Board, Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry, 10 FCC Rcd 12309 (1995),
and comments, reply comments, and ex parte submissions responsive
thereto.
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c. Transition Issues.
40. At present, LECs with loop costs more than 115 percent above
the national average receive support from the Universal Service Fund
described in part II.B.2.b., above. At present, there is a cap on the
rate at which the fund may grow. That cap is scheduled to expire on
July 1, 1996. We seek comment on whether we should extend the cap until
the completion of the Joint Board's and our deliberations in this
proceeding. We also seek comment on whether the principles governing
our deliberation would permit, or even require, a transition period for
carriers, particularly recipients of subsidies achieved through our
separations rules (e.g., the USF and DEM weighting rules), to adjust to
operating the statutory framework erected by the Telecommunications Act
of 1996.
3. Who Is Eligible for Support
41. In addition to instructing us to define which
telecommunications services carriers receiving support must provide,
the 1996 Act also specifies the eligibility requirements carriers must
satisfy in order to receive universal service support. Under Section
214(e), support is available only to ``common carrier[s]'' designated
as ``eligible telecommunications carrier[s]'' by the appropriate State
commissions.87 Section 254(e) also requires that ``[a]ny carrier
that receives support shall use that support only for the provision,
maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and services for which the
support is intended.'' We request comment, and a corresponding
recommendation from the Joint Board, regarding the need for any
measures to ensure that support is used for its intended purpose.
Similarly, we ask for comment regarding the need for additional
measures to ensure that ``telecommunications carrier[s]'' do not ``use
services that are not competitive to subsidize services that are
subject to competition.'' 88 We also invite commenters to propose
means to ensure that all eligible carriers--and no ineligible
carriers--receive the appropriate amount of universal service support.
\87\ 1996 Act sec. 102(a), Sec. 214(e).
\88\ Id. Sec. 254(k).
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42. In areas served by a ``rural telephone company,'' as defined by
Section 3 of the 1996 Act,89 the State commission may choose to
designate ``more than one common carrier as an eligible
telecommunications carrier for a service area designated by the State
commission'' if that commission finds ``that the designation is in the
public interest.'' 90 In other areas, the State commission must
upon request designate as an ``eligible carrier'' any common carrier
meeting the universal service requirements specified in Section
214(e)(1).
\89\ Id. Sec. 153(47).
\90\ Id. Sec. 214(e)(2).
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43. Section 214(e)(1) requires an eligible carrier to offer ``the
services that are supported by Federal universal service support
mechanisms under Section 254(c), either using its own facilities or a
combination of its own facilities and resale of another carrier's
services.'' 91 Each eligible carrier must also ``advertise the
availability of such services'' and the charges for those services
``using media of general distribution.'' 92 We seek comment
regarding, and ask the Joint Board to recommend, standards for
compliance with these requirements.
\91\ Id.
\92\ Id. Sec. 214(e)(1)(B).
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44. Each State commission may specify the ``service area'' within
which a common carrier is classified as an ``eligible carrier.'' The
1996 Act defines ``the term `service area' [to mean] a geographic area
established by a State commission for the purpose of determining
universal service obligations and support mechanisms.'' 93 With
respect to rural telephone companies, ``service area'' means a
company's study area,94 ``unless and
[[Page 10507]]
until the Commission and the States, taking into account the
recommendations of a Federal-State Joint Board instituted under Section
410(c), establish a different definition of service area for such a
company.'' 95 The 1996 Act defines ``rural telephone company'' as
a ``local exchange carrier operating entity to the extent that such
entity--(A) Provides common carrier service to any local exchange
carrier study area that does not include either--(i) Any incorporated
place of 10,000 inhabitants or more, or any part thereof, based on the
most recently available population statistics of the Bureau of the
Census; or (ii) any territory, incorporated or unincorporated, included
in an urbanized area, as defined by the Bureau of the Census as of
August 10, 1993; (B) provides telephone exchange service, including
exchange access, to fewer than 50,000 access lines; (C) provides
telephone exchange service to any local exchange carrier study area
with fewer than 100,000 access lines; or (D) has less than 15 percent
of its access lines in communities of more than 50,000 on the date of
enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.'' 96
\93\ Id. Sec. 214(e)(5).
\94\ ``Each study area'' is generally a LEC's service area in a
given State. The study area boundaries are fixed as of November 15,
1984. MTS and WATS Market Structure; Amendment of Part 67 of the
Commission's Rules and Establishment of a Joint Board, Decision and
Order, 50 FR 939 (1985) (1985 Lifeline Order) (adopting, with minor
modifications the Joint Board recommendations issued in MTS and WATS
Market Structure; Amendment of the Commission's Rules and
Establishment of a Joint Board, Recommended Decision and Order, 49
FR 28325 (1984)) (1984 Recommended Decision).
\95\ 1996 Act sec. 102(a), Sec. 214(e)(5).
\96\ Id. Sec. 153(47).
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45. We solicit comment on how to define ``study area'' in the way
that best comports with the Congress's expressed objective ``to provide
for a pro-competitive, de-regulatory national policy framework'' for
the ``rapid[ ] private sector deployment of advanced telecommunications
and information technologies.'' 97 Currently, a wireline LEC's
study area generally includes all the territory of a single state
within which that carrier operates. We ask that interested parties
propose an appropriate basis for defining the ``service area'' of a
``rural telephone company,'' taking into account the likely possible
effect on competition of a ``service area'' definition for rural
telephone companies. In conjunction with this issue, we request comment
on whether we should amend our rules to revise existing study area
boundaries. In the context of implementing a ``pro-competitive, de-
regulatory national policy framework,'' 98 as required by the 1996
Act, we ask that the Joint Board prepare recommendations regarding the
appropriate ``service area'' boundaries of areas served by a ``rural
telephone company.''
\97\ See S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 1
(1996).
\98\ Id.
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46. The Act also requires ``eligible telecommunications
carrier[s]'' to ``advertise the availability of such services and the
charges therefore using media of general distribution.'' 99 The
Joint Explanatory Statement adds that ``such services must be
advertised generally throughout'' the service area.100 To avoid
future disputes, we believe it may be useful for us to adopt guidelines
defining the steps that would be sufficient to advertise the
availability of, and charges for, services. We ask interested persons
to comment on this approach and suggest appropriate guidelines.
\99\ 1996 Act sec. 102(a), Sec. 214(e)(1)(B).
\100\ See S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 141
(1996).
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47. Section 214(e)(3) permits any unserved community--an area or a
portion of a defined service area in which ``no common carrier will
provide the services that are supported by Federal universal service
support mechanisms''--to request the Commission (for interstate
services) and State commission (for intrastate services) to designate
an eligible telecommunications carrier.101 Upon such request, the
Commission or State commission shall order a common carrier or carriers
to provide service to the requesting community.102 Pursuant to
Section 214(e)(3) of the 1996 Act, such carriers shall be designated as
an eligible telecommunications carrier. We ask commenters to address
how we should implement our responsibilities under Section 214(e)(3),
and whether we and the State commissioners should develop a cooperative
program to ensure that all areas receive each of the services supported
by Federal universal service support mechanisms.
\101\ 1996 Act sec. 102(a), Sec. 214(e)(3).
\102\ Id.
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48. Section 214(e)(4) provides procedures for a carrier to
relinquish its designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier.
States must permit this to occur if the requesting carrier gives
advance notice to the State and if there is more than one eligible
telecommunications carrier serving the area. The State commission must
require the remaining telecommunications carrier or carriers in the
area to ensure that all of the relinquishing carrier's customers will
continue to be served. The State commission must also require
sufficient notice to permit the purchase or construction of adequate
facilities by any remaining telecommunications carrier. Section
214(e)(4) requires that the State commission must establish a time, not
to exceed one year from the date of approval of relinquishment, for the
purchase or construction of adequate facilities.103
\103\ Id. Sec. 214(e)(4).
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49. Section 214(e)(2) and (e)(4) reserve consideration of requests
for relinquishment of the designation of eligible telecommunications
carriers to the States.104 We must amend any of our regulations
that would be inconsistent with that reservation, and we invite
commenters to identify any such regulations.105 We refer these
issues, and all of the issues raised above with respect to support for
rural and high-cost areas, to the Joint Board for its recommendation.
\104\ Id. Sec. 214(e)(2), (4).
\105\ Id. Sec. 254(a).
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C. Support for Low-Income Consumers
1. What Services To Support
50. In Part III.B.1 of this Notice, supra, we discuss the services
that may be included among the services to consumers in rural, insular,
and high-cost areas that should receive support.106 We propose
that these services should also be services supported by Federal
universal service support mechanisms with respect to low-income
consumers. In this part of our Notice, we seek comment on whether
designation of additional services that would be specifically
appropriate for low-income users. We note that the Joint Explanatory
Statement added persons with low-income ``to the list of consumers to
whom access to telecommunications and information services should be
provided.'' 107 Through the Commission's monitoring of
subscribership levels and census data, we know that subscribership
levels for low-income individuals fall substantially below the national
average.108 We request comment regarding the Commission's overall
responsibilities under Sections 1 and 254 with regard to low-income
consumers. We invite the commenters to address whether there are any
particular services, technical capabilities, or features that would be
of benefit to low-income consumers and that meet one or more of the
criteria for inclusion among the services that should receive universal
service support. Consistent with the Act's
[[Page 10508]]
principle that support mechanisms should be ``specific, predictable,
and sufficient,'' 109 we ask commenters to address potential costs
associated with such support. We request a recommendation from the
Federal-State Joint Board convened in this proceeding regarding all of
the matters discussed in this part of the Notice.
