*************************************************** NOTICE *************************************************** This document was converted from WordPerfect to ASCII Text format. Content from the original version of the document such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers will not show up in this text version. All text attributes such as bold, itallic, underlining, etc. from the original document will not show up in this text version. Features of the orginal document layout such as columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins will not be preserved in the text version. If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************** News media information 202 / 418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.govPUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 1919 M St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 FCC 97-419 Released: December 29, 1997 Approved by OMB 3060-0810 Expires: May 31, 1998 Average burden estimate per respondent filing petitions: 58 hours Average burden estimate per respondent filing written comments: 20 hours PROCEDURES FOR FCC DESIGNATION OF ELIGIBLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS PURSUANT TO SECTION 214(e)(6) OF THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT By the Commission: This public notice establishes the procedures the Commission will use in implementing Public Law 105-125 (enacted December 1, 1997), which added subsection (e)(6) to section 214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act). Section 214(e)(1) of the Act provides that common carriers designated as "eligible telecommunications carriers" are eligible to receive universal service support in accordance with section 254 of the Act. Section 214(e)(2) of the Act provides that state commissions shall designate eligible telecommunications carriers. Until its recent amendment, section 214(e) did not address how common carriers not subject to the jurisdiction of a state commission would be designated. New section 214(e)(6) provides for the designation of eligible telecommunications carriers by the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) in certain limited circumstances for common carriers that are not subject to the jurisdiction of a state commission. We set forth herein the procedures that carriers must use in requesting such designation from the Commission. Any carrier that is able to be or has already been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier by a state commission is not required to receive such designation from the Commission. We delegate to the Chief, Common Carrier Bureau, the authority to designate carriers as eligible telecommunications carriers, pursuant to section 214(e)(6). Carriers seeking designation from the Commission pursuant to section 214(e)(6) must demonstrate that they fulfill the requirements of section 214(e)(1). Accordingly, carriers seeking designation from the Commission are instructed to file a petition that sets forth the following information: 1. A certification and brief statement of supporting facts demonstrating that the petitioner is "not subject to the jurisdiction of a state commission"; 2. A certification that the petitioner provides all services designated for support by the Commission pursuant to section 254(c); a. If the petitioner seeks an extension of time in order to implement the Commission's requirements to offer single-party service, access to E911, or toll-limitation services for Lifeline consumers, the petitioner must demonstrate that it has met the criteria set forth by the Commission to receive such an extension of time; b. If the petitioner seeks a waiver of the prohibition against disconnecting Lifeline service for non-payment of toll charges, the petitioner must demonstrate that it meets the requirements of section 54.401(b)(1) of the Commission's rules; 3. A certification that the petitioner offers the supported services "either using its own facilities or a combination of its own facilities and resale of another carrier's services"; 4. A description of how the petitioner "advertise[s] the availability of the [supported] services and the charges therefor using media of general distribution"; 5. If the petitioner meets the definition of a "rural telephone company" pursuant to section 3(37) of the Act, the petitioner must identify its study area. If the petitioner is not a rural telephone company, the petitioner must include a detailed description of the geographic service area that it requests the Commission designate. In addition, in order to be eligible for any new, modified or renewed instrument of authorization from the Commission, including authorizations issued pursuant to section 214 of the Act, all petitioners must certify that neither the petitioner nor any party to the application is subject to a denial of federal benefits, including Commission benefits, pursuant to section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. This certification must also include the names of individuals specified by section 1.2002(b) of the Commission's rules. Pursuant to section 254(e), after the date on which the Commission's regulations implementing section 254 take effect, "only an eligible telecommunications carrier designated under section 214(e) shall be eligible to receive specific Federal universal service support." The Commission's regulations implementing section 254 will take effect January 1, 1998. Accordingly, starting January 1, 1998, carriers must be designated as eligible telecommunications carriers to receive support under federal universal service support mechanisms. Under certain circumstances, a petitioner that is designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier by the Commission after January 1, 1998, may seek universal service support retroactive to January 1, 1998. Such a petitioner must: (1) include a request for retroactive support in its petition; (2) demonstrate that, as of January 1, 1998, it met the requirements set forth in section 214(e)(1); and (3) set forth the steps it has taken to receive designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier in a timely manner. Carriers that do not seek retroactive support, or do not qualify for retroactive support under the criteria set forth in this paragraph, shall be eligible to receive compensation after the date of designation by the Commission. These procedures will be effective upon publication in the Federal Register. We conclude that compliance with the notice and public comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is not required with respect to the procedures adopted in this Public Notice because