Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Purpose. The
provisions of this section establish the procedures for the commission to
designate an eligible telecommunications provider (ETP) to provide voice-grade
services to permanent residential or business premises that are not included
within the certificated area of a holder of a certificate of convenience and
necessity (CCN), and for the reimbursement of costs from the Texas Universal
Service Fund (TUSF).
(b)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall
have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) Designated provider--A telecommunications
provider designated by the commission to provide services to premises located
within an uncertificated area
(2)
Eligible telecommunications provider (ETP)--A telecommunications provider
designated by the commission pursuant to §
26.417 of this title (relating to
Designation as Eligible Telecommunications Providers to Receive Texas Universal
Service Funds (TUSF)).
(3)
Permanent residential or business premises--A premises that has permanent
facilities for water, wastewater, and electricity.
(4) Preferred provider--A designated provider
for any permanent residential or business premises within reasonable proximity
to those petitioning premises for later petitions filed under §
26.422 of this title (relating to
Subsequent Petitions for Service in Uncertificated Areas).
(c) Application. This section applies to
telecommunications providers that have been designated ETPs by the commission
pursuant to §
26.417 of this title. This section
does not apply to a deregulated company holding a certificate of operating
authority or to an exempt carrier under Public Utility Act (PURA)
§52.154.
(d) Petition for
service.
(1) Eligibility. Persons residing in
permanent residential premises or owners of permanent residential or business
premises that are not included within the certificated area of a holder of a
CCN may petition the commission to designate an ETP to provide to those
premises voice-grade services supported by state and federal universal service
support mechanisms.
(2) Contents of
petition. A petition for designation of an ETP must:
(A) State with reasonable particularity the
locations of the permanent residential or business premises for which the
petitioner(s) are requesting service;
(B) Establish that the premises are within
reasonable proximity to one another so that the petitioners possess a
sufficient community of interest;
(C) Nominate as potential providers of
service, not more than five telecommunications providers serving territory that
is contiguous to the location of the permanent residential or business premises
using wireless or wireline facilities, resale, or unbundled network elements;
and
(D) Include as an attachment or
an appendix, documentation indicating the required residence or ownership, such
as a state-issued license or identification, tax records, deeds, or voter
registration materials.
(3) Eligibility of petitioner(s). Except as
provided by paragraph (4) of this subsection, the petition must be signed by at
least five persons who:
(A) Are not members
of the same household;
(B) Reside
in the permanent residential premises or are the owners of the permanent
residential or business premises for which service is sought;
(C) Desire service to those
premises;
(D) Commit to pay the aid
to construction charges for service to those premises as determined by the
commission; and
(E) Commit to enter
into an assignable agreement for subscription to basic local service to the
premises for a period of time determined by the commission.
(4) Number of petitioners. The
commission may accept a petition that is signed by fewer than five persons if
the petitioner(s) provides an affidavit stating that the petitioner(s) has
taken all reasonable steps to secure the signatures of the residents of
permanent residential premises or the owners of permanent residential or
business premises within reasonably close proximity to the petitioner's
premises who are not receiving telephone service when the petition is filed and
who want telephone service initiated.
(5) Form. The petitioner(s) shall file the
petition using the commission-approved forms.
(e) Completeness of petition.
(1) Commission action. Upon receipt of a
petition, the commission shall review the petition for completeness. Within 15
working days from the date of receipt of the petition, the commission shall
determine if the petition is complete and has been filed consistent with
subsection (d) of this section.
(2)
Petition complete. If the commission determines the petition is complete, the
commission will send a notice of completeness to the petitioner(s), to all
telecommunications providers identified in the petition, and if not otherwise
notified, to the incumbent local exchange carriers serving the contiguous
exchanges. In the notice, the commission shall seek volunteers to provide
telecommunications services in the permanent residential or business premises.
The commission shall also include with the notice a copy of the petition. The
commission shall publish notice of the petition and the notice of completeness
in the Texas Register.
(3) Petition
denied. If a petition is denied, the commission shall send a notice of denial
explaining the reason(s) for denial to the petitioner(s).
(f) Responding to notice of completeness.
(1) Response. Telecommunication providers
shall respond to the commission's notice of completeness and request for
volunteers within 30 days after receipt of the notice. A provider may respond
by:
(A) Stating that it is not eligible to be
designated to serve the premises under this section;
(B) Volunteering to provide service to the
premises; or
(C) Refusing to
volunteer to provide service to the premises.