\106\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(3).
\107\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 131
(1996).
\108\ See Subscribership Notice at 13003-4.
\109\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(5).
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51. Free Access to Telephone Service Information. In an Interim
Opinion regarding universal service,110 the California Public
Utilities Commission tentatively concluded that free telephone access
by subscribers to the telephone company central office, for purposes
such as reporting the need for repairs and inquiring about bills or
eligibility for special programs, is an essential telephone
service.111 Such free telephone access to the telephone company
central office would be of primary significance for measured rate
subscribers, who are charged for each local call they make on either a
per call or per minute basis, because subscribers with flat rate local
service generally may make routine service inquiries without incurring
extra charges.
\110\ Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion into Universal
Service and to Comply with the Mandates of Assembly Bill 3643, R.95-
01-020; and Investigation on the Commission's Own Motion into
Universal Service and to Comply with the Mandates of Assembly Bill
3643, I.95-01-020, Interim Opinion (Cal. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, filed
Jan. 24, 1995) (CPUC Interim Opinion).
\111\ Id. at 18.
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52. Many measured rate subscribers choose that service as a less
expensive alternative to the flat rate, and thus would be expected to
be especially sensitive to charges for service inquiries. Similarly, it
appears likely that potential Lifeline and Link Up customers could
benefit significantly from free access to information regarding those
subsidy programs.\112\ Indeed, such access may be needed to if we are
to fulfill our statutory mandate to ensure that universal service is
available at affordable rates.\113\
\112\ We describe those programs in part III.C.2., infra.
\113\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(i).
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53. We seek comment on whether free access to the telephone service
provider for low-income customers should be included within the group
of services receiving universal service support, in order to allow
those customers to receive information about telephone service
activation, termination, repair, and information regarding subsidy
programs.\114\ Because access by subscribers to certain basic
information concerning their telephone service may be a prerequisite to
maintaining their service, we seek comment on whether, like access to
the loop itself, access to that information is essential to public
health and safety and is otherwise consistent with the public interest,
convenience, and necessity.\115\ Commenters should also address the
applicability of the criteria set forth in both Sections 254(c)(1)(B)
and (C) to this service. We invite interested parties to provide
information regarding the current availability of free access to
information regarding telephone service activation and termination,
repairs, and telephone subsidy programs.
\114\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(B), (C).
\115\ See id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(A), (D).
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54. Toll Limitation Services. In discussing toll limitation
services, we consider both toll blocking and toll control services.
Some LECs offer a service that limits only long-distance calls for
which the subscribers would be charged (a form of toll blocking) or
limits the toll charges a subscriber can incur during a billing period
(a toll call control service). To the extent that toll blocking or
limiting services allow low-income customers to avoid involuntary
termination of their access to telecommunications services, we seek
comment on whether such services are ``essential to education, public
health, or public safety'' and ``consistent with the public interest,
convenience, and necessity.'' \116\ Moreover, many LECs apparently
offer toll limiting services to their subscribers at tariffed
rates,\117\ indicating that toll limiting service is ``being deployed
in public telecommunications networks by telecommunications carriers.''
\118\ We seek comment regarding the remaining criterion for including
services in the definition of ``universal service,'' the issue of
whether toll limiting has, ``through the operation of market choices by
customers, been subscribed to by a substantial majority of residential
customers.'' \119\ We seek comment on whether, where such services are
available, they should be offered to low-income subscribers without
charge or at a discount and what criteria we should use to determine
the support for which a carrier offering such services would be
eligible.\120\
\116\ Id.
\117\ For example, the Bell Atlantic Telephone Companies offer
voluntary toll restriction services in Maryland, the District of
Columbia and Pennsylvania; Pacific Bell offers voluntary toll
restriction service in California.
\118\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(c)(1)(C).
\119\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(B).
\120\ We recognize that there is potential tension between
affording consumers the ability to receive toll limitation services
and the principle set forth in the Act that consumers should have
access to ``telecommunications and information services, including
interexchange services.'' 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(3).
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55. We recognize that various methods may exist to advance Section
254(b)(3)'s statutory principle that the Commission ensure that ``low-
income consumers * * * have access to * * * interexchange services.''
\121\ We also note that, in the context of the Commission's regulation
of the interstate interexchange marketplace, one interexchange carrier
has voluntarily committed to institute an optional calling plan for
low-income consumers in order to mitigate the impact of recent
increases in basic schedule interstate long-distance rates in the
marketplace.\122\ For example, under the calling plan, low-income
residential customers can place one hour of interstate direct dial
service, during a one-month period, at a rate frozen at 15 percent
below current basic schedule rates.\123\ We solicit comment on whether
and how we should encourage domestic interstate interexchange carriers
to provide optional calling plans for low-income consumers to promote
the statutory principles enumerated in Section 254(b)(3). We also seek
comment on the potential impact of such plans upon subscribership to
telecommunications services.
\121\ Id.
\122\ Motion of AT&T Corp. to be Reclassified as a Non-dominant
Carrier, FCC 95-427 (rel. Oct. 23, 1995).
\123\ Id. at para. 84.
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56. Reduced Service Deposit. Recent studies indicate that
disconnection for non-payment of toll charges, and the high deposits
carriers charge to cover the cost of noncollectible charges, may be
more significant barriers to universal service than the cost of local
service itself.\124\ In our Subscribership Notice, we noted that LECs
generally require deposits before connecting subscribers, and that, for
many low-income subscribers, these deposits present a formidable
obstacle to initiating service.\125\ The availability of affordable
toll limiting service, along with the lower deposits carriers would
impose on customers who have limited the toll charges they can incur,
appears likely to determine whether many low-income consumers have
``affordable'' access to any public telecommunications services.\126\
Moreover, some states which require affordable voluntary toll limiting
service have subscribership rates that are above the national average,
suggesting that the means to control toll usage is an important
component of
[[Page 10509]]
universal service, particularly for low-income households. We ask
interested parties to present a reasoned analysis of whether, based on
consideration of all four criteria in Section 254(c)(1), we should
require discounted toll limiting service and reduced deposits for low-
income consumers, and we request that the Federal-State Joint Board
present recommendations on this proposal.
\124\ Subscribership Notice at 13005-06.
\125\ Id. at 13003-05.
\126\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(i).
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57. Services Other Than Conventional Residential Services. In the
past, the Commission's universal service policies focused on the cost
of traditional residential service. Nevertheless, we recognize that
some individuals with low incomes do not have access to residential
service.\127\ For some individuals who move frequently or have no
residence, access to conventional residential telecommunications
service may not be practical. We therefore seek comment on specific
services which may enable such low-income customers to gain access to
the telecommunications network. We seek comment from parties to
identify any historically underserved segments of the population and
potential services and features \128\ that the Joint Board may consider
in addressing the provision of telecommunications services to these
highly mobile groups. To determine whether these services should be
included in our list of supported services, we seek comment on: whether
these services are essential to the public health and public safety;
whether a substantial majority of residential customers have subscribed
to the services; the extent to which telecommunications carriers
deploy, or plan to deploy, them in public networks; and, generally, how
offering these service as part of universal service is consistent with
the public interest, convenience, and necessity.\129\ We also seek
comment on how best to measure the extent to which low-income
populations that are unable to maintain traditional residential service
have access to facilities for making and receiving calls. We invite
parties to address the potential for provision of these services by
wireless carriers.
\127\ Seasonal workers and homeless individuals, for example,
are unlikely to subscribe to residential telephone service.
\128\ For example, these may include services like community
phone banks, availability of public interest payphones, community
access centers, special discounted service plans for short-term
subscribers, or low-cost voice mailboxes, which may provide a viable
alternative for providing telecommunications service to the highly
mobile populations. We note that we will not address public interest
payphones in this proceeding because they will be addressed in a
separate proceeding, as required under Section 276(b)(2) of the 1996
Act. See 1996 Act sec. 151(a), Sec. 276(b)(2).
\129\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Secs. 254(c)(1) (A)-(D).
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58. Other Services For Low-Income Subscribers. We seek comment on
whether there are other services that, with respect to low-income
consumers, should be included in universal service support mechanisms.
We note that low-income subscribers have significantly lower telephone
subscribership rates than other subscribers,\130\ and seek comment on
the reasons underlying this disparity. Any commenter proposing
inclusion of an additional service within the definition of services to
be supported by federal universal service support mechanisms should
discuss the extent to which the proposed service meets each of the
criteria enumerated in Section 254(c)(1), and how inclusion of the
proposed service would promote access by low-income consumers to
telecommunications and information services.
\130\ For example, according to Census Bureau statistics, 98
percent of households with annual income above $30,000--the median
income--have a telephone in the home, while only 84 percent of
households with annual income under $12,000--the poverty level for a
family of three--have a telephone in the home.
