FCC Gives Telcos Guidance on USF Duty to Report Broadband Locations, Certifications
FCC staff provided guidance to telcos required to report geo-located broadband information and certify service milestones to the Universal Service Administrative Co. The commission's March rate-of-return USF overhaul order directed USAC to create an online portal to accept geo-located broadband…
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information and certifications, and USAC is close to completing its initial version of the High Cost Universal Service Broadband portal (HUBB), said a Wireline Bureau public notice Thursday in docket 10-90. With telcos serving subsidized rural areas facing reporting and certification duties next year, the bureau said it was providing guidance so carriers can develop internal compliance measures. The PN details what locations must be reported, certain "do's and don'ts," location filing deadlines, broadband service milestone requirements and certifications, reporting on rural broadband experiments, and data-accuracy duties. "Rate-of-return carriers, recipients of Phase II model-based support and ACS [Alaska Communications Systems] must file broadband location information in the HUBB by March 1, 2017, and deployment milestone certifications in later years," it said, noting the March deadline still must be approved under the Paperwork Reduction Act. "By March 1, 2018, rate-of-return Alaska Plan carriers must also report their location data and, in later years, make milestone certifications in the HUBB." The bureau anticipates more than 1,000 carriers will submit 4.5 million location records to the HUBB. That will improve accountability but require automation and administrative efficiency, it said. On Tuesday, the bureau issued a public notice in the docket announcing capital investment allowance (CIA) amounts for rate-of-return carriers. "The CIA is the maximum amount of capital investment expenses that a rate-of-return carrier may include for purposes of calculating High-Cost Loop Support and Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support," it said.