Proposed Rule2025-12583
Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks To Refresh Record on Telephone Access Charges
Primary source
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Published
July 7, 2025
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) invites interested parties to update the record on issues in the Telephone Access Charges proceeding regarding various end-user charges associated with interstate access service offered by incumbent local exchange (LEC) carriers. These charges, called Telephone Access Charges for short, include: the Subscriber Line Charge, the Access Recovery Charge, the Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge, the Line Port Charge, and the Special Access Surcharge.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 127 (Monday, July 7, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 127 (Monday, July 7, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29830-29831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-12583]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Parts 51, 54, 61, and 69
[WCB: WC Docket No. 20-71; DA 25-508; FR ID 299746]
Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks To Refresh Record on Telephone
Access Charges
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau)
invites interested parties to update the record on issues in the
Telephone Access Charges proceeding regarding various end-user charges
associated with interstate access service offered by incumbent local
exchange (LEC) carriers. These charges, called Telephone Access Charges
for short, include: the Subscriber Line Charge, the Access Recovery
Charge, the Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge, the Line Port
Charge, and the Special Access Surcharge.
DATES: Comments are due on or before August 6, 2025. Reply comments are
due on or before August 21, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments and reply comments
identified by WC Docket No. 20-71 using the Commission's Electronic
Comment Filing System (ECFS) at <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/">https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/</a>. Parties
choosing to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each
filing. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by
commercial courier, or by the U.S. Postal Service. All filings must be
addressed to the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. Hand-
delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's
Secretary are accepted between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. by the FCC's
mailing contractor at 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD
20701. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or
fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of before entering
the building. Commercial courier deliveries (any deliveries not by the
U.S. Postal Service) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis
Junction, MD 20701. Filings sent by U.S. Postal Service First-Class
Mail, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express must be sent to 45 L
Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marv Sacks, Pricing Policy Division of
the Wireline Communications Bureau, at (202) 418-1520 or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d404c5f5b4443035e4c4e465e6d4b4e4e034a425b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3855594a4e5156164b595b534b785e5b5b165f574e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of a document requesting
interested parties to refresh the record in the Commission's Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking in WC Docket No. 20-71, FCC 20-40, released on
April 1, 2020. 85 FR 30899. The full text of the document may be
obtained at the following internet address: <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-508A1.pdf">https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-508A1.pdf</a>. To request materials in accessible
formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic
files, audio format), send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#593f3a3a6c696d193f3a3a773e362f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cea8adadfbfefa8ea8adade0a9a1b8">[email protected]</span></a>, or call the
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or
(202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Paperwork Reduction Act. This document does not contain proposed
information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not
contain any proposed information collection burden for small business
concerns with fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(4).
Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act. Consistent with
the Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act, Public Law 118-
9, a summary of this document will be available on <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings">https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings</a>.
Synopsis
1. By this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau)
invites interested parties to update the record on issues raised by the
Commission in the 2020 NPRM (85 FR 30899) regarding various end-user
charges associated with interstate access service offered by incumbent
local exchange (LEC) carriers. These charges, called Telephone Access
Charges for short, include: the Subscriber Line Charge, the Access
Recovery Charge, the Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge, the
Line Port Charge, and the Special Access Surcharge.
2. In the document, the Commission invited comment on its proposal
to eliminate ex ante pricing regulation of Telephone Access Charges and
require incumbent and competitive LECs to detariff these charges. 47
CFR 51.915(e), 51.917(e), 69.115, 69.152, 69.153, 69.157. In addition,
the Commission sought comment on an alternative approach under which it
would eliminate ex ante price regulation and require detariffing of
Telephone Access Charges only in areas where certain conditions are
met. The Commission also sought comment on permissive detariffing of
Telephone Access Charges for some categories of carriers. Given that
some Telephone Access Charges are used to calculate contributions to
the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) and other federal programs,
and to calculate some high-cost universal service support, the
Commission proposed ways to address these issues. Under this proposal a
carriers would have the option to use traffic studies to determine its
contributions base rather than the proposed safe harbor.
3. Over the past five years, local exchange carriers' market share
has declined while mobile and interconnected VoIP providers' market
share has increased. From December 2018 to June 2024, the share of
total voice subscribers served by incumbent local exchange carriers
decreased from about 10.0% to 4.8%. We seek comment on whether and how
these marketplace trends, as well as any state regulatory changes, bear
on the Commission's proposals or might affect any interested party's
position on the Commission's proposals in the Notice. Has any market
consolidation affected parties' positions on the questions in the
Notice?
4. We seek to refresh the record on these issues consistent with
the Commission's commitment to eliminate outdated and unnecessary
regulations and in light of developments that may have occurred since
the Notice was released. For instance, the Commission in a Public
Notice, GN Docket No. 25-133, DA 25-219, released March 12, 2025,
emphasized the importance of evaluating rules based on the following
criteria: cost-benefit considerations, whether the rule places
disproportionate burdens on regulated entities, experience gained from
the rule's implementation, marketplace and technological changes, and
whether changes in the broader regulatory context demonstrate that
particular Commission rules are unnecessary or inappropriate. We
encourage parties to
[[Page 29831]]
supplement the record with additional comments addressing any of these
points as they may relate to the Telephone Access Charges rules and
other regulatory requirements at issue in the Notice.
5. The record also contains an alternative proposal filed by
Frontier, Windstream and Consolidated (collectively, the Mid-Sized
Carriers). We ask the Mid-Sized Carriers to update this proposal, if
needed, and we invite any additional related comments. We also
encourage the industry to reach a compromise and submit a unified
proposal. Finally, parties are encouraged to update the record with any
other applicable comments, information or data as a result of any other
developments, including state regulatory changes, that may have
occurred in the intervening years since this proceeding was initiated.
6. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. The Notice included an Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 603 of the
potential impact on small entities of the Commission's proposals. No
party submitted comments. The Bureau invites parties to file comments
on the IRFA in light of this request to refresh the record.
7. Ex Parte Rules. The proceeding initiated by the Notice shall be
treated as a ``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the
Commission's ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must
file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any
oral presentation within two business days after the presentation
(unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period
applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that
memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons
attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex
parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and
arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted
in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already
reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda or other
filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such
data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other
filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where
such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must
be filed consistent with rule Sec. 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed
by rule Sec. 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a
method of electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and
memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments
thereto, must be filed through the electronic comment filing system
available for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format
(e.g., .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this
proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte
rules.
Federal Communications Commission.
Irina Asoskov,
Assistant Chief, Pricing Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2025-12583 Filed 7-3-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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