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2. How To Implement and Who Is Eligible for Support
59. New Support Mechanisms. We generally seek comment on how to
determine the subsidy that would be necessary to make the services
identified as the ``core services'' eligible for universal service
support available to low-income consumers. We pose the same question
with respect to any additional services specifically targeted to low-
income users discussed above. As a threshold matter, we seek comment
and a Joint Board recommendation on how to define eligible low-income
customers. We seek comment on whether we should require a discount on
all supported services and the amount of that discount. Parties
endorsing specific services for low-income users, such as free toll
limitation services, should propose specific mechanisms to define and
distribute support for those offerings. For example, parties asserting
that the support should be cost-based should describe how those costs
should be determined. We intend to implement Section 254(k) consistent
with the expressed Congressional intent ``to provide for a pro-
competitive, de-regulatory national policy framework.'' 131 We
therefore seek comment on support methodologies involving the least
regulatory methods.
\131\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 1 (1996).
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60. We seek specific comment on how our proposed support mechanisms
should apply to the services discussed in this part of our Notice. We
are particularly interested in comment on how support should be
calculated and paid if the provider of the service is not the local
telephone company. We ask the Joint Board to address these issues in
its recommended decision.
61. Existing Support Mechanisms. Currently we have two support
mechanisms targeted to low-income consumers: the Lifeline Assistance
Plan and Link Up America. States may choose to participate in either of
two Lifeline Assistance plans. Plan 1 provides for a reduction in a
subscriber's monthly telephone bill equal to the $3.50 federal
subscriber line charge (SLC) for residential subscribers.132 Half
of the reduction comes from a 50 percent waiver of the charge; the
other half comes from the participating state, which matches the
federal contribution by an equal reduction in the local rate. Under
this plan, subscribers who satisfy a state-determined means test may
receive assistance for a single telephone line in their principal
residence. Of the 38 states and territories participating in Lifeline,
only California still offers a Lifeline program under Plan 1.133
\132\ 1985 Lifeline Order.
\133\ Indus. Analysis Div., FCC, Monitoring Report May 1995 CC
Docket No. 87-339, at tbl. 2.1 (1995) (Monitoring Report).
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62. Under Plan 2, which expands Plan 1 to provide for waiver of the
entire residential SLC (up to the amount matched by the state), a
subscriber's bill may be reduced by twice the SLC (or more, if the
state more than matches the value of the federal waiver).134 The
state contribution may come from any intrastate source, including state
assistance for basic local telephone service, connection charges, or
customer deposit requirements. Companies in 37 states or territories
reported subscribers receiving Plan 2 Lifeline assistance as of April
1995.135 In 1994, about 4.4 million households received $123
million in federal Lifeline assistance through full or partial waiver
of the SLC.136 Under both plans, the interstate portion of
Lifeline Assistance is billed to interexchange carriers by the National
Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. (NECA).
\134\ MTS and WATS Market Structure; Amendment of Part 67 of the
Commission's Rules and Establishment of a Joint Board, Decision and
Order, 51 FR 1371, paras. 4-6 (1986).
\135\ Monitoring Report, tbl. 2.3.
\136\ Id.
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63. The 1996 Act states that ``[n]othing in this section shall
affect the
[[Page 10510]]
collection, distribution, or administration of the Lifeline Assistance
Program provided for by the Commission under regulations set forth in
section 69.117 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, and other
related sections of such title.'' 137 Section 69.117 addresses the
conditions and mechanisms for waiver of subscriber line
charges.138
\137\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(j).
\138\ See 47 CFR 69.117.
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64. The Link Up program helps low-income subscribers begin
telephone service by paying half of the first $60 of connection
charges.139 Where a LEC has a deferred payment plan, Link Up will
also pay the interest on any balance up to $200, for up to one
year.140 To be eligible, subscribers must meet a state-established
means test, and may not, unless over 60 years old, be a dependent for
federal income tax purposes.141 Link Up is available in all but
two states (California and Delaware) and in the District of
Columbia.142 The 1996 Act does not directly address our rules
relating to the Link Up program. Nonetheless, like the universal
service fund, the Link Up support is a function of jurisdictional
separations.143 The Link Up program's support comes, in part,
through shifting LEC costs that would otherwise be recovered through
rates for intrastate services to the interstate jurisdiction.
Consistent with the Act's requirement that support mechanisms be
explicit, propose to amend our rules to remove the Link Up provisions
from our jurisdictional separations rules. We further propose that the
support mechanism for Link Up be the same as that developed to support
other services that receive Federal universal service support.
\139\ MTS and WATS Market Structure; Amendment of Part 67 of the
Commission's Rules and Establishment of a Joint Board, Report and
Order, 2 FCC Rcd 2953, 2955, (1987) (1987 Report and Order); MTS and
WATS Market Structure Link-Up America, and Amendment of Part 36 of
the Commission's Rules and Establishment of a Joint Board, Decision
and Order, 4 FCC Rcd 3634 (1989).
\140\ 1987 Report and Order at 2955.
\141\ Id. at 2956.
\142\ Monitoring Report, tbl. 2.2.
\143\ See 47 CFR 36.711-741.
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65. We also seek comment on whether changes to the level of support
or other changes to our Lifeline and Link Up programs should be made as
part of an overall mechanism to ensure that quality services are
available at just, reasonable, and affordable rates for low-income
subscribers. Interested parties may, however, propose changes to the
level of support. Parties suggesting changes to the level of support
should provide evidence of the need for such changes and should address
how the proposed changes further the principle of universal service as
stated in the 1996 Act, and should identify the effect of their
suggested change on the level of subsidy required to fund these
programs.
D. Ensuring That Supported Services for Rural, Insular, and High-Cost
Areas and Low-Income Consumers Evolve
66. The 1996 Act states that ``[u]niversal service is an evolving
level of ____ telecommunications services'' and requires that the
Commission periodically establish the definition, ``taking into account
advances in telecommunications and information technologies and
services.'' 144 Thus, our list of services receiving universal
service support should continue to evolve, as changes in technology and
subscriber needs and preferences affect both the availability and
subscribership patterns of various telecommunications services. That
evolution should, however, be achieved in the context of regulatory
objectives that include promoting competition and reducing regulation
in a manner that is technology-neutral.145 We, therefore, seek
comment on how and with what frequency we should evaluate our initial
list of services adopted in this proceeding in accordance with the
Congressional recognition that universal service is an evolving level
of telecommunications services.
\144\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), 254(c)(1).
\145\ Id.
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67. Parties in a California Public Utilities Commission proceeding
have suggested that any universal service definition should be
revisited at fixed intervals, such as every three or five
years.146 Whether we decide to revisit the topic even sooner
depends on the information we collect in the proceeding on advanced
services mandated in Section 706 of the Act.147 Moreover, although
periodic review could help to ensure that the definition does not
remain static, it could also entail the expenditure of resources on
unnecessary proceedings. To apply the definitional criteria that
Congress has set forth in Section 254(c)(1), we shall need to gather
relevant facts, including the extent to which particular services ``are
being deployed in public telecommunications networks'' and ``have been
subscribed to * * * by a substantial majority of residential
customers.'' 148 At the same time, we fully recognize that it
could be unduly burdensome to impose extensive information collection
requirements relating to those criteria. Since the list of services
that should receive universal service support is partially defined by
consideration of what services are widely subscribed to by residential
customers,149 it may be that we can rely on the marketplace to
register its preferences without soliciting those preferences
indirectly through burdensome data collection activities. We propose,
instead, to rely on information sources that already exist, and to
initiate additional information collection efforts only if that
information proves inadequate and only when we contemplate changes in
the list of services that should receive universal service support.
Should it appear advisable to collect additional information, we would
first conduct a cost/benefit analysis to ensure that the burden of
collection would not outweigh the value of the information we would
request. We seek comment on this proposal and, in addition, we ask that
interested parties identify specific sources of information relevant to
this list of services in accordance with the criteria set forth in
Section 254(c)(1), including information sources available at State
commissions and procedures for obtaining such information.
\146\ CPUC Interim Opinion at 20.
\147\ 1996 Act sec. 706, Sec. 706(b). Section 706 requires the
Commission to ``initiate a notice of inquiry concerning the
availability of advanced telecommunications to all Americans
(including, in particular, elementary and secondary schools and
classrooms) * * *.''
\148\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(B)-(C).
\149\ See id. Sec. 254(c)(1)(B).
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68. The 1996 Act also states that ``[q]uality services should be
available at just, reasonable, and affordable rates.'' 150 As to
the technical parameters of specific telecommunications services, we do
not intend, in implementing Section 254, to prescribe technical
standards for telecommunications carriers or other service providers.
This Commission, historically, has let affected entities (IXCs, LECs,
equipment manufacturers, and customers) develop technical standards and
performance standards,151 and implement those standards without
our direct intervention, except as necessary. At present, there are
several industry bodies that address standards for various aspects of
communications networks.152 Our preference, in implementing
section 254, is to
[[Page 10511]]
encourage existing standard-setting bodies to discuss and establish
relevant technical standards.
\150\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(1) (emphasis added).
\151\ For example, a ``technical standard'' would apply to the
electrical and signaling parameters at the interface between
carriers. A ``performance standard'' would apply to the speed,
accuracy, dependability, availability, and survivability of the
transmission/switching path.
\152\ Those include the American National Standards Institute
Committee T-1, Electronic Industry Association, and
Telecommunications Industry Association.
