§  54.5   Terms and definitions.

   Terms used in this part have the following meanings:

   Act. The term “Act” refers to the Communications Act of 1934, as
   amended.

   Administrator . The term “Administrator” shall refer to the Universal
   Service Administrative Company that is an independent subsidiary of the
   National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc., and that has been
   appointed the permanent Administrator of the federal universal service
   support mechanisms.

   Competitive eligible telecommunications carrier. A “competitive
   eligible telecommunications carrier” is a carrier that meets the
   definition of an “eligible telecommunications carrier” below and does
   not meet the definition of an “incumbent local exchange carrier” in
   §  51.5 of this chapter.

   Community anchor institutions. For the purpose of high-cost support,
   “community anchor institutions” refers to schools, libraries, health
   care providers, community colleges, other institutions of higher
   education, and other community support organizations and entities.

   Contributor. The term “contributor” shall refer to an entity required
   to contribute to the universal service support mechanisms pursuant to
   §  54.706.

   Eligible telecommunications carrier. “Eligible telecommunications
   carrier” means a carrier designated as such under subpart C of this
   part.

   High-cost support. “High-cost support” refers to those support
   mechanisms in existence as of October 1, 2011, specifically, high-cost
   loop support, safety net additive and safety valve provided pursuant to
   subpart F of part 36, local switching support pursuant to §  54.301,
   forward-looking support pursuant to §  54.309, interstate access support
   pursuant to § §  54.800 through 54.809, and interstate common line
   support pursuant to § §  54.901 through 54.904, support provided pursuant
   to § §  51.915, 51.917, and 54.304, support provided to competitive
   eligible telecommunications carriers as set forth in §  54.307(e),
   Connect America Fund support provided pursuant to §  54.312, and
   Mobility Fund support provided pursuant to subpart L of this part.

   Incumbent local exchange carrier. “Incumbent local exchange carrier” or
   “ILEC” has the same meaning as that term is defined in §  51.5 of this
   chapter.

   Information service. “Information service” is the offering of a
   capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming,
   processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available information via
   telecommunications, and includes electronic publishing, but does not
   include any use of any such capability for the management, control, or
   operation of a telecommunications system or the management of a
   telecommunications service.

   Interconnected VoIP Provider. An “interconnected VoIP provider” is an
   entity that provides interconnected VoIP service, as that term is
   defined in section 9.3 of these rules.

   Internet access. “Internet access” includes the following elements:

   (1) The transmission of information as common carriage;

   (2) The transmission of information as part of a gateway to an
   information service, when that transmission does not involve the
   generation or alteration of the content of information, but may include
   data transmission, address translation, protocol conversion, billing
   management, introductory information content, and navigational systems
   that enable users to access information services, and that do not
   affect the presentation of such information to users; and

   (3) Electronic mail services (e-mail).

   Interstate telecommunication. “Interstate telecommunication” is a
   communication or transmission:

   (1) From any State, Territory, or possession of the United States
   (other than the Canal zone), or the District of Columbia, to any other
   State, Territory, or possession of the United States (other than the
   Canal Zone), or the District of Columbia,

   (2) From or to the United States to or from the Canal Zone, insofar as
   such communication or transmission takes place within the United
   States, or

   (3) Between points within the United States but through a foreign
   country.

   Interstate transmission. “Interstate transmission” is the same as
   interstate telecommunication.

   Intrastate telecommunication. “Intrastate telecommunication” is a
   communication or transmission from within any State, Territory, or
   possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia to a
   location within that same State, Territory, or possession of the United
   States, or the District of Columbia.

   Intrastate transmission. “Intrastate transmission” is the same as
   intrastate telecommunication.

   LAN. “LAN” is a local area network, which is a set of high-speed links
   connecting devices, generally computers, on a single shared medium,
   usually on the user's premises.

   Rate-of-return carrier. “Rate-of-return carrier” shall refer to any
   incumbent local exchange carrier not subject to price cap regulation as
   that term is defined in §  61.3(ee) of this chapter.

