§ 54.901   Calculation of Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support.

   (a) Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS) available to
   a rate-of-return carrier shall equal the Interstate Common Line Revenue
   Requirement per Study Area, plus the Consumer Broadband-Only Revenue
   Requirement per Study Area as calculated in accordance with part 69 of
   this chapter, minus:

   (1) The study area revenues obtained from end user common line charges
   at their allowable maximum as determined by § 69.104(n) and (o) of this
   chapter;

   (2) Imputed Consumer Broadband-only Revenues, to be calculated as:

   (i) The lesser of $42 * the number of consumer broadband-only loops *
   12 or the Consumer Broadband-Only Revenue Requirement per Study Area;
   or

   (ii) For the purpose of calculating the reconciliation pursuant to
   § 54.903(b)(3), the greater of the amount determined pursuant to
   paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section or the carrier's allowable Consumer
   Broadband-only rate calculated pursuant to § 69.132 of this chapter *
   the number of consumer broadband-only loops * 12;

   (3) The special access surcharge pursuant to § 69.115 of this chapter;
   and

   (4) The line port costs in excess of basic analog service pursuant to
   § 69.130 of this chapter.

   (b) For the purpose of calculating support pursuant to paragraph (a) of
   this section, the Interstate Common Line Revenue Requirement and
   Consumer Broadband-only Revenue Requirement shall be subject to the
   limits on operating expenses and capital investment allowances pursuant
   to § 54.303.

   (c) For purposes of calculating the amount of CAF BLS, determined
   pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, that a non-price cap carrier
   may receive, the corporate operations expense allocated to the Common
   Line Revenue Requirement or the Consumer Broadband-only Loop Revenue
   Requirement, pursuant to § 69.409 of this chapter, shall be limited to
   the lesser of:

   (1) The actual average monthly per-loop corporate operations expense;
   or

   (2) The portion of the monthly per-loop amount computed pursuant to
   § 54.1308(a)(4)(iii) that would be allocated to the Interstate Common
   Line Revenue Requirement or Consumer Broadband-only Loop Revenue
   Requirement pursuant to § 69.409 of this chapter.

   (d) In calculating support pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section
   for periods prior to when the tariff charge described in § 69.132 of
   this chapter becomes effective, only Interstate Common Line Revenue
   Requirement and Interstate Common line revenues shall be included.

   (e) To the extent necessary for ratemaking purposes, each carrier's CAF
   BLS shall be attributed as follows:

   (1) First, support shall be applied to ensure that the carrier has met
   its Interstate Common Line Revenue Requirement for the prior period to
   which true-up payments are currently being applied.

   (2) Second, support shall be applied to ensure that the carrier has met
   its Consumer Broadband-only Loop Revenue Requirement for the prior
   period to which true-up payments are currently being applied.

   (3) Third, support shall be applied to ensure that the carrier will
   meet, on a forecasted basis, its Interstate Common Line Revenue
   Requirement during the current tariff year.

   (4) Finally, support shall be applied as available to the Consumer
   Broadband-only Loop Revenue Requirement during the current tariff year.

   (f) CAF BLS Support is subject to a reduction as necessary to meet the
   overall cap on support established by the Commission for support
   provided pursuant to this subpart and subpart M of this part.
   Reductions shall be implemented as follows:

   (1) On May 1 of each year, the Administrator will publish a target
   amount for CAF BLS in the aggregate and the amount of CAF BLS that each
   study area will receive during the upcoming July 1 to June 30 tariff
   year. The target amount shall be the forecasted disbursement amount
   times a reduction factor. The reduction factor shall be the budget
   amount divided by the total forecasted disbursement amount for both
   High Cost Loop Support and CAF BLS for recipients in the aggregate. The
   forecasted disbursement for CAF BLS is the forecasted total
   disbursements for all recipients of CAF BLS, including both projections
   and true-ups in the upcoming July 1 to June 30 tariff year.

   (2) The Administrator shall apply a per-line reduction to each
   carrier's CAF BLS equal to one-half the difference between the
   forecasted disbursement amount and the target amount divided by the
   total number of loops eligible for support. To the extent that per-line
   reduction is greater than the amount of CAF BLS per loop for a given
   carrier, that excess amount shall be subject to reduction through the
   method described in paragraph (f)(3) of this section.

   (3) The Administrator shall apply an additional pro rata reduction to
   CAF BLS for each recipient of CAF BLS as necessary to achieve the
   target amount.

   (g) For purposes of this subpart and consistent with § 69.132 of this
   chapter, a consumer broadband-only loop is a line provided by a
   rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carrier to a customer without
   regulated local exchange voice service, for use in connection with
   fixed Broadband Internet access service, as defined in § 8.2 of this
   chapter.

   [ 81 FR 24342 , Apr. 25, 2016]

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