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69. The 1996 Act requires the Commission to ensure that
``[c]onsumers in all regions of the Nation, * * * have access to
telecommunications and information services * * * that are reasonably
comparable to those services provided in urban areas.'' 153 As
stated above, the 1996 Act also requires that the Commission ensure
that ``[q]uality services should be available.'' 154 We seek
comment on whether it would be useful to collect and publish certain
basic information regarding technical performance levels of carriers
subject to our jurisdiction. Information on service quality that would
enable comparisons between the performance levels of various
telecommunications carriers would potentially create a market-based
incentive for carriers to provide quality services. By providing
consumers with easy access to publicly available data on the
performance level of various carriers, we could potentially spur
carriers to compete for customers, among other things, on the basis of
service quality in an increasingly competitive telecommunications
marketplace.155 We note, however, that because competition will
probably not develop in a uniform fashion throughout the Nation, we
seek comment on whether it may be necessary to obtain data that could
be used by the public, regulators, and regulated entities, to monitor
service quality performance from carriers, particularly those serving
in rural areas, that are not currently subject to our existing service
quality monitoring program.156 In proposing to collect and publish
this information, we wish to impose the least possible cost on the
companies involved. We, therefore, solicit comment on whether industry
organizations or State commissions already collect the information that
should be contained in these performance reports, and whether it would
be reasonable to rely upon such information rather than extending our
existing requirements to all carriers. We also ask that the commenters
attempt to estimate the potential costs associated with these
alternatives, in accordance with the principles stated in Section
254(b)(5) that support mechanisms should be ``specific, predictable,
and sufficient.'' 157
\153\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(3).
\154\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(1).
\155\ Airline on-time information is published in ``Air Travel
Consumer Report,''Aviation Consumer Protection Div., Dep't of
Transp. (issued monthly).
\156\ See 47 CFR 43.21-22. Information reported by LECs
includes, inter alia, service installation and repair intervals,
trunk blockage rates and switch outage information. These are
reported on Automated Reporting and Management Information System
(ARMIS) Report Nos. 43-05, 43-06 and 43-07.
\157\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(5).
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70. Finally, we recognize that such reports may not, in the near
future, be necessary for many urban and suburban areas, as local
service competition develops and the technical characteristics of
competitors' respective services are determined in response to market
demands. We therefore ask whether we should take action at some fixed
date to evaluate the need for continuing the performance reports,
covering services offered to all or some areas of the nation. We
request that the Joint Board prepare a recommended decision addressing
all of the issues raised in this Notice with respect to monitoring of
telecommunications services.
IV. Schools, Libraries, and Health Care Providers
A. Goals and Principles
71. Among the seven universal service principles established in the
1996 Act is the principle that ``elementary and secondary schools and
classrooms, health care providers, and libraries should have access to
advanced telecommunications services.'' 158 The Act allows the
Commission to designate additional, special services for universal
service support for eligible schools, libraries and health care
providers.159 In this section we propose to implement Sections
254(c)(3) (allowing the Commission to designate additional services for
such support mechanisms for schools, libraries, and health care
providers) and 254(h)(1) (providing guidance on rates and discounts for
rural health care providers and educational providers and libraries).
As to Section (h)(1), we discuss and seek comment on what services, in
addition to the core services discussed in Section III, should be made
available to schools, libraries and rural health care providers at a
discount.160 We also seek comment on issues relating to the
implementation of Section 254(h)(1) relating to support mechanisms that
would enable eligible schools, libraries, and rural health care
providers to receive both the core and advanced telecommunications
services included among those eligible for universal service
support.161
\158\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(6).
\159\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(3). We note that Section 254(h)(4) denies
eligibility for discounts to any school or library that ``operates
as a for-profit business.'' Id. Sec. 254(h)(4). In addition, the
discounts are not available to any elementary and secondary school
having an ``endowment of more than $50,000,000'' or library that is
``not eligible for participation in State-based'' applications for
library services and technology funds under Title III of the Library
Services and Construction Act. Id. Sec. 254(h)(A). See further
discussion infra at part V.B.3.
\160\ 1996 Act Sec. 254(h)(1).
\161\ We note that the statutory scheme of Section 254
distinguishes between eligible health care providers generally and
rural health care providers. The support mechanisms created by
Section 254(h)(1) would extend only to rural health care providers.
Section 254(h)(2), which we discuss in part V., embraces all
eligible health care providers as defined in Section 254(h)(5)(B)
and not just those operating in rural areas.
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72. Access to telecommunications services is important to schools,
classrooms, libraries and rural health care providers for a number of
reasons. Congress explicitly recognized the importance of
telecommunications to these educational institutions and rural health
care providers in enacting this legislation:
The ability of K-12 [kindergarten to 12th grade] classrooms,
libraries and rural health care providers to obtain access to
advanced telecommunications services is critical to ensuring that
these services are available on a universal basis. The provisions of
subsection (h) will help open new worlds of knowledge, learning and
education to all Americans rich and poor, rural and urban. They are
intended, for example, to provide the ability to browse library
collections, review the collections of museums, or find new
information on the treatment of illness, to Americans everywhere via
schools and libraries. This universal access will assure that no one
is barred from benefiting from the power of the Information
Age.162
\162\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 132-33
(1996).
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Modern two-way, interactive capabilities will not only enable users at
schools, libraries and rural health care facilities to access
information, but also give students the ability to participate in
educational activities at other schools, including universities; allow
students, teachers, librarians and rural health care providers to
consult with colleagues or experts at other institutions; may allow
parents to participate more easily in their children's education by
communicating with the school's telecommunications system; and may
facilitate the transmission of data for the practice of telemedicine.
Finally, as advanced telecommunications services become ubiquitous,
technological literacy will become even more important to our economy.
Exposure to telecommunications services for our nation's school
children will provide them with skills needed for jobs in a
technologically advanced society.
73. In this section, we focus on three tasks that are essential to
the implementation of the provisions of the 1996 Act discussed in the
foregoing paragraph. First, we seek to identify the
[[Page 10512]]
services to be supported by federal universal service support
mechanisms for schools, libraries and rural health care
providers.163 For schools and libraries, the Act requires that
services provided by telecommunications carriers receiving universal
service support be ``for educational purposes.'' 164 For rural
health care providers, services provided by telecommunications carriers
supported by universal service support mechanisms must be those that
are ``necessary for the provision of health care services in a State.''
165
\163\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Secs. 254(h)(1) & 254(C)(3).
\164\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
\165\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
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74. Next, we consider ways to implement the support mechanisms for
schools, libraries and rural health care providers. For schools and
libraries, we seek comment on how to formulate discount methodologies
that ensure that each discount is ``an amount that * * * is appropriate
and necessary to ensure affordable access to and use of such services
by such entities.'' 166 For rural health care providers, this task
includes, inter alia, determination of the method to be used by each
carrier in calculating the ``amount equal to the difference, if any,
between the rates for services provided to health care providers for
rural areas in a State and the rates for similar services provided to
other customers in comparable rural areas in that State,'' for purposes
of defining the offset or reimbursement due the carrier under our
universal service support rules.167
\166\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
\167\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
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75. We also seek to determine the terms and conditions for the
provision of interstate support to telecommunications carriers serving
schools and libraries and rural health care providers. We discuss the
identification of the health care providers that serve ``persons who
reside in rural areas,'' and, correspondingly, the ``urban areas in
that State.'' 168 Finally, we discuss which telecommunications
carriers may receive universal support pursuant to Section 254.
\168\ Id.
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76. In addition to seeking comment on the approach to the
implementation of Section 254(h)(1)(A) discussed below, we seek comment
on additional measures that may be necessary to implement this section.
We also refer all these issues to the Joint Board for its
recommendation.
B. Schools and Libraries
1. What Services To Support
77. Section 254(h)(1)(B) of the Act states:
All telecommunications carriers serving a geographic area shall,
upon bona fide request for any of its services that are within the
definition of universal service under subsection (c)(3), provide
such services to elementary schools, secondary schools, and
libraries for educational purposes at rates less than the amounts
charged for similar services to other parties. The discount shall be
an amount that the Commission, with respect to interstate services,
and the States, with respect to intrastate services, determine is
appropriate and necessary to ensure affordable access to and use of
such services by such entities.
Section 254(c)(3), in turn, states that ``[i]n addition to the services
included in the definition of universal service under paragraph (1),
the Commission may designate additional services for such support
mechanisms for schools [and] libraries * * * for the purposes of
subsection (h).'' We propose that the set of services designated for
federal universal service support pursuant to Section 254(c)(1) and any
other services designated for support pursuant to Section 254(c)(3) be
made available to schools and libraries pursuant to the discount to be
considered in this proceeding.
78. We seek comment and Joint Board recommendation on the
additional services that carriers must make available to schools and
libraries under Section 254(h)(1)(B). As the legislative history makes
clear, Congress ``expect[ed] the Commission and the Joint Board to take
into account the particular needs of * * * K-12 [kindergarten to 12th
grade] schools and libraries'' in determining which services should be
provided at a discount.169
\169\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 133
(1996).
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79. A February 1996 study, Advanced Telecommunications in U.S.
Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1995, commissioned by the
National Center for Education Statistics, part of the United States
Department of Education, observes that these services are not yet
widely available in classrooms. Only 9 percent of all instructional
rooms (classrooms, labs, and library media centers) are currently
connected to the Internet.170 Schools with large proportions of
students from poor families are half as likely to provide Internet
access as schools with small proportions of such students.171
Funding and inadequate telecommunications links were the most
frequently cited barriers to acquiring or using advanced
telecommunications services in public schools.172
\170\ National Ctr. for Educ. Statistics, U.S. Dep't of Educ.,
Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Elementary and Secondary
Schools 1995, (Feb. 1996).
\171\ Id.
