High-Cost Universal Service Support, Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, Lifeline and Link-Up, 25156-25159 [2010-10853]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 88 (Friday, May 7, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25156-25159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10853]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 05-337, CC Docket No. 96-45, WC Docket No. 03-109; FCC 
10-57]


High-Cost Universal Service Support, Federal-State Joint Board on 
Universal Service, Lifeline and Link-Up

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission proposes targeted rule 
changes to help eligible consumers in Puerto Rico take better advantage 
of existing universal service low-income support programs. 
Specifically, the Commission asks whether it should provide additional 
Link-Up support to help offset special construction charges incurred by 
consumers when facilities must be built to provide them with access to 
voice telephone service. By removing a remaining impediment to 
affordable voice telephone service, the Commission would hope to 
further close the gap in telephone subscribership between the 
Commonwealth and non-insular areas.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rules are due on or before June 7, 2010 
and reply comments are due on or before June 21, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WC Docket No. 05-337, 
CC Docket No. 96-45, WC Docket No. 03-109, by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

[[Page 25157]]

     Federal Communications Commission's Web Site: https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the instructions for submitting 
comments.
     People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request 
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov or phone: (202) 
418-0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.

For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted Burmeister, Wireline Competition 
Bureau, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, (202) 418-7389 or 
TTY: (202) 418-0484.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in WC Docket No. 05-337, CC Docket No. 
96-45, WC Docket No. 03-109, FCC 10-57, adopted April 16, 2010, and 
released April 16, 2010. The complete text of this document is 
available for inspection and copying during normal business hours in 
the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The document may also be purchased 
from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, 
Inc., 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, 
telephone (800) 378-3160 or (202) 863-2893, facsimile (202) 863-2898, 
or via the Internet at https://www.bcpiweb.com. It is also available on 
the Commission's Web site at https://www.fcc.gov.
    Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 
47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments and reply 
comments on or before the dates indicated on the first page of this 
document. Comments may be filed using: (1) The Commission's Electronic 
Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the Federal Government's eRulemaking 
Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies. See Electronic Filing of 
Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121, May 1, 1998.
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: https://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ 
or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Filers 
should follow the instructions provided on the Web site for submitting 
comments.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and four copies of each filing. If more than one 
docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, 
filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number.
    Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial 
overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service 
mail (although we continue to experience delays in receiving U.S. 
Postal Service mail). All filings must be addressed to the Commission's 
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
    [cir] All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for 
the Commission's Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 
12th St., SW., Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours are 
8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber 
bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering 
the building.
    [cir] Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton 
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
    [cir] U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail 
should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.
    In addition, one copy of each pleading must be sent to each of the 
following:
     The Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and 
Printing, Inc, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 
20554; Web site: https://www.bcpiweb.com; phone: 1-800-378-3160; and
     Charles Tyler, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, 
Wireline Competition Bureau, 445 12th Street, SW., Room 5-A452, 
Washington, DC 20554; e-mail: Charles.Tyler@fcc.gov.
    People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible 
formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic 
files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or 
(202) 418-0432 (TTY). Contact the FCC to request reasonable 
accommodations for filing comments (accessible format documents, sign 
language interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: fcc504@fcc.gov; phone: 
(202) 418-0530 or (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
    Filings and comments are also available for public inspection and 
copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information 
Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC, 
20554. Copies may also be purchased from the Commission's duplicating 
contractor, BCPI, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 
20554. Customers may contact BCPI through its Web site: https://www.bcpiweb.com, by e-mail at fcc@bcpiweb.com, by telephone at (202) 
488-5300 or (800) 378-3160 (voice), (202) 488-5562 (TTY), or by 
facsimile at (202) 488-5563.

I. Synopsis of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

    1. Although the Commission declines to establish the universal 
service high-cost support mechanism proposed by Puerto Rico Telephone 
Company (PRTC), the Commission acknowledges that there may be a 
significant number of low-income consumers in Puerto Rico who remain 
unable to afford access to voice telephone service. Telephone 
subscribership in Puerto Rico has increased dramatically since the 
Commission released its notice of proposed rulemaking in 2005. Despite 
these gains, subscribership in Puerto Rico remains materially lower 
than in any other jurisdiction reported by the Census Bureau. In 
addition, a significantly higher percentage of Puerto Rican families 
are below the poverty threshold than the general U.S. population, with 
approximately 41 percent of Puerto Rican families reporting income 
below the poverty threshold between 2006 and 2008, as compared to 
approximately 10 percent of total U.S. families reporting income below 
the poverty threshold during the same time period. The State with the 
next highest percentage of families reporting income below the poverty 
threshold is Mississippi at 16.7 percent. Not only does Puerto Rico 
have the highest percentage of households with incomes below the 
poverty level of any jurisdiction reported by the Census Bureau, but it 
has the lowest median household income as well. Specifically, the 
median household income in Puerto Rico in 2007 was $17,741 compared 
with a national median household income of $50,740. The State with the 
next lowest median household income is West Virginia, with a median 
household income of $37,060--over twice the median household income in 
Puerto Rico. Evidence in the record suggests that infrastructure does 
not yet reach some subscribers, so some people may not be subscribing 
because they cannot afford to pay the special construction charges 
associated with building facilities to reach them. The confluence of 
these two factors--a subscribership rate lower than any other reported 
jurisdiction's and an exceptionally high rate of poverty--causes us to 
believe that additional low-

