Rule 13.01.
Description
The Rural Saver Optional Calling Plan provides for residential
calling to a customer's county seat plus calling to other exchanges within a 41
mile (radius) circle. The plan is further defined as follows:
A. Only intrastate, intraLATA calls will be
included in the plan.
B. The plan
will be limited to 60 minutes of calling each month.
C. Calling to a county seat greater than 41
miles away shall be limited to only those customers residing in the county and
not all customers in the exchange.
D. Usage shall be rated in the same or
smaller increments than was used for rating optional calling plans on April 20,
2001 (effective date for Act 1769 of 2001).
E. The calling distance shall be measured
using the industry standard method of V and H coordinates of the rate centers
serving the originating customer and the called telephone number.
F. Customers shall be required to dial 1+10
digits.
G. Customers shall be
allowed to select, if available, at least one additional optional calling
plan.
Rule 13.02.
Availability
A. The Commission shall determine the ILEC
exchanges to be served based on total access lines. Initially, the exchange
size to be served shall be no more than 2,600 total access lines.
The plan shall not be available in exchanges meeting the total
access line requirement but where it is not possible to make intrastate,
intraLATA calls within a 41 mile circle.
B. Each ILEC shall make the plan available to
customers located in such exchanges.
C. Each CLEC that is also an ETC shall make
the plan available to customers located within the ILEC exchanges defined by
Subsection A. of this rule.
D. On
an exchange basis, the plan shall continue to be available to existing plan
customers when the exchange access line count at the end of September exceeds
the cutoff established in Subsection A. of this rule, but the plan will no
longer be offered to new customers starting January
1st of the next year.
E. Starting January
1st of the next year, the plan shall be available in
all exchanges where the exchange access line count at the end of the preceding
September is less than the cutoff established in Subsection A. of this
rule.
Rule 13.04.
Arkansas Calling Plan Fund
A.
Request for Calling Plan
Funds
(1) Each ILEC/ETC providing the
Rural Saver Optional Calling Plan shall provide a monthly fund request to the
administrator on a form the administrator prescribes.
(2) Each ILEC/ETC shall request funds from
the administrator no later than the first day of the fourth month following the
end of the month in which service is provided.
(3) Each request shall contain the monthly
billed minutes of use associated with the plan, the total number of billed
access lines subscribed to the plan, and the billed monthly usage charges and
the billed other monthly end-user charges associated with the plan.
(4) If an ILEC/ETC requests funds for
reimbursement of one time costs for initial customer notification, initial
tariff filing, or initial reprogramming of billing systems, it shall do so only
with its initial request.
(5) Each
ILEC/ETC making correcting requests for funds shall do so by month and on a
form the administrator prescribes. Such correcting requests shall be limited to
the 16 calendar months immediately preceding the current month.
(6) An ILEC/ETC may renew its request for
funds in a subsequent month if the administrator denies a request.
(7) Each ILEC/ETC making fund requests shall
provide to the administrator by the end of each November a listing of exchanges
where the plan will be made available in the following year pursuant to Rules
13.02.D. and E. and any other information required by the administrator to
prepare the annual estimate required by Subsection D. (4) of this rule. The
information shall be provided on a form the administrator prescribes.
B.
Administrator Processing
of Requests
(1) The administrator shall
determine the disbursement of funds to each ILEC/ETC by multiplying the monthly
billed minutes of use by the ILEC's/ETC's unique blended rate per minute,
defined below, then adding any qualifying one time costs, then subtracting
monthly end-user charge revenue, then subtracting billed monthly usage charges,
and then subtracting billed other monthly end-user charges. The monthly
end-user charge revenue shall be determined by multiplying the number of billed
access lines subscribed by the monthly end-user charge.
When revenues exceed costs for an ILEC/ETC the administrator
shall carry the excess revenues forward and subtract from costs in the next
month. In a similar manner the administrator shall carry forward any excess
revenues from the first two months to the next month. The ILEC/ETC shall be
billed for any excess revenues remaining after the third month and billed in
succeeding months having a revenue excess. The ILEC/ETC shall be billed at the
same time funds are disbursed as required by Subsection B. (2) of this rule.
The ILEC/ETC shall remit funds to the administrator to cover the bill with the
following month's fund request required by Subsection A.(1) of this
rule.