\172\ Id. at 3. In the survey instrument used for the study,
public schools were asked which services they now make available to
their students, including: (1) Computers connected to a local area
network; (2) computers with connection or access to a wide area
network; and (3) computers connected to the Internet. With respect
to Internet access, the survey asked which Internet resources or
capabilities a school has access to, including: (1) Electronic-mail;
(2) news groups; (3) resource locations services; and (4) World Wide
Web access. Id. at app. G.
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80. In determining which telecommunications services to support
through universal service mechanisms, our goal is to help elementary
and secondary schools and classrooms and libraries to have access to
advanced telecommunications services 173 and to help minimize the
barriers which exist to provision of telecommunications services to
schools and libraries. We seek comment on what functionalities should
be supported through universal service mechanisms for schools and
libraries and what facilities are required to provide those
functionalities.174 In this regard, we seek guidance on how to
determine which services will be provided to schools and libraries at a
discount pursuant to Section 254(h)(1)(B), without prescribing a
specific technical standard for each funded service. We also seek
comment on how we should define ``geographic area'' for purposes of
Section 254(h)(1)(B).
\173\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(6).
\174\ For example, we note that many of the basic voice grade
loops that would be available to schools and libraries at discounted
prices as part of the basic package of services would permit them to
connect to the Internet at the full 28.8 kilobyte per second (kbps)
speed of the current fastest popular computer modems. If schools and
libraries find it important to have instantaneous transmissions or
to handle multiple connections simultaneously, they are likely to
require higher capacity, higher speed links. Schools that desire
video links to permit teleconferencing will generally find 1.5 Mbps
T1 links quite adequate for the ``talking head'' lecture style of
presentations that most teachers present. Yet others may note that
to provide high-quality full-motion video in real time today may
require a 45 Mbps DS3 link. Technical Personnel Bellcore and Bell
Operating Companies, Telecommunications Transmission Engineering 363
(1990).
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81. In addition, we seek comment on whether wireless technologies
may provide a more efficient way of delivering any of the services
designated for support. Finally, we also invite comment on how our
special definition of services for schools and libraries should reflect
future ``advances in telecommunications and information
[[Page 10513]]
technologies and services.'' 175 We seek comment and Joint Board
recommendation on all of these issues.
\175\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(c)(1).
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2. How To Implement
a. Establishment of the Interstate Discount for Schools and
Libraries.
82. As discussed above,176 we interpret Section 254(h)(1)(B)
of the new Act to entitle schools and libraries to receive discounts on
all services falling either within our list of services under Section
254(c)(1) that should receive universal service support, or our list of
services for schools and libraries under Section 254(c)(3). Each
discount must produce a ``rate[] less than the amounts charged for
similar services to other parties'' and be ``an amount that * * * is
appropriate and necessary to ensure affordable access to and use of
such services by such entities.'' 177 The 1996 Act gives the
Commission the responsibility to establish the discounts on interstate
services, while the States are charged with establishing the discounts
on intrastate universal services.178
\176\ See Section V.B.1., supra.
\177\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
\178\ Id.
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83. We seek comment and Joint Board recommendation on the factors
to be used in formulating a discount methodology for universal service
support for schools and libraries. The methodology could reflect
whether the services used are tariffed or whether the charges are for
capital investments or recurring expenses. The methodology could also
be based on the incremental costs of providing services rather than
retail prices. We also seek comment on the estimated costs associated
with each discount methodology, and how each methodology would comport
with the Act's principle of providing ``specific, predictable and
sufficient Federal and State mechanisms to preserve and advance
universal service.'' 179 Overall, we seek comment and a Joint
Board recommendation on how the respective State and Federal discount
methodologies can be harmonized to ensure that we fulfill Congress's
goal that, throughout the nation, elementary and secondary schools,
classrooms and libraries have access to advanced telecommunications
services.
\179\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(5).
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b. Terms and Conditions of Interstate Support for
Telecommunications Carriers Providing Discounted Universal Services to
Schools and Libraries.
84. Section 254(h)(1)(B) specifies that schools and libraries are
entitled to a discount on telecommunications services only if the
requested services will be used ``for educational purposes.'' 180
We invite comment on what steps we should take to ensure that this
requirement is met. One possible approach would be to have the school
or library provide the carrier with a written certification that the
requested services will be used for educational purposes and will not
be ``sold, resold, or otherwise transferred by such user in
consideration for money or any other thing of value.'' 181 We
invite comment and Joint Board recommendation on this proposal. To
ensure that schools and libraries have a meaningful opportunity to
benefit from the discounts, we propose to require each carrier to
inform annually each school and library within its geographic serving
area of the available discounts.
\180\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
\181\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(3).
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85. Under the 1996 Act, each ``telecommunications carrier[] serving
a geographic area shall, upon bona fide request for any of its services
that are within the definition of universal service'' provide such
service to schools and libraries ``for educational purposes.'' 182
We propose that any person qualified under State or local law to order
telecommunications services for schools or libraries be deemed capable
of making a ``bona fide request'' for service. We ask for comment and
Joint Board recommendation on how to determine with as much precision
as possible whether such a request is ``bona fide.''
\182\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
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86. The Act instructs that ``telecommunications services and
network capacity'' provided to schools and libraries through universal
service support mechanisms ``may not be sold, resold, or otherwise
transferred by such user in consideration for money or any other thing
of value.'' 183 We ask commenters and the Joint Board to address
whether this provision will affect the ability of schools and libraries
to receive universal service support if they are sharing a network with
parties who are not eligible to receive support and what mechanisms
could ensure that this provision does not discourage partnerships
between schools and libraries and their communities.
\183\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(3).
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3. Who Is Eligible for Support
87. The term ``elementary and secondary schools'' is defined for
purposes of Section 254 by reference to the definition found in the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.184 The term
``elementary school'' is defined there to be ``a nonprofit
institutional day or residential school that provides elementary
education, as determined under State law.'' 185 The term secondary
school means ``a nonprofit institutional day or residential school that
provides secondary education, as determined under State law, except
that such term does not include any education beyond grade 12.''
186 Consortia of educational institutions providing distance
learning to elementary and secondary schools are considered as
educational providers eligible for universal service support.187
Section 254(h)(4) denies eligibility for discounts to any school or
library that ``operates as a for-profit business.'' In addition, the
discounts are not available to any elementary and secondary school
having an ``endowment of more than $50,000,000'' or library that is
``not eligible for participation in State-based'' applications for
library services and technology funds under Title III of the Library
Services and Construction Act.188 To help ensure that these
conditions are met, we propose to require that any certification
address these eligibility requirements.
\184\ Id. 254(h)(5)(A).
\185\ 20 U.S.C. 8801(14).
\186\ Id. 8801(25).
\187\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 134
(1996).
\188\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(4); see also 20 U.S.C.
353.
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88. Each telecommunications carrier providing discounted service to
schools and libraries is permitted either to have ``the discount
treated as an offset to its obligation to contribute to the mechanisms
to preserve and advance universal service'' or ``receive reimbursement
utilizing the support mechanisms to preserve and advance universal
service.'' 189 Unlike all other universal service support, which
is to be restricted to ``eligible telecommunications carriers'' under
the terms of Section 214(e) of the Act,190 the offset or
reimbursement provided under Section 254(h)(1)(B), pertaining to
schools and libraries, must be given to ``all telecommunications
carriers serving a geographic area.'' We ask for comment and Joint
Board recommendation on how to implement these provisions. Section
254(h)(1)(B) specifies that all discounts shall apply to ``the amounts
charged for similar services to other parties.'' 191 We invite
comment and Joint Board recommendation on how we might determine those
amounts.
\189\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
\190\ Id. 214(e).
\191\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
[[Page 10514]]
C. Health Care Providers
1. What Services to Support
89. Section 254(h)(1)(A) requires telecommunications carriers
``upon receiving a bona fide request, [to] provide telecommunications
services which are necessary for the provision of health care services
in a State, including instruction relating to such services, to any
public or nonprofit health care provider that serves persons who reside
in rural areas in that State at rates that are reasonably comparable to
rates charged for similar services in urban areas in that State.''
192 According to the Joint Statement, Section 254(h) ``is intended
to ensure that health care providers for rural areas * * * have
affordable access to modern telecommunications services that will
enable them to provide medical * * * services to all parts of the
Nation.'' 193 The Section is also intended to ensure that ``rural
health care provider[s] receive an affordable rate for the
[telecommunications] services necessary for the purposes of
telemedicine and instruction relating to such services.'' 194
\192\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
\193\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 132
(1996).
\194\ Id. at 133.
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90. Section 254(c)(3) authorizes the Commission to designate
support for ``additional services'' that are not included in the list
of services that should receive universal service support under the
four definitional criteria of Section 254(c)(1), when those services
are provided to ``health care providers for the purposes of
[S]ubsection [254](h).'' 195 Pursuant to Sections 254(c)(3) and
254(h), we propose to ``designate additional services'' provided to
rural health service providers for support. We propose to designate for
support these additional telecommunications services to the extent
``necessary for the provision of [rural] health care services in a
State.'' 196 We ask interested parties to propose descriptions of
the kinds of telecommunications services that are ``necessary for the
provision of [rural] health care services.'' 197
\195\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(c)(3).
