Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) must file Quarterly Line Counts

All incumbent ETCs, or their agents, with a competitive ETC (CETC) filing line counts in their service area(s) are required to file line counts with USAC or the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) on a quarterly basis.

• ILEC lines

Local Switching Support (LSS) True-Up data are due by December 31, 2009

Incumbent Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) who filed for LSS in 2008 must file actual data for calendar year 2008 no later than December 31, 2009.

• ILEC LSS

Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS) True-Up data are due by December 31, 2009

All incumbent Eligible Telecommunication Carriers (ETCs) that projected for ICLS for any part of calendar year 2008 must file actual ICLS data for that year with USAC by December 31, 2009. This data will be used to true-up ICLS for calendar year 2008.

• ILEC ICLS

Competitive Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (CETCs) must file Quarterly Line Counts

All CETCs, or their agents, are required to file line counts with USAC using Form 525 on a quarterly basis.

• CETC lines

Scheduled System Maintenance – Website application Outage

Website applications will be unavailable on Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 10:00AM until Midnight EST due to scheduled system maintenance. The outage will affect various web applications throughout the website.

Online 525 System will be unavailable from 5PM EST, December 4th through 11PM EST, December 5th

The Online 525 System will be unavailable from 5PM EST, December 4th through 11PM EST, December 5th for System Maintenance. Users will not be able to submit FCC Form 525 online during this period.

2010 High Cost and Low Income Workshop in Washington, DC-Registration Open

2010 High Cost and Low Income Workshop in Washington, DC

How to E-file the Form 525 Webinar Wednesday, October 28, 2009-Register Today

USAC invites you to attend the first "How to E-file the Form 525" webinar hosted by the High Cost Division.

• Register Today

POSTPONED – High Cost and Low Income Regional Workshop in the Washington, DC Area

More information coming soon.

FCC Announces Mandatory Electronic Disbursement of USF Support Payments

The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau announced September 28 that all federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support payments must be made by electronic funds transfer (See Public Notice DA 09-2126).

The notice states that recipients of USF support payments shall provide their financial institution information and other relevant information on FCC Form 498, which is being updated to reflect these requirements.  USAC encourages all service providers to update their Form 498 information using USAC's E-File System. Once the updated 498 form is processed, all following support payments will be made electronically.

The Wireline Competition Bureau will issue a further public notice announcing the effective date of the electronic payment requirement. After the effective date, USAC will not make USF support payments to any entity that has not provided financial institution information sufficient to enable payment through electronic funds transfer.

Please note: Service providers in the Schools and Libraries Program that currently use the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR Form 472) form will continue to receive check payments even if they provide electronic banking information until further notice.

If you have any questions, please contact USAC at (888) 641-8722 or customerservice@bcd.universalservice.org.

Federally-Designated ETCs Must Submit Annual Reports by October 1st

Section 54.209 of the Commission's rules provides that an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) designated by the Commission under section 214(e)(6) shall file annual reports.

• 214e6_Oct_1.pdf [PDF, 63kb]

Competitive Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (CETCs) must file Quarterly Line Counts

All CETCs, or their agents, are required to file line counts with USAC using Form 525 on a quarterly basis.

• 3Q09_CETC.pdf [PDF, 64kb]

Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) must file Quarterly Line Counts

All incumbent ETCs, or their agents, with a competitive ETC (CETC) filing line counts in their service area(s) are required to file line counts with USAC or the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) on a quarterly basis.

• 3Q09_ILEC.pdf [PDF, 64kb]

Local Switching Support (LSS) Projections are due by October 1, 2009

Incumbent Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) serving study areas with 50,000 or fewer access lines must file projections for LSS no later than October 1, 2009 to receive LSS in calendar year 2010 per Part 54.301(b).

• 3Q09_LSS.pdf [PDF, 59kb]

Non-Rural & Rural Use Certifications and Rate Comparability Certifications

All non-rural and rural carriers subject to state jurisdiction and eligible for federal high cost support must be certified by their state commissions each year. Carriers not subject to state jurisdiction must file self-certifications directly with USAC and the FCC.

• Web_Oct_1_09.pdf [PDF, 75kb]

High Cost and Low Income Regional Workshop in Indianapolis – Registration Open!

For more information, please go to High Cost/Low Income - Indianapolis, IN Workshop Information.

HCL, LSS, HCM, and ICLS Line Count Filings are Due July 31, 2009

Competitive carriers must file line count data for High Cost Loop (HCL), Local Switching Support (LSS), High Cost Model (HCM), and Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS) by July 31, 2009. This deadline is for lines served as of December 31, 2008.