(2) By the fifth
workday of the month following the month in which funds are timely requested,
the administrator shall disburse funds or advise the ILEC/ETC in writing why
funds will not be provided.
EXCEPTION:
Funds shall not be disbursed to any ILEC/ETC until funds are
available to adequately cover all requests.
(3) Each month the administrator will pay
administrative costs from the annual fund allocation before any funds are
distributed to any ILEC/ETC.
(4)
The administrator shall provide to the Commission monthly reports that include
the funds collected, funds requested, funds disbursed, administrative costs,
and fund balance.
(5) The monthly
reports shall also include for each ILEC/ETC, the funds requested, funds
disbursed, billed minutes of use, number of billed access lines subscribed,
billed monthly usage charges, and billed other monthly end-user
charges.
(6) The administrator
shall file these reports in Docket No. 02-037-A.
C.
Blended Rates
(1) The blended rate refers to a unique rate
per minute for each ILEC/ETC that combines the different rates for optional
calling plans and message telecommunications service into one rate based on a
weighting of minutes of use in each plan or service.
(2) The blended rate is determined by
accumulating the revenue and minutes of use associated with billing for certain
optional calling plans and day rated message telecommunications service calls
within the 41 mile circle for the initial 60 minutes for 2 consecutive months
and dividing the revenue by the minutes of use rounded to 4 decimal places. The
data used shall be from 2 consecutive recent months. The revenue for optional
calling plans shall be based on the per minute rate for additional calling in
excess of the monthly allowance. A composite day rate shall be computed for
ILECs/ETCs using mileage banded day rates. The computation shall be to divide
the message telecommunications interexchange dollars billed for calls within
the 41 mile circle by the corresponding minutes of use.
(3) The optional calling plan data included
in the determination of the ILEC blended rate shall be from the Extended
Community Saver, Community Call Saver, Circle Saver, Circle Saver Trial,
1+Saver, IntraLATA, One Price-Residential, Simple Saver, and Single
Plans.
(4) The optional calling
plan data included in the determination of the CLEC blended rate shall be from
the CLEC's optional calling plans most likely to experience customer migration
to the Rural Saver Optional Calling Plan. In the absence of 2 months of
historical calling data, the CLEC blended rate shall be set at the weighted
average of $0.1314 per minute determined in Docket No. 01-169-R.
(5) Once determined, the blended rate for
each ILEC/ETC shall not be revised. The blended rate for the ILECs shall be as
approved in Docket No. 01-169-R.
D.
Administration of Arkansas Calling
Plan Funds
(1) The AICCLP Administrator
shall assess telecommunications providers pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
23-17-404(e)
(4) (D) to accumulate funds for the
ACPF.
(2) ACPF funds accumulated by
the AICCLP shall be transferred to the administrator by the last business day
of each month.
(3) The
administrator shall make a reasonable effort to keep the funds in an interest
bearing account.
(4) The
administrator shall prepare an annual estimate of funds required and provide
the estimate to the Commission and a copy to the AICCLP Administrator by
January 5th of the year being estimated. The estimate shall be reduced by the
previous end of year balance (if any) in the ACPF. The estimate shall be filed
in Docket No. 02-037-A.
E.
Appointment of Administrator
(1) The Commission shall select the
administrator. Initially, the AICCLP Administrator shall be the ACPF
Administrator.
(2) The
administrator shall serve at the Commission's discretion.
F.
Duties of the Administrator
(1) The administrator's general duties shall
include:
a. Determining the sufficiency of
the fund;
b. Collecting and
receiving monies paid into the ACPF;
c. Disbursing monies from the ACPF;
d. Managing the daily operations and affairs
of the ACPF;
e. Cooperating in any
audits that the Commission deems necessary;
f. Resolving disputes;
g. Reviewing and determining the consistency
and reasonableness of all requests for monies;
h. Performing any other duties the Commission
orders; and,
i. Developing any
necessary forms.
(2) The
administrator is expressly authorized to bring actions before the Commission to
enforce the provisions of the ACPF.
G.
Audits
The ACPF is subject to an annual audit by an independent
certified public accountant approved by the Commission. Cost of the audit shall
be considered an administrative cost and paid from the annual fund
allocation.
H.
Appeals
from Administrator Decisions
A party aggrieved by the administrator's decision may appeal
that decision within 30 days to the Commission.