\196\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
\197\ See id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
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91. Current applications of telemedicine include storage and
dissemination of patient records for diagnostic purposes, image
compression for efficient storage and retrieval of image data, image-
processing for diagnostic purposes, digital transmission of large two-
dimensional and three-dimensional medical images, and computerized
remote-control of medical equipment.198 They may also include the
ability to gain easy and rapid access to medical databases, such as
those of transplant candidates. Emerging telemedical applications
include real-time transmission of video images (i.e., for physician-to-
physician and physician-to-patient consultations); direct transmission
of medical data to hospitals from medical devices to patients at home;
and ``data mining'' of large databases of patient records for use in
medical education and diagnostics.199 In transmitting medical
information, some aspects of telemedicine may require
telecommunications services meeting high technical standards, such as
standards for quality of visual resolutions.200
\198\ Peter A. Ensminger, Telemedicine, Northeast Parallel
Architectures Center (1996).
\199\ Id.
\200\ See American College of Radiology Standard for
Teleradiology, Res. 21 (1994) (available from the American College
of Radiology).
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92. Many of the telemedical applications discussed above require
high-speed telecommunications capability. Asynchronous transfer mode
(ATM) and integrated systems digital network (ISDN) technologies may
provide the most promising choices for transfer of telemedicine
data.201 In describing telecommunications services that they
believe ``necessary for the provision of [rural] health care
services,'' commenters should discuss the number of simultaneous use
transmission paths and the speed of transmission required by
telemedicine practitioners. To the extent that specific
telecommunications services constitute ``advanced telecommunications
and information services,'' as described in Section 254(h)(2)(A), we
request that commenters evaluate the extent to which providing health
care providers with access to those services is ``technically feasible
and economically reasonable.'' 202
\201\ Ensminger, supra. n. 194. Because they have capacity to
transmit large quantities of data quickly, ATM and ISDN would
facilitate the high-speed transfer of telemedicine data.
\202\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(2).
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93. We seek comment on what ``additional services'' 203 are
necessary ``for the provision of [rural] health care services in a
state.'' 204 In addition, we seek comment on the nature of the
``instruction relating to such [health care] services''
telecommunications carriers provide their subscribers.205
\203\ Id. Sec. 254(c)(3).
\204\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
\205\ Id.
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94. We seek technology-neutral descriptions of the
telecommunications functionalities that health care providers require
as well as the names of the current technologies they are using to
provide these functionalities. We also request comment on whether
limiting discounts to outgoing services would be sufficient to meet the
needs of rural health care providers or whether incoming services
should also be discounted. We ask the Joint Board convened herein to
prepare a recommended decision regarding these issues.
2. How to Implement
95. To implement Sections 254(h)(1)(A) of the 1996 Act, we must
designate areas as either urban or rural. This is necessary to
determine whether a particular health care provider ``serves persons
who reside in rural areas'' and to identify the ``urban areas in that
State,'' for purposes of establishing ``reasonably comparable'' rates
for ``telecommunications services which are necessary for the provision
of health care services in a State.'' For these purposes, we seek a
methodology that is based on publicly available data, is neither under-
inclusive nor over-inclusive, and that is easily administered.206
\206\ See S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2nd Sess. 1
(1996) (expressing a congressional intent to create a ``pro-
competitive, de-regulatory national policy framework'').
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96. One alternative could be to adopt the existing classification
system developed by the Office of Rural Health Policy of the Health
Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for its Rural Health
Services Outreach Grant Program.207 The HRSA classifications are
based initially on Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) designated by
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). MSAs divide the nation into
metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties, which we would treat as
urban and rural areas, respectively. The HRSA criteria, however,
recognize that some MSAs are extremely large and contain some very
rural areas.
\207\ See Health Resources and Servs. Admin., Dep't of Health
and Human Servs., Notice of Availability of Funds, 60 FR 64168,
64169 (1995).
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97. Another approach would use data prepared by the United States
Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.208 The
Economic Research Service divides nonmetropolitan areas into six
categories, depending on whether or not they are adjacent to a
metropolitan county and whether the population of the county is a) less
than 2,500, b) between 2,500 and 20,000, or c) greater than
20,000.209 Because these data do
[[Page 10515]]
not define urban and rural areas, we invite the commenters to suggest
ways we could use them to determine whether areas should be considered
urban or rural.
\208\ See U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Rural
America at the Crossroads: Networking for the Future 36-38 (1991).
\209\ Id. at 38.
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98. We ask interested parties to comment on these methods for
defining rural areas in a state for the purposes of the sections of the
Act pertaining to rural health care providers. We also invite comment
on alternative methodologies for delineating urban and rural areas for
these purposes. We ask commenters to discuss whether each proposed
methodology is based on publicly available data, is neither under-
inclusive nor over-inclusive, and could be easily administered. In
addition, we seek comment on use of these evaluative criteria and on
the costs associated with these proposals pursuant to Section
254(b)(5), which requires universal service support mechanisms to be
``specific, predictable and sufficient.''
99. Section 254(h)(1)(A) requires telecommunications carriers to
provide rural health care providers with the services that we define as
necessary ``at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged
for similar services in urban areas in [their] State.'' 210 We
believe that fulfillment of our responsibilities under Sections
254(h)(1)(A) and 254(h)(2) may require that we adopt guidelines for
telecommunications carriers to follow in establishing such rates. We
ask commenters to address whether compliance with those guidelines
should be a condition of eligibility for telecommunications carriers to
receive interstate support for telecommunications services provided to
rural health care providers under Section 254(h).
\210\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
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100. In establishing an appropriate methodology for ensuring
``reasonably comparable'' rates, we wish to minimize, to the extent
consistent with Section 254, the administrative burden on regulators
and carriers. It could, for example, prove unduly burdensome to require
the submission of information necessary to calculate weighted averages
of the rates in all urban areas in order that the telecommunications
services which are ``necessary'' for the provision of health care to be
provided to rural health care providers are priced at reasonably
comparable rates.211 We interpret the ``reasonably comparable''
requirement as requiring less than absolute precision in determining
the appropriate rates for rural health care providers under these
provisions of the new Act. Accordingly, we request comment on how
carriers should derive the rates applicable to rural health care
providers to ensure they are priced at a reasonably comparable rate.
\211\ Id.
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101. In addition, the amount of credit or reimbursement to carriers
from the health care support mechanism is based on the difference
between the price actually charged to eligible health care providers
and the rates for similar, if not identical, services provided to
``other customers'' in rural areas in that State.212 We invite
comments on how to determine the rate for rural non-health care
providers and the rate for urban health care providers necessary to
calculate the amount of credit. Commenters should discuss whether
average rates should be computed or whether some other method would be
more appropriate.
\212\ Id.
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102. While it may be difficult for carriers to establish the rates
for similar services provided to rural areas in a State if identical
services are not provided, it is likely that similar services will
generally be available. We seek comment, however, on whether there is a
need to define when services are comparable and, if so, how we might do
so.
103. We also ask that interested parties address the appropriate
safeguards to ensure that telecommunications carriers providing service
pursuant to Section 254(h)(1)(A) are, in fact, responding to the
receipt of a ``bona fide request'' for ``telecommunications services
which are necessary for the provision of [rural] health care services
in a State.'' 213 We seek comment on whether we might require
certification from rural health care providers requesting
telecommunications services under Section 254(h)(1)(A) or from
telecommunications carriers that provide such services. One approach to
such certification would be to require each telecommunications carrier
providing telecommunications services to rural health care providers
under this provision to obtain written certification that the services
are necessary for the provision of health care services. We seek
comment on this approach, as well as suggestions for alternative or
additional measures to ensure that universal service support provided
to telecommunications carriers under Section (h)(1)(A) is used for its
intended purpose.
\213\ Id.
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3. Who Is Eligible for Support
104. In order to receive support under the universal service
support mechanisms for service to rural health care providers, a
telecommunications carrier must meet two criteria. First, it must
provide service to a ``health care provider'' as defined by Section
254(h)(5)(B). Section 254(h)(5)(B) defines ``health care provider'' to
mean:
(i) post-secondary educational institutions offering health care
instruction, teaching hospitals, and medical schools;
(ii) community health centers or health centers providing health
care to migrants;
(iii) local health departments or agencies;
(iv) community mental health centers;
(v) not-for-profit hospitals;
(vi) rural health clinics; and
(vii) consortia of health care providers consisting of one or
more entities described in clauses (i) through (vi).214
\214\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(5)(B).
Second, a telecommunications carrier must provide service to
``persons who reside in rural areas'' in the state in which the health
care services proposal for support are provided under Section
254(h)(1)(A).215
\215\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(A).
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105. Section 254(h)(1)(A) states that a ``telecommunications
carrier'' providing service under this paragraph ``shall be entitled to
have an amount equal to the difference, if any, between the rates for
services provided to health care providers for rural areas in a State
and the rates for similar services provided to other customers in
comparable rural areas in that State treated as a service obligation as
a part of its obligation to participate in the mechanisms to preserve
and advance universal service.'' 216 This language differs from
that of Section 254(h)(1)(B), which explicitly permits ``[a]ll
telecommunications carriers serving a geographic area'' providing
designated services to schools and libraries to be reimbursed for
services, either through ``an offset to its obligation to contribute to
the mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service,'' or through
``reimbursement utilizing the support mechanisms to preserve and
advance universal service.'' 217
\216\ Id.
\217\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(1)(B).
