§  36.605   Calculation of safety net additive.

   (a) "Safety net additive support." Beginning January 1, 2012, only
   those local exchange carriers that qualified in 2010 or earlier, based
   on 2009 or prior year costs, shall be eligible to receive safety net
   additive pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. Local exchange
   carriers shall not receive safety net additive for growth of
   Telecommunications Plant in Service in 2011, as compared to 2010. A
   local exchange carrier qualifying for safety net additive shall no
   longer receive safety net additive after January 1, 2012 unless the
   carrier's realized total growth in Telecommunications Plant in Service
   was more than 14 percent during the qualifying period, defined as 2010
   or earlier, pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. A local exchange
   carrier qualifying for safety net additive that fails to meet the
   requirements set forth in the preceding sentence will receive 50
   percent of the safety net additive that it otherwise would have
   received pursuant to this rule in 2012 and will cease to receive safety
   net additive in 2013 and thereafter.

   (b) Calculation of safety net additive support for companies that
   qualified prior to 2011: Safety net additive support is equal to the
   amount of capped support calculated pursuant to this subpart F in the
   qualifying year minus the amount of support in the year prior to
   qualifying for support subtracted from the difference between the
   uncapped expense adjustment for the study area in the qualifying year
   minus the uncapped expense adjustment in the year prior to qualifying
   for support as shown in the following equation:

   Safety net additive support = (Uncapped support in the qualifying year
   - Uncapped support in the base year) - (Capped support in the
   qualifying year - Amount of support received in the base year).

   (c) Operation of safety net additive support for companies that
   qualified prior to 2011: (1) In any year in which the total carrier
   loop cost expense adjustment is limited by the provisions of §  36.603
   a rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carrier, as set forth in
   §  36.601(a) of this subpart, shall receive safety net additive support
   as calculated in paragraph (b) of this section, if in any study area,
   the rural incumbent local exchange carrier realizes growth in end of
   period Telecommunications Plant in Service (TPIS), as prescribed in
   §  32.2001 of this chapter, on a per loop basis, of at least 14 percent
   more than the study area's TPIS per loop investment at the end of the
   prior period.

   (2) If paragraph (c)(1) of this section is met, the rural incumbent
   local exchange carrier must notify the Administrator; failure to
   properly notify the Administrator of eligibility shall result in
   disqualification of that study area for safety net additive, requiring
   the rural incumbent local exchange carrier to again meet the
   eligibility requirements in paragraph (c)(1) of this section for that
   study area in a subsequent period.

   (3) Upon completion of verification by the Administrator that the study
   area meets the stated criterion in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) of this
   section, the Administrator shall:

   (i) Pay to any qualifying rural telephone company, safety net additive
   support for the qualifying study area in accordance with the
   calculation set forth in paragraph (b) of this section; and

   (ii) Continue to pay safety net additive support in any of the four
   succeeding years in which the total carrier loop expense adjustment is
   limited by the provisions of §  36.603. Safety net additive support in
   the succeeding four years shall be the lesser of:

   (A) The sum of capped support and the safety net additive support
   received in the qualifying year; or

   (B) The rural telephone company's uncapped support.

   [ 66 FR 30086 , June 5, 2001, as amended at  66 FR 65856 , Dec. 21, 2001;
    76 FR 73854 , Nov. 29, 2011]

   return arrow Back to Top

Data Collection

   return arrow Back to Top