FCC Requests Data Related to Universal Service and Intercarrier Compensation Reform

The Federal Communications Commission has sent a letter to the National Exchange Carrier Association requesting certain basic data related to universal service and intercarrier compensation. NECA, created by the FCC as the national administrator of pooled interstate exchange carrier revenues, is uniquely situated to provide the Commission with key data to evaluate proposed universal service and intercarrier compensation reforms.

The FCC is requesting six categories of data:

1. Interstate switched access revenues, expenses, and minutes of use, reported annually for the period from 2008 to 2010 and broken out by carrier, by study area, by rate element, and by originating and terminating access.
2. Stratification of residential line counts by monthly local retail rate for year end 2010, by carrier.
3. Intrastate switched access revenues, expenses, and minutes of use, reported annually for the period from 2008 to 2010 and broken out by carrier, by study area, by rate element, and by originating and terminating access.
4. Reciprocal compensation revenues, expenses, and minutes of use, reported annually for the period from 2008 to 2010 and broken out by carrier by study area and by rate element.
5. Additional carrier-specific annual data from 2008 to 2010 detailing: local revenue, federal USF revenue, state USF revenue, interstate special access revenue, intrastate special access revenue, NECA settlement revenue, other regulated revenue, total regulated revenue, video revenue, Internet revenue (retail broadband), long distance revenue, other non-regulated revenue, total non-regulated revenue, year end penetration rates for video, Internet, and long-distance services
6. Data on long-term debt by carrier, broken out by lender, detailing: original amount, original term, interest rate, remaining balance, remaining term, annual interest, and principal payments.

The FCC is asking that NECA provide the data, in the level of granularity and specificity requested, no later than April 6, 2011.