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106. In view of the differences described in the foregoing
paragraph, we request comment on whether any statutory or policy
rationale requires treating telecommunications carriers providing
service under Section 254(h)(1)(A) differently than telecommunications
carriers providing service under Section 254(h)(1)(B) for reimbursement
purposes. We invite commenters to address whether Section 254(h)(1)(A)
provides for an offset to contributions, and whether it prohibits
direct compensation payments. Finally,
[[Page 10516]]
we request comment addressing the desirability of using the same offset
or reimbursement alternatives set forth in Section 254(h)(1)(B). We
request the Joint Board's recommendation regarding the appropriate
resolution of the issues described in this section.
V. Enhancing Access to Advanced Services for Schools, Libraries,
and Health Care Providers
A. Goals and Principles
107. Section 254(b)(6) directs the Commission and the Joint Board
to adopt policies designed to assure ``elementary and secondary schools
and classrooms, health care providers, and libraries * * * access to
advanced telecommunications services.'' 218 Section 254(c)(3)
enables the Commission to designate additional, special services for
universal service support for eligible schools, libraries and health
care providers.
\218\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(6).
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108. Section 254(h)(2) directs the Commission to establish
``competitively neutral rules * * * to enhance, to the extent
technically feasible and economically reasonable, access to advanced
telecommunications and information services for all public and
nonprofit elementary and secondary school classrooms, health care
providers, and libraries.'' 219 As the Joint Statement explains
with respect to advanced services:
\219\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(2)(A).
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New subsection (h)(2) requires the Commission to establish rules
to enhance the availability of advanced telecommunications and
information services to public institutional telecommunications
users. For example, the Commission could determine that
telecommunications and information services that constitute
universal service for classrooms and libraries shall include
dedicated data links and the ability to obtain access to educational
materials, research information, statistics, information on
Government services, reports developed by Federal, State, and local
governments, and information services which can be carried over the
Internet.220
\220\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 133
(1996).
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The Commission is further directed to ``define the circumstances
under which a telecommunications carrier may be required to connect its
network to such public institutional telecommunications users.''
221
\221\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(h)(2)(B). ``Public
institutional telecommunications user'' is defined as an elementary
or secondary school, a library or health care provider as defined in
Section 254 (h)(5)(C). Id. Sec. 254(h)(5)(C).
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B. How to Implement
109. In Section IV, we sought to identify a set of
telecommunications services to be supported by Federal universal
service support mechanisms for schools, libraries and rural health care
providers. We now seek to identify those advanced telecommunications
and information services that carriers should make available to all
eligible health care providers, libraries and school classrooms to the
extent technically feasible and economically reasonable. We ask
commenters to identify such services and to identify the features and
functionalities required to give eligible health care providers,
libraries and school classrooms access to those services. We also ask
commenters to suggest competitively neutral rules that we could adopt
``to enhance, to the extent technically feasible and economically
reasonable, access to advanced telecommunications and information
services for all public and nonprofit elementary and secondary school
classrooms, health care providers, and libraries.'' Specifically, we
ask whether the ``advanced telecommunications and information
services'' addressed in Section 254(h)(2) should be a broader,
narrower, or identical group to those supported under Section
254(h)(1). Further, we request suggestions as to any additional
measures, other than discounts and financial support, that would
promote deployment of advanced services to school classrooms, libraries
and health care providers.
110. For each measure, we ask commenters to address: whether it
would be competitively neutral for carriers, telecommunications
providers, and any other affected entities, and whether it complies
with the Act's requirement that ``telecommunications services and
network capacity'' provided to public institutional telecommunications
users ``may not be sold, resold, or otherwise transferred by such user
in consideration for money or any other thing of value.'' 222 We
seek comment on how we should assess whether particular services that
provide access to advanced telecommunications and information services
are ``technically feasible and economically reasonable.'' 223 We
also ask that the commenters attempt to estimate the potential costs
associated with such measures, pursuant to the principle stated in
Section 254(b)(5) that support mechanisms should be ``specific,
predictable and sufficient.'' 224 Similarly, we request proposals
to implement our responsibility, under Section 254(h)(2)(B), ``to
define the circumstances under which a telecommunications carrier may
be required to connect its network to such public institutional
telecommunications users.'' 225 We also refer these issues to the
Joint Board for its recommendation.
\222\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(3).
\223\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(2)(A).
\224\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(5).
\225\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(2)(B).
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C. Who Is Eligible for Support
111. For purposes of Section 254(h)(2), schools and libraries have
definitions identical to those in Section 254(h)(1), discussed at part
V.B.3., above. Congress also intended to benefit ``all * * * health
care providers,'' as defined in Section 254(h)(5)(B),226 not just
rural health care providers. We invite interested parties to comment
and ask the Joint Board's recommendation regarding this interpretation.
\226\ Id. Sec. 254(h)(2)(A). See discussion supra at part V.C.3.
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VI. Other Universal Service Support Mechanisms
112. The 1996 Act states that any federal universal service support
provided to eligible carriers ``should be explicit'' and should be
recovered from all telecommunications carriers that provide interstate
telecommunications service ``on an equitable and nondiscriminatory
basis.'' 227 Currently, approximately 25 percent of the
unseparated cost of incumbent LECs' subscriber loops (the lines
connecting subscribers to local telephone company central offices) is
allocated to the interstate jurisdiction. These carriers recover a
significant portion of their loop costs allocated to the interstate
jurisdiction directly from subscribers through flat monthly subscriber
line charges (SLCs), but the Commission's rules impose caps on the SLC
rate at $3.50 per month for residential and single-line business users
and $6.00 per month for multi-line business users.228 The
incumbent LECs' remaining interstate allocated loop costs are currently
recovered through a per-minute carrier common line (CCL) charge paid by
IXCs, and ultimately by subscribers in the form of increased interstate
long distance rates.
\227\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254 (d), (e).
\228\ 47 CFR 69.104(c)-(e), 69.203(a). If the interstate
allocation of common line costs in a study area is lower than the
SLC cap, the lower number is used.
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113. Many interested persons have argued that all costs associated
with facilities dedicated to the use of a single subscriber should be
recovered through
[[Page 10517]]
a flat, non-traffic sensitive charge assessed on end users.229
They contend that the existing CCL charge artificially raises rates for
interstate long distance usage and distorts competitive incentives in
the local exchange marketplace. Moreover, the imposition of per-minute
charges on one class of service--interstate interexchange long
distance--to reduce flat rates for end users (with the goal of
increasing telephone subscribership) appears to constitute a universal
service support flow. High-volume interstate long distance customers
contribute more than the full cost of their subscriber lines, while
low-volume customers contribute less. The Federal-State Joint Board
that recommended a mandatory cap on the SLCs emphasized that this
limitation was designed to support universal service.230 The
current CCL charge appears to be inconsistent with the directives of
the 1996 Act that universal service support flows ``be explicit'' and
be recovered on a ``nondiscriminatory basis'' from all
telecommunications carriers providing interstate telecommunications
service.231 The Commission and a Federal-State Joint Board have
found, in the past, that increased flat rate recovery of LECs'
subscriber loop costs has substantially stimulated demand for
interstate switched services, and has produced major economic
efficiency gains with minimal impact on subscribership.232 At the
same time, recovery of the full interstate allocation of common line
costs directly from end-users might cause the flat monthly rates paid
by certain subscribers to exceed acceptable levels, and could have an
adverse impact on telephone subscribership.
\229\ See Com. Car. Bur., FCC, Preparation for Addressing
Universal Service Issues: A Review of Current Interstate Support
Mechanisms 90-97 (1996); cf. Interconnection between Local Exchange
Carriers and Commercial Mobile Radio Service Providers; Equal Access
and Interconnection Obligations Pertaining to Commercial Mobile
Radio Service Providers, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CC Docket
Nos. 95-185, 94-54, FCC 95-505, para. 43 (rel. Jan. 11, 1996),
summarized in 61 FR 3644 (1996).
\230\ MTS and WATS Market Structure; Amendment of Part 67 of the
Commission's Rules and Establishment of a Joint Board, Recommended
Decision and Order, 2 FCC Rcd 2324 (1987) (1987 Recommended
Decision); 1984 Recommended Decision.
\231\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254 (d), (e).
\232\ 1987 Report and Order, at 2954, 2957; see also Jerry
Hausman et al., The Effects of the Breakup of AT&T on Telephone
Penetration in the United States, 83 Am. Econ. Ass'n Papers & Proc.
178, 183 (1993).
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114. In the mid-1980s, we referred to a Federal-State Joint Board
questions relating to the recovery of interstate-allocated subscriber
loop costs.233 We do so again here. We now seek comment on whether
to continue the existing subsidy so as to preserve reduced end user
common line charges, or to eliminate or reduce the subscriber loop
portion of the interstate CCL charge and, instead, permit LECs to
recover these costs from end users.234 We invite parties to
comment on whether the existing method for recovery of common line
costs allocated to the interstate jurisdiction comports with economic
efficiency and the specific mandates of the 1996 Act. We also seek
comment on the extent to which increases in SLCs would reduce telephone
subscribership, if at all, and the effect on subscribership across
different income levels and telecommunications consumption patterns. We
seek comment on the level of explicit universal service support that
would be required to avoid unacceptable harm to subscribership under
such a scenario, and the extent to which such support could be provided
through the targeted support mechanisms to low-income customers and
customers in rural, insular, or high-cost areas discussed
above.235 In the alternative, we seek comment on whether all or a
portion of the current level of support for subscriber loop rates
should be retained but restructured, consistent with the mandate of the
1996 Act, to ``be explicit'' and to be funded in a
``nondiscriminatory'' manner.236 A combination of these approaches
is also possible: For example, the caps on interstate SLCs could be
increased gradually but not eliminated, with the balance recovered from
the universal service support fund proposed below. We also seek comment
on whether eligibility for these support mechanisms must, or should, be
limited to state-certified eligible carriers, under the 1996 Act.
