Sec.  54.807   Interstate access universal service support.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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