High Cost
About High Cost:
- Overview of the Program
- Overview of the Process
- USAC FCC Filings
- HCLI Training Events
- Individual Outreach
- Video Tutorials
- Filing Appeals
- Red Light Status (FCC site)
- Requesting Confidential Information
- Understanding Audits
- Understanding Disaggregation
High Cost Tools:
Step 1: High Cost Loop Support
High Cost Loop (HCL) support is available to rural price-cap and rate-of-return incumbent carriers and competitive carriers providing service in the areas of these rural companies, which must be designated as eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) by their state commissions or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
High Cost Loop support provides support for the "last mile" of connection for rural companies in service areas where the cost to provide this service exceeds 115% of the national average cost per line. There also was a limited amount of HCL support for non-rural companies, which was known as interim hold harmless support. At present, there are no non-rural companies that receive interim hold harmless support.
HCL support is subject to an annual indexed cap. For rural carriers, the cap is based on the prior year's rural HCL support and a Rural Growth Factor, which allows HCL support to change based on annual changes in the Gross Domestic Product-Chained Price Index (GDP-CPI) and the total number of working loops of rural carriers.
HCL is covered in Subpart F of Part 36 of the FCC's rules (47 C.F.R. § 36.601 et seq).