(2) Volunteering to serve. A provider
volunteering to provide service to the premises shall respond to the commission
by providing a proposal that includes:
(A) An
affidavit duly signed by an officer of the company;
(B) A description of the technology proposed
for deployment;
(C) An estimate of
the costs for deployment and the recurring monthly costs of service;
and
(D) An estimated timeline for
deployment of facilities and a date by which service will be extended to the
premises.
(3) Commission
action. Upon receipt of a volunteering provider's proposal, the commission may:
(A) Approve a proposal administratively and
permit the ETP to serve the uncertificated area and recover its costs pursuant
to subsection (j) of this section; or
(B) Reject a proposal and proceed to a
hearing pursuant to subsection (g) of this section.
(g) Evidentiary hearing. If the
petition cannot be processed administratively, the commission shall conduct an
evidentiary hearing to determine:
(1) If an
ETP is willing to be designated to provide service to the petitioner(s);
or
(2) The ETP that is best able to
serve the petitioner(s).
(h) Commission decision. The commission
should consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to:
(1) The original cost to be incurred by a
designated provider to deploy service to the petitioning premises, and the
effect of reimbursement of those costs on the state universal service
fund;
(2) The number of access
lines requested by the petitioners for the petitioning premises;
(3) The size of the geographic territory in
which the petitioning premises are included;
(4) The proximity of existing facilities and
the existence of a preferred designated provider under the Public Utility
Regulatory Act (PURA) §56.213; and
(5) Any technical barriers to the provision
of service.
(i)
Commission order. The commission shall issue an order granting or denying a
petition within 180 days of the filing of the petition. In any order granting a
petition the commission shall include the following:
(1) Description of the facilities to be
deployed;
(2) Estimated costs of
deployment;
(3) Aid to construction
fee to be paid by the petitioner(s), not to exceed $3,000;
(4) Monthly recurring charge to be paid by
the petitioner(s);
(5) Estimated
cost to be recovered from the TUSF;
(6) Recurring, monthly per line fee to be
recovered from the TUSF;
(7) Date
by which services must be extended to the premises; and
(8) Schedule of cost recovery for the
provider's original cost of deployment consistent with the following:
(A) Not later than the third anniversary of
the date of the order, for a deployment with an estimated original cost of $1
million or less;
(B) Not later than
the fifth anniversary of the date of the order, for a deployment with an
estimated original cost of more than $1 million, but not more than $2 million;
and
(C) Not later than the seventh
anniversary of the date of the order, for a deployment with an estimated
original cost of more than $2 million.
(j) Cost recovery. A designated provider may
recover from the TUSF the provider's actual costs of providing service to the
premises, including the provider's original cost of deployment not recovered
from the petitioner(s) through an aid to construction charge and the provider's
actual recurring costs not recovered from the petitioner(s) through a monthly
recurring charge.
(1) The original cost of
deployment includes the cost of the provider's facilities installed in, or
upgraded to permit the provision of service to, the premises, as determined by
the financial accounting standards applicable to the provider, including an
amount for the recovery of all costs that are typically included as capital
costs for accounting purposes.
(2)
The provider is permitted to recover interest at the prevailing commercial
lending rate on its original costs of deployment.
(3) Actual recurring costs include
maintenance and the ongoing operational costs of providing service after
deployment of the facilities to the premises and a reasonable operating
margin.
(k) Submission
of actual costs. Upon completion of the construction, the designated provider
shall file the actual costs with the commission.
(1) No later than 30 days after filing the
actual costs, commission staff shall file with the presiding officer written
comments or recommendations concerning the actual costs.
(2) No later than 60 days after filing the
actual costs, the presiding officer shall issue a notice stating whether the
costs may be submitted to the TUSF administrator for recovery consistent with
the order issued pursuant to subsection (i) of this section.
(3) The designated provider or the commission
staff may appeal to the commission an administrative notice issued by a
presiding officer within seven days after the date the notice is issued. The
commission shall rule on any appeal added to an open meeting agenda, within 30
days after the date the appeal is filed. If the commission or a presiding
officer orders changes to the actual costs submitted, the designated provider
shall be ordered to make those changes within a reasonable period of time
before they may be submitted to the TUSF administrator for recovery.
(l) Cap on TUSF reimbursements.
The commission may not authorize or require any services to be provided under
this section during a fiscal year if the total amount of required
reimbursements, together with interest and obligations from preceding years,
would equal an amount that exceeds 0.02% of the annual gross revenues reported
to the TUSF during the preceding fiscal year.