[[Page 25158]]

income support may be appropriate in this jurisdiction. To address this 
situation and to ensure that low-income consumers in Puerto Rico can 
take advantage of the assistance available to them through the existing 
universal service Lifeline and Link Up low-income support programs, we 
propose to amend our rules to allow eligible low-income consumers in 
Puerto Rico additional support through the Link Up Program to offset 
special construction charges incurred if additional facilities are 
required to provide them with access to voice telephone service.
    2. The Commission in the Twelfth Report and Order, 65 FR 47941, 
August 4, 2000, took measures to address impediments to telephone 
subscribership and infrastructure investment on Tribal lands, including 
the adoption of enhanced Link Up support. The Commission identified a 
number of factors that are primary impediments to subscribership on 
Tribal lands, including the cost of basic voice service, the cost of 
intrastate toll service, inadequate telecommunications infrastructure 
and the cost of line extensions, and the lack of competitive service 
providers offering alternative technologies. At that time, however, the 
Commission chose not to extend the actions taken in the Twelfth Report 
and Order to all high-cost areas and all insular areas, including 
Puerto Rico. Although the record demonstrated that subscribership 
levels were below the national average in other low-income, rural areas 
and in certain insular areas, the Commission found that the factors 
causing low subscribership on Tribal lands were not the same factors 
causing low subscribership in those other jurisdictions. We recognize 
that is still the case today: while Puerto Rico faces a lower telephone 
subscriber rate and a higher poverty rate than other jurisdictions, the 
Commonwealth does not appear to suffer from other impediments to 
subscribership that affect Tribal lands, notably higher cost to provide 
voice telephone service and a lack of competitive service providers 
offering voice service via alternative technologies. Moreover, Puerto 
Rico has a much higher telephone subscribership rate (approximately 92 
percent in 2008) than the subscribership rate we found on reservations 
when we adopted the Twelfth Report and Order (approximately 47 
percent).
    3. Importantly, however, the Commission's decision in 2000 to limit 
the measures adopted in the Twelfth Report and Order to Tribal lands 
was driven by its ``concern[] that to devise a remedy addressing all 
low subscribership issues for all unserved or underserved populations 
simultaneously might unnecessarily delay action on behalf of those who 
are least served, i.e., Tribal communities.'' In other words, the 
Commission placed higher priority on increasing telephone 
subscribership on Tribal lands--it did not determine that no further 
action was needed to assist other unserved or underserved populations. 
The Commission has long attributed Puerto Rico's historically lagging 
telephone subscribership penetration rate to low per-capita income. 
Thus, to the extent that parties have identified line extension and 
construction costs as obstacles to affordable telephone service in 
Puerto Rico, extending the enhanced Link Up support already available 
to Tribal lands could likewise ``increase subscribership among 
qualifying low-income individuals [in Puerto Rico] by minimizing 
certain of these up-front costs.'' Indeed, by further reducing the 
initial connection charges and line extension charges for qualifying 
low-income customers in Puerto Rico, as we already have for consumers 
living on Tribal lands, we would hope to remove a remaining impediment 
to affordable voice telephone service and, thus, further close the gap 
in telephone subscribership between the Commonwealth and non-insular 
areas.
    4. Specifically, for the benefit of consumers in Puerto Rico 
meeting the eligibility criteria for the Lifeline and Link Up Programs, 
we propose to amend our rules to increase the cap on Link Up support to 
cover special construction charges. The cap for these charges would be 
increased from the current $30 limit to $100. This additional $70 in 
Link Up support would cap Link Up discounts at the same level as the 
enhanced Link Up available to eligible residents of Tribal lands. Link 
Up support would be available to eligible low-income consumers in 
Puerto Rico for up to 100 percent of the special construction charges, 
subject to the $100 cap. Under our rules, Link Up support would 
continue to be available ``for a single telecommunications connection 
at a consumer's principal place of residence.'' To ensure reasonable 
use of the support, this support would be available only when a low-
income-eligible consumer in Puerto Rico has requested service under the 
Lifeline or Link Up Programs but such service could not be provided 
absent construction of additional facilities. Consistent with our 
rules, all ETCs in Puerto Rico would be required to offer and make 
available this additional Link Up support to eligible low-income 
consumers. All ETCs in Puerto Rico also would be required to advertise 
the availability of this additional Link Up support using media of 
general distribution in Puerto Rico. In addition, all ETCs receiving 
Link Up support in Puerto Rico would be required to report the number 
of consumers that request such additional Link Up support, the number 
of consumers that receive such support, the reasons why any requesting 
consumers did not qualify for or receive such support, the cost of 
constructing the additional facilities, and a description of the 
additional facilities constructed. This information would be included 
in the annual report required by section 54.209 of our rules. We seek 
comment on these proposed revisions to the low-income support rules for 
eligible low-income consumers in Puerto Rico.