2Q 2009 CETC lines [pdf, 138kb]

HCL, LSS, HCM, and ICLS Line Count Filings are Due July 31, 2009

Incumbent carriers must file line count data for High Cost Loop (HCL), Local Switching Support (LSS), High Cost Model (HCM), and Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS) by July 31, 2009. This deadline is for lines served as of December 31, 2008.

2Q 2009 ILEC lines [pdf, 142kb]

Guidance for CETCs Serving "Covered Locations"

On May 27, 2009, the FCC published DA 09-1157, "Small Entity Compliance Guide: Interim Cap on High-Cost Universal Service Support for Competitive Eligible Telecommunications Carriers." This document set forth how a CETC must file its line count data in order to comply with the covered locations exception to the interim cap on high cost support:

• Guidance for CETCs

USAC Website Scheduled Outage - Saturday, June 13 from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

USAC's website [ www.usac.org | www.universalservice.org | www.lifelinesupport.org ] will be unavailable Saturday, June 13th from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. due to scheduled maintenance.

Understanding High Cost and Low Income Audits Webinars

• Register Today

IAS Line Count Filings Due June 30, 2009

IAS Line Count Filings Due June 30, 2009 All price-cap carriers and CETCs serving lines in the service area of a price-cap carrier, or their agent(s), are required to file line counts for Interstate Access Support (IAS) with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) on a quarterly basis.

2Q09IASline [pdf, 136kb]

IAS Annual Self-Certifications Due June 30, 2009

IAS Annual Self-Certifications Due June 30, 2009 Each price cap carrier, and CETCs serving lines in the service area of a price cap carrier, must file an annual self-certification by June 30, 2009 in order to receive Interstate Access Support (IAS) for the upcoming program year, which runs from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

2Q09IAScert [pdf, 141kb]

ICLS Annual Self-Certifications are Due June 30, 2009

ICLS Annual Self-Certifications are Due June 30, 2009 Each rate-of-return carrier, and CETCs serving lines in the service area of a rate-of-return carrier, must file an annual self-certification by June 30, 2009 in order to receive Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS) for the upcoming program year, which runs from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

2Q09ICLScert [pdf, 141kb]

ICLS Revisions to Form 508 Projections Due June 30, 2009

ICLS Revisions to Form 508 Projections Due June 30, 2009 Incumbent rate-of-return carriers are permitted to submit a correction to their March 31, 2009 FCC Form 508 (Projected Annual Carrier Common Line Revenue Requirement Form) and supporting data until June 30, 2009 for the upcoming Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS) program year which runs from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

2Q09_508 [pdf, 137kb]

High Cost and Low Income Regional Workshop in Minneapolis-Registration.

The Online Form 525 ("e525") will temporarily be off-line today, April 2, at 1:30pm. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

CMT Revenues and UNE Loops & Line Port Rates & Boundary Information due April 16, 2009

Each Price Cap LEC is required to file CMT revenue, UNE Loops and Line Port rates, and boundary information for each UNE zone with USAC on an annual basis.

• 1Q09_CMT [pdf, 68kb]

High Cost and Low Income Regional Workshop in Atlanta, GA on March 26, 2009-Registration Open!

Temporary service disruptions in Form 525 Online March 20 - 23

Due to system maintenance, there may be service disruptions for the High Cost 525 Online Application from 10PM EST, Friday, March 20, 2009 until 9AM EST, Monday, March 23, 2009.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

ICLS FCC Form 508 for 2009-2010 Program Year due March 31st

On March 31st, each rate-of-return incumbent carrier must file a projected annual common line requirement form (FCC Form 508) setting forth its projections for the upcoming period July 1 through June 30.

• 1Q09_508 [pdf, 68kb]

Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) must file Quarterly Line Counts

All incumbent ETCs, or their agents, with a competitive ETC (CETC) filing line counts in their service area(s) are required to file line counts with USAC or the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) on a quarterly basis.

• 1Q09_ILEC_lines [pdf, 60kb]

CETCs must file Quarterly Line Counts

All Competitive Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (CETCs), or their agents, are required to file line counts with USAC using Form 525 on a quarterly basis.

• 1Q09_CETC [pdf, 60kb]

High Cost and Low Income Audits Webinar PowerPoint Presentation Available

High Cost and Low Income Audits Webinar PowerPoint Presentation.

High Cost and Low Income Audits Webinar PowerPoint Presentation.

High Cost and Low Income Audit Webinar February 3, 2009-Register Today!