Current through August 26, 2024
(1) In this
section, "median household income" means the estimated median household income
per county published annually by the U.S. census bureau's small area income and
poverty estimate program.
Note: This may be found on the commission's
website at psc.wi.gov.
(1g)
A full ETC shall provide high rate assistance credits to residential customers
when the price of service exceeds levels set in this section.
(1r) A full ETC shall recalculate credits
under this section whenever the fixed monthly charge for essential
telecommunications service, as defined in s.
PSC 160.03(2), is changed, or when
ordered to do so by the commission. If the recalculation results in a de
minimis change, the ETC may request that the administrator of the division of
business and communications services stay the requirement to increase or
decrease the credit.
(2) Full
eligible telecommunications carriers shall calculate credits as specified in
sub. (4) utilizing the price of service determined under sub. (3).
(3) For purposes of calculating credits under
sub. (4):
(a) If a full ETC offers essential
services on a stand-alone basis, the price of service calculated under this
paragraph for its stand-alone essential services shall be considered the price
of service when calculating credits for all of the ETC's offerings, whether
provided on a stand-alone basis or as part of a bundle. The price of service
for stand-alone essential services that is used to calculate credits under sub.
(4) shall include all of the following charges and fees:
1. The in-state charges and fees for
residential stand-alone essential services, including, as applicable, all of
the following:
a. Police and fire protection
fee.
b. State universal service
fund assessment.
c. Remainder
assessment.
d. Telecommunications
utility trade practices assessment.
e. Federal universal service fund
assessment.
2. Any 9-1-1
charges billed on the telephone bill.
3. The federal subscriber line
charge.
4. The access recovery
charge.
5. The charge, if any, for
120 local calls, excluding extended community calling calls.
6. The federal communications commission
authorized charge for implementation of local number portability.
7. Other charges as approved by the
commission.
(b) The price
of service for residential stand-alone essential services does not include
charges for items and services such as:
1.
Data service.
2. Handsets, modems,
or other customer premises equipment.
3. Caller identification.
4. Call waiting.
5. Texting.
6. Voicemail.
(c) If a full ETC only offers essential
services bundled with other services, and not on a stand-alone basis, the price
of service used to calculate credits under sub. (4) shall be the charges and
fees for the service, minus the charge for optional items or services such as
the following:
1. Handsets, modems, or other
customer premises equipment.
2.
Caller identification.
3. Call
waiting.
4. Texting.
5. Voicemail.
(d) If a full ETC's charge for bundled
service includes a charge for data service, it is rebuttably presumed that the
ETC's customers are not eligible for high rate assistance for that bundled
service. The ETC may rebut this presumption by showing that the charge for the
bundled service minus the cost of providing data service totals an amount high
enough to qualify the customer for high rate assistance. The commission may,
upon complaint or if it has a reasonable basis to believe that a credit should
be applied when it is not, require the ETC to provide the relevant cost
information.
(4) Full
eligible telecommunications carriers shall issue high rate assistance credits
according to the following criteria:
(a) For
the portion of the price of service below 1.2% of median household income, per
month, for the area in which the rate applies, no credits apply.
(b) For the portion of the price of service
equal to or above 1.2% but below 1.7% of median household income, per month,
for the area in which the rate applies, a credit equal to 50% of that
amount.
(c) For the portion of the
price of service equal to or above 1.7% but below 2.2% of median household
income, per month, for the area in which the rate applies, a credit equal to
75% of that amount.
(d) For the
portion of the price of service equal to or above 2.2% but below 2.7% of median
household income, per month, for the area in which the rate applies, a credit
equal to 85% of that amount.
(e)
For the portion of the price of service equal to or above 2.7% of median
household income, per month, for the area in which the rate applies, a credit
equal to 95% of that amount.
(f)
When a rate applies in only one county, the median household income used to
calculate the credit shall be that of that county in which the rate applies.
When a rate applies in more than one county, the median household income used
to compute the credit shall be the average of the median household incomes in
each county in which the rate applies, weighted by the number of customers
paying that rate in each county.
(g) If the amount of money required to
reimburse full ETCs for credits under this section exceeds the amount budgeted
for this program under s.
PSC 160.17, the commission may modify the formula for high
rate assistance credits.
(5) Except as provided in sub. (9), each full
ETC may be reimbursed by the universal service fund for the value of the
credits it issues if it files its reimbursement claims with the fund
administrator by April 1 of the year following the year during which it issued
the credit. The full ETC may obtain an extension of the filing deadline from
commission staff for good cause.
(6) When a full ETC charges a pro-rated
portion of the normal monthly charge for service because the customer has had
service for only a portion of the month, the rate assistance credit for that
customer shall be pro-rated by the same percentage.
(7) A full ETC shall show and identify the
high rate assistance credits on bills issued to customers.
(9) Full ETCs may not be reimbursed by the
universal service fund for the value of credits issued to customers receiving
essential telecommunications service under a contract if the contract has a
duration of greater than one year. The commission may grant waivers of this
subsection by order. This subsection does not apply to rural line extension
contracts entered into before January 1, 1996.