II. Procedural Matters

A. Initial Paperwork Reduction Analysis

    5. This notice of proposed rulemaking contains proposed information 
collections that would apply to fewer than ten respondents and, as a 
result, is not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. In 
addition, it does not contain any new, modified, or proposed 
``information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees'' pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act 
of 2002.

B. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    6. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), see 5 U.S.C. 603, requires 
that an agency prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for notice-
and-comment rulemaking proceedings, unless the agency certifies that 
``the rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities.'' The RFA generally defines 
``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small 
business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same 
meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business 
Act. A ``small business concern'' is one which: (1) Is independently 
owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and 
(3) satisfies any additional criteria established by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA).
    7. In this notice of proposed rulemaking, we propose to revise the 
Commission's rules to permit eligible telecommunications carriers 
serving Puerto Rico to recover additional universal service support 
under

[[Page 25159]]

specified circumstances. Currently, there are 7 eligible 
telecommunications carriers serving Puerto Rico, none of which qualify 
as a small entity. Accordingly, the proposed rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    8. The Commission therefore certifies, pursuant to the RFA, that 
the proposals in this notice of proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. If commenters believe that the proposals discussed in the 
notice of proposed rulemaking require additional RFA analysis, they 
should include a discussion of these issues in their comments and 
additionally label them as RFA comments. The Commission will send a 
copy of the notice of proposed rulemaking, including a copy of this 
initial certification, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA. In 
addition, a copy of the notice of proposed rulemaking and this initial 
certification will be published in the Federal Register.

C. Ex Parte Presentations

    9. This proceeding shall be treated as a ``permit-but-disclose'' 
proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons 
making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda 
summarizing the presentations must contain summaries of the substance 
of the presentations and not merely a listing of the subjects 
discussed. More than a one or two sentence description of the views and 
arguments presented is generally required. Other requirements 
pertaining to oral and written presentations are set forth in Sec.  
1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 54

    Communications Common Carriers, Low income, Puerto Rico, Reporting 
and record keeping requirements, Schools, Telecommunications, 
Telephone.

Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.

Proposed Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR part 54 as follows:

PART 54--UNIVERSAL SERVICE

    1. The authority citation continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 201, 205, 214, and 254 unless 
otherwise noted.

    2. Section 54.411 is amended by revising the first sentence of 
paragraphs (a)(3), the second sentence of paragraph (b), and by adding 
paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  54.411  Link Up program defined.

    (a) * * *
    (3) For an eligible resident of Tribal lands or Puerto Rico, a 
reduction of up to $70, in addition to the reduction in paragraph 
(a)(1) of this section, to cover 100 percent of the charges between $60 
and $130 assessed for commencing telecommunications service at the 
principal place of residence of the eligible resident of Tribal lands 
or Puerto Rico. * * *
    (b) * * * An eligible resident of Tribal lands or Puerto Rico may 
participate in paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) of this section.
* * * * *
    (e) In order to receive enhanced Link Up support for discounted 
connection charges provided to eligible residents of Puerto Rico 
pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) of this section, an eligible 
telecommunication carrier must comply with the following requirements:
    (1) An eligible low-income consumer in Puerto Rico has requested 
service under the Lifeline or Link Up Programs but such service could 
not be provided absent construction of additional facilities.
    (2) The eligible telecommunications carrier must report the number 
of consumers that request such additional Link Up support, the number 
of consumers that receive such support, the reasons why any requesting 
consumers did not qualify for or receive such support, the cost of 
constructing the additional facilities, and a description of the 
additional facilities constructed. This information must be included in 
the annual report required by section 54.209 of our rules.

[FR Doc. 2010-10853 Filed 5-6-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P