this Public Notice establishes rules of agency procedure and practice. Pleading Cycle. Upon receipt of a petition filed pursuant to section 214(e)(6), the Commission will issue a public notice establishing a pleading cycle and assigning a Bureau file number to the petition. Oppositions or comments regarding the petition will be due approximately 10 days after the Commission releases the public notice. Reply comments will be due approximately 7 days after comments are due. Filing Requirements. All filings should reference: Petition for Designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier Pursuant to Section 214(e)(6) of the Communications Act, FCC 97-419. Comments and reply comments should reference the name of the petitioner filing a petition for designation and the Bureau file number of the petition. All interested parties should include the name of the filing party and the date of the filing on each page of their petitions and comments. Parties should include a table of contents in all documents regardless of length and should indicate whether they are filing an electronic copy of a submission via the Internet or via diskette. Pleadings must comply with Commission rules. One original and five copies of all petitions and comments must be sent to Magalie Roman Salas, Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. Three copies also should be sent to Sheryl Todd, Universal Service Branch, Accounting and Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau, 2100 M Street, N.W., 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20554. Copies of documents filed with the Commission, including the petitions, may be obtained from the International Transcription Service, 1231 20th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, (202) 857-3800. Such documents are also available for review and copying at the FCC Reference Center, Room 239, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All petitioners should provide copies of their petitions to the relevant state commission(s). Parties may also file informal comments or an exact copy of a petition or formal comments electronically via the Internet at: . Only one copy of an electronic submission must be submitted. A party must note whether an electronic submission is an exact copy of a petition or formal comments on the subject line and should note in its paper submission that an electronic copy of its comments is being submitted via the Internet. A commenter also must include its full name and Postal Service mailing address in its submission. Parties not submitting an exact copy of their formal comments via the Internet are also asked to submit their petitions and comments on diskette. Parties submitting diskettes should submit them to Sheryl Todd, Universal Service Branch, 2100 M Street, N.W., Room 8606, Washington, D.C. 20554. Such a submission should be on a 3.5 inch diskette formatted in an IBM compatible format using WordPerfect 5.1 for Windows or compatible software. The diskette should be accompanied by a cover letter and should be submitted in "read only" mode. The diskette should be clearly labelled with the party's name, proceeding, type of pleading (petition or comment), date of submission, and the name of the electronic file on the diskette. Each diskette should contain only one party's pleadings, preferably in a single electronic file. Electronic submissions are in addition to and not a substitute for the formal filing requirements addressed above. Ex parte contact. For the purposes of ex parte contact, each petition submitted pursuant to section 214(e)(6) will be treated as initiating a permit-but-disclose proceeding under the Commission's rules. Paperwork Reduction Act Requirement. In the Report and Order on Universal Service (released May 8, 1997), the Commission adopted rules that are designed to implement the universal service provision of section 254 of the Act. In accord with the Paperwork Reduction Act, we previously received OMB approval for the information collections that carriers must comply with in order to apply to their state commissions for designation as carriers eligible to receive universal support pursuant to section 254. Section 214(e) directs the Commission to designate telecommunications carriers that meet specified requirements as eligible in situations where the telecommunications carrier is not subject to the jurisdiction of a state commission. To implement this new statute, we will require telecommunications carriers that seek to be classified as eligible by the Commission and are not subject to the jurisdiction of a state commission to send to the Commission information demonstrating that they meet the eligibility criteria set forth in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and described in the Commission's rules. This information must be submitted according to the procedural requirements described above. These reporting requirements are necessary to verify that particular carriers are eligible to receive universal service support. We have estimated that each response to this collection of information will take, on average, 58 hours for respondents filing petitions and 20 hours for respondents filing written comments. Our estimate includes the time to comply with the statutory requirements, read this Public Notice, review existing records, gather and maintain required data, and complete and review the response. If you have any comments on this estimate, or on how we can improve the collection and reduce the burden it causes you, please write the Federal Communications Commission, AMD-PERM, Washington, D.C. 20554, Paperwork Reduction Project (3060-0793). We will also accept your comments on the burden estimate via the Internet if you send them to jboley@fcc.gov. Please DO NOT SEND petitions requesting Commission designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier to this e-mail address. You are not required to respond to a collection of information sponsored by the Federal government, and the government may not conduct or sponsor this collection, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number or if we fail to provide you with this notice. This collection has been assigned an OMB control number of 3060-0810. This notice is required by the Privacy Act of 1974, P.L. 93-579, December 31, 1974, 5 U.S.C.  552a(e)(3) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, P.L. 104-13, October 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C.  3507." For further information on this Public Notice, contact Cheryl Leanza, Universal Service Branch, Accounting and Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau at (202) 418-7400.