B. Annual Reporting
Requirements for ETCs Designated after January 1, 2007.
This section shall apply to all eligible telecommunications
carriers who are designated after January 1, 2007.
(a) Filing Deadlines. For ETCs who are
designated after January 1, 2007, in order for the common carrier designated
under 47 U.S.C. Section 214(e)(2) to continue to receive support for the
following calendar year, or retain its eligible telecommunications carrier
designation, it must file with the commission and provide a copy to the ORS the
annual reporting information in paragraph (b) no later than June 30, 2008, and
thereafter annually by June 30th of each year. The information provided should
cover the previous twelve (12) month period ending December 31st. The ORS shall
review each ETC annual report and notify the commission on or before August
20th annually in writing as to the ORS's opinion as to whether the carrier is
in compliance with federal and state regulations and rules. The commission,
after holding a hearing, if it deems a hearing is necessary, shall determine
based upon the information provided to it whether the carrier is in compliance
with federal and state regulations and rules and shall notify the Federal
Communications Commission and the Universal Service Administrative Company of
each company's compliance by October 1st of the reporting year thereby ensuring
that each ETC designated by the commission is authorized to receive federal
support for the upcoming fiscal year.
Reports must also contain a commitment by wireless applicants
to comply with the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association's
Consumer Code for Wireless Service as of May 18, 2008, or a commitment by other
ETCs that they meet the service quality standards outlined in Section
103-663. For
the purpose of this regulation, access lines and handsets shall be used
interchangeably.
(b) A
common carrier designated under 47 U.S.C. Section 214(e)(2) as an eligible
telecommunications carrier after January 1, 2007 shall provide:
(1) a progress report on its two-year service
quality improvement plan, including maps detailing its progress toward meeting
its plan targets, an explanation of how much universal service support was
received and how it was used to improve signal quality, coverage, or capacity,
and an explanation regarding any network improvement targets that have not been
fulfilled. The information shall be submitted at the wire center level.
Additionally, an updated forward-looking two-year plan shall be filed
annually;
(2) detailed information
on any outage, as defined in 47 C.F.R.Section 4.5, of at least 30 minutes in
duration for each service area in which an eligible telecommunications carrier
is designated for any facilities it owns, operates, leases, or otherwise
utilizes that potentially affect (a) at least ten percent of the end users
served in a designated service area; or (b) a 911 special facility, as defined
in 47 C.F.R. Section 4.5(e). Specifically, the eligible telecommunications
carrier's annual report must include information detailing: (a) the date and
time of onset of the outage; (b) a brief description of the outage and its
resolution; (c) the particular services affected; (d) the geographic areas
affected by the outage; (e) steps taken to prevent a similar situation in the
future; and (f) the number of customers affected;
(3) the number of requests for service from
potential customers within the eligible telecommunications carrier's service
areas that were unfulfilled during the past year. The carrier shall also detail
how it attempted to provide service to those potential customers;
(4) the number of complaints or trouble
reports per 1000 handsets or access lines;
(5) certification that it is complying with
applicable service quality standards and consumer protection rules, as
designated by the commission;
(6) a
detailed report and certification that the carrier is able to function in
emergency situations;
(7) for
non-incumbent local exchange carriers certification that the carrier is
offering a local usage plan comparable to that offered by the incumbent LEC in
the relevant service areas;
(8)
certification that the carrier acknowledges that the Federal Communications
Commission may require it to provide equal access to long distance carriers in
the event that no other eligible telecommunications carrier is providing equal
access within the service area;
(9)
the number of Lifeline customers and the number of customers that received Link
Up assistance as of December 31st of the prior year;
(10) copies of responses to the Lifeline
Verification Survey or Certification filed with the Universal Service
Administrative Company on August 31st of each year; and
(11) For ETCs not eligible for High Cost Fund
support, but participating in the Lifeline and Link Up programs, subsections
(1) and (2) shall be waived. All other requirements shall remain in force,
except that the requirements of (6) may be met by reference to an underlying
carrier's continuing certification as for leased facilities.