\233\ See 1985 Lifeline Order (adopting, with minor
modifications, the Joint Board recommendations issued in 1984
Recommended Decision); 1987 Report and Order (adopting, with minor
modifications, the Joint Board recommendations issued in 1987
Recommended Decision).
\234\ The LECs' interstate CCL charge currently also recovers
revenues associated with the provision of payphone service. Pursuant
to the 1996 Act, within nine months after the date of its enactment,
the Commission will initiate a proceeding to discontinue this
element of the CCL charge and replace it with a per-call
compensation system for recovering payphone costs. 1996 Act sec.
151(a), Sec. 276(b)(1)(A), (B). The CCL charge also recovers common
line long-term support (LTS) payments, which are discussed in the
following paragraph.
\235\ See supra part III.B., C.
\236\ 1996 Act sec 101(a), Sec. 254(d), (e).
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115. The CCL charge assessed by larger incumbent LECs also recovers
revenues associated with long-term support (LTS) payments remitted to
the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. (NECA).237 Until
1989, the Commission's rules required all LECs to participate in a
nationwide averaged common line pool. That mandatory pooling
arrangement was replaced in 1989 by the current system, which permits
LECs to leave the pool and set their CCL rates based on their own
interstate separated costs of subscriber loops. The LECs that withdrew
from the common line pool are required to remit LTS payments to NECA,
which distributes the LTS payments to LECs remaining in the nationwide
common line pool. With the introduction of price cap regulation, the
uniform CCL rate assessed by LECs remaining in the pool is based on the
average CCL rate charged by price cap LECs.238 LTS payments, which
directly increase interstate access charges assessed by some LECs so as
to reduce charges assessed by other LECs, are an identifiable support
flow in the existing interstate access charge system. We propose to
eliminate the recovery of LTS revenues through incumbent LECs'
interstate CCL charges, and we seek comment on whether the LTS system
should be eliminated or restructured in an explicit and
nondiscriminatory manner, consistent with the universal service support
mechanisms described elsewhere in this Notice and with the principles
espoused in the 1996 Act. We also seek comment on whether the
principles governing our deliberations in this proceeding permit, or
even require, a transition period for carriers that receive LTS to
adjust to any changes in the LTS system or rate structure for
recovering loop costs allocated to the interstate jurisdiction. We seek
a Joint Board recommendation on all of these issues.
\237\ 47 CFR 69.603(e), 69.612.
\238\ Com. Car. Bur., FCC, Preparation for Addressing Universal
Service Issues: A Review of Current Interstate Support Mechanisms
71-77 (1996).
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VII. Administration of Support Mechanisms
A. Goals and Principles
116. The 1996 Act states that ``[a]ll providers of
telecommunications services should make an equitable and
nondiscriminatory contribution to the preservation and advancement of
universal service'' 239 through ``specific, predictable and
sufficient Federal and State mechanisms.'' 240 To accomplish this,
the Act stipulates that ``[e]very telecommunications carrier that
provides interstate telecommunications services shall contribute, on an
[[Page 10518]]
equitable and nondiscriminatory basis, to the specific, predictable,
and sufficient mechanisms established by the Commission to preserve and
advance universal service.'' 241 It further stipulates that
``[e]very telecommunications carrier that provides intrastate
telecommunications services shall contribute, on an equitable and
nondiscriminatory basis, in a manner determined by the State to the
preservation and advancement of universal service in that State.''
242
\239\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(b)(4).
\240\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(5).
\241\ Id. Sec. 254(d).
\242\ Id. Sec. 254(f).
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117. In view of these provisions, we seek comment on how financial
responsibility should be divided between interstate telecommunications
carriers and intrastate telecommunications carriers for the costs
associated with the universal service support mechanisms authorized
under Section 254. We invite commenters to discuss possible approaches
for allocating this financial obligation, detailing the advantages and
disadvantages of each approach. We ask, in particular, that interested
parties address the question of whether passage of the 1996 Act should
change existing assumptions about the sources of universal service
support. Finally, we request that the Joint Board in this proceeding
recommend an appropriate basis, with reference to the 1996 Act, upon
which to assign responsibility between the interstate and intrastate
jurisdictions for contributions needed to fund support for universal
service.
B. Administration
1. Who Should Contribute
118. Under the 1996 Act, we must ensure that telecommunications
carriers' contributions that fund universal service support are
collected ``on an equitable and nondiscriminatory basis'' using
``specific, predictable, and sufficient mechanisms.'' 243 The Act
states that ``[a]ll providers of telecommunications services should
make an equitable and nondiscriminatory contribution to the
preservation and advancement of universal service.'' 244 To
fulfill this obligation, Section 254(d) requires that ``[e]very
telecommunications carrier that provides interstate telecommunications
services'' 245 contribute to ``preserve and advance universal
service'' 246 and that ``[a]ny other provider of interstate
telecommunications may be required to contribute to the preservation
and advancement of universal service if the public interest so
requires.'' 247 The Act defines the term ``telecommunications
carrier'' as ``any provider of telecommunications services,'' and the
term ``telecommunications service'' as ``the offering of
telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes
of users as to be effectively available directly to the public,
regardless of the facilities used.'' 248 In addition, the Act
defines ``telecommunications'' as ``the transmission, between or among
points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing,
without change in the form or content of the information as sent and
received.'' 249
\243\ Id. Sec. 254(d).
\244\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(4).
\245\ Id. Sec. 254(d).
\246\ Id.
\247\ Id.
\248\ Id. Sec. 153(49), (51) (emphasis added).
\249\ Id. Sec. 153(48). For example, the switched message and
private line services offered by LECs and IXCs provide
``telecommunications'' to end users.
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119. We seek comments that identify which service providers fall
within the scope of the term ``telecommunications carrier[s] that
provide[] interstate telecommunications services.'' 250 We also
seek comment on whether support obligations associated with universal
service mechanisms should extend only to telecommunications carriers
providing interstate telecommunications services, or whether we should
impose universal service support obligations more broadly, as Section
254(d) of the Act authorizes us to do. Under Section 254(d), universal
service support obligations could be imposed upon ``other provider[s]
of interstate telecommunications,'' which, pursuant to the definition
of ``telecommunications'' in Section 3 of the 1996 Act, would include
entities that provide interstate ``transmission, between or among
points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing,
without change in the form or content of the information as sent and
received.'' 251 We seek comment and Joint Board recommendations on
whether ``the public interest * * * requires'' that we extend support
obligations to ``[a]ny other provider[s] of interstate
telecommunications,'' 252 and, if so, what categories of
providers, other than telecommunications carriers, should be so
obligated.
\250\ See id. Sec. 254(d).
\251\ Id.
\252\ Id. Sec. 254(d).
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120. Section 254(d) authorizes the Commission to ``exempt a carrier
or class of carriers from [the obligation to make contributions] if the
carrier's telecommunications activities are limited to such an extent
that the level of such carrier's contribution to the preservation and
advancement of universal service would be de minimis.'' 253 The
Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference clarifies
that such exemption should be given ``only * * * in cases where the
administrative cost of collecting contributions from a carrier or
carriers would exceed the contribution that carrier would otherwise
have to make under the formula for contributions selected by the
Commission.'' 254 We seek comment on whether we should establish
rules of general applicability for exempting very small
telecommunications providers, and if so, what the basis should be for
determining that the administrative cost of collecting support would
exceed a carrier's potential contribution. Within those parameters, we
also specifically seek comment on measures to avoid significant
economic harm to small business entities, as defined by Section 601(3)
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.255 In its Recommended Decision,
we request that the Joint Board consider all of these issues related to
defining the contributors to universal service support.
\253\ Id.
\254\ S. Conf. Rep. No. 104-230, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 131
(1996).
\255\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3).
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2. How Should Contributions Be Assessed
121. Section 254(d) requires that ``[e]very telecommunications
carrier that provides interstate telecommunications services shall
contribute, on an equitable and nondiscriminatory basis, to the
specific, predictable, and sufficient mechanisms established by the
Commission to preserve and advance universal service.'' 256
Furthermore, in evaluating different approaches to collecting
contributions, we must ensure that ``[a]ll providers of
telecommunications services make an equitable and nondiscriminatory
contribution to the preservation and advancement of universal
service.'' 257
\256\ 1996 Act sec. 101(a), Sec. 254(d).
\257\ Id. Sec. 254(b)(4).
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122. Contributions Based on Gross Revenues. One potential approach
might be to adopt the mechanism used for the approximately $30 million-
per-year Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) program. TRS provides
``a telephone transmission service that allows persons with hearing or
speech disabilities to communicate by telephone in a manner
functionally equivalent to the ability of persons without such
disabilities.'' 258 Each
[[Page 10519]]
contributor's TRS payment is based on a pro rata share of its gross
interstate revenues.259
\258\ 47 U.S.C. 225(a)(3). TRS facilities have specialized
equipment and staff who relay conversations between persons using
text telephones and persons using traditional telephones.
\259\ Telecommunications Relay Services, and the Americans wi
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