   Rural area. For purposes of the schools and libraries universal support
   mechanism, a “rural area” is a nonmetropolitan county or county
   equivalent, as defined in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB)
   Revised Standards for Defining Metropolitan Areas in the 1990s and
   identifiable from the most recent Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
   list released by OMB, or any contiguous non-urban Census Tract or Block
   Numbered Area within an MSA-listed metropolitan county identified in
   the most recent Goldsmith Modification published by the Office of Rural
   Health Policy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For
   purposes of the rural health care universal service support mechanism,
   a “rural area” is an area that is entirely outside of a Core Based
   Statistical Area; is within a Core Based Statistical Area that does not
   have any Urban Area with a population of 25,000 or greater; or is in a
   Core Based Statistical Area that contains an Urban Area with a
   population of 25,000 or greater, but is within a specific census tract
   that itself does not contain any part of a Place or Urban Area with a
   population of greater than 25,000. “Core Based Statistical Area” and
   “Urban Area” are as defined by the Census Bureau and “Place” is as
   identified by the Census Bureau.

   Rural incumbent local exchange carrier. “Rural incumbent local exchange
   carrier” is a carrier that meets the definitions of “rural telephone
   company” and “incumbent local exchange carrier,” as those terms are
   defined in §  51.5 of this chapter.

   Rural telephone company. “Rural telephone company” has the same meaning
   as that term is defined in §  51.5 of this chapter.

   State commission. The term “state commission” means the commission,
   board or official (by whatever name designated) that, under the laws of
   any state, has regulatory jurisdiction with respect to intrastate
   operations of carriers.

   Technically feasible . “Technically feasible” means capable of
   accomplishment as evidenced by prior success under similar
   circumstances. For example, preexisting access at a particular point
   evidences the technical feasibility of access at substantially similar
   points. A determination of technical feasibility does not consider
   economic, accounting, billing, space or site except that space and site
   may be considered if there is no possibility of expanding available
   space.

   Telecommunications . “Telecommunications” is the transmission, between
   or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's
   choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as
   sent and received.

   Telecommunications carrier . A “telecommunications carrier” is any
   provider of telecommunications services, except that such term does not
   include aggregators of telecommunications services as defined in
   section 226 of the Act. A telecommunications carrier shall be treated
   as a common carrier under the Act only to the extent that it is engaged
   in providing telecommunications services, except that the Commission
   shall determine whether the provision of fixed and mobile satellite
   service shall be treated as common carriage. This definition includes
   cellular mobile radio service (CMRS) providers, interexchange carriers
   (IXCs) and, to the extent they are acting as telecommunications
   carriers, companies that provide both telecommunications and
   information services. Private mobile radio service (PMRS) providers are
   telecommunications carriers to the extent they provide domestic or
   international telecommunications for a fee directly to the public.

   Telecommunications channel . “Telecommunications channel” means a
   telephone line, or, in the case of wireless communications, a
   transmittal line or cell site.

   Telecommunications service . “Telecommunications service” is the
   offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to
   such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the
   public, regardless of the facilities used.

   Tribal lands. For the purposes of high-cost support, “Tribal lands”
   include any federally recognized Indian tribe's reservation, pueblo or
   colony, including former reservations in Oklahoma, Alaska Native
   regions established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
   (85 Stat. 688) and Indian Allotments, see §  54.400(e), as well as
   Hawaiian Home Lands—areas held in trust for native Hawaiians by the
   state of Hawaii, pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920,
   July 9, 1921, 42 Stat 108, et seq., as amended.

   Unsubsidized competitor. An “unsubsidized competitor” is a
   facilities-based provider of residential fixed voice and broadband
   service that does not receive high-cost support.

   Website . The term “website” shall refer to any websites operated by
   the Administrator in connection with the schools and libraries support
   mechanism, the rural health care support mechanism, the high cost
   mechanism, and the low income mechanism.

   Wire center. A wire center is the location of a local switching
   facility containing one or more central offices, as defined in the
   Appendix to part 36 of this chapter. The wire center boundaries define
   the area in which all customers served by a given wire center are
   located.

   [ 62 FR 32948 , June 17, 1997, as amended at  62 FR 41303 , Aug. 1, 1997;
    63 FR 70571 , Dec. 21, 1998;  64 FR 67431 , Dec. 1, 1999;  66 FR 30087 ,
   June 5, 2001;  66 FR 59726 , Nov. 30, 2001;  70 FR 6372 , Feb. 7, 2005;  71 FR 38796 , July 10, 2006;  76 FR 73869 , Nov. 29, ;77 2011 FR 12966 , Mar.2,
   2012;  77 FR 20553 , Apr. 5, 2012;  77 FR 30913 , May 24, 2012]

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