30-046 Code Vt. R. 30-000-046-X - UNIVERSAL SERVICE SUPPORT FOR LIBRARIES, SCHOOLS, AND HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

SUBCHAPTER 7.200 Universal Service Support for Schools, Libraries, and Health Care Facilities

7.210 Discounts

7.211 Establishment of Discount

(A) Schools and libraries in Vermont shall be eligible to receive discounts on telecommunications services.

(B) It is the purpose and intent of this rule to conform with the discount for schools and libraries created by the Federal Communications Commission (the FCC) in its May 8, 1997, Order in CC Docket No. 96-45, as amended.

(C) Unless otherwise specifically stated otherwise, the definitions of terms, the eligibility of entities for discounts, and the applicability of discounts to services are all controlled by the federal program.

7.212 Amount of Discount

(A) Schools and libraries qualify for the following discounts on intrastate telecommunications services, but only if the federal rule provides the same discount levels for interstate telecommunications services:

SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES DISCOUNT MATRIX	DISCOUNT LEVEL
HOW DISADVANTAGED?	urban discount	rural discount
% of students eligible for national school lunch program	(%)	(%)
< 1	20	25
1-19	40	50
20-34	50	60
35-49	60	70
50-74	80	80
75-100	90	90

(B) Eligibility and qualification shall be governed by the federal rule.

7.213 Lowest Corresponding Price

The FCC program requires that telecommunications services be offered at the "lowest corresponding price," that is, the lowest price that a service provider charges to non-residential customers who are similarly situated to a particular school, library, or consortium for similar services. It is this price that is discounted under the program.

7.220 Rate Disputes

7.221 Schools and Libraries

Rate relief to schools, libraries, consortia, as well as service providers, may be sought in three particular situations:

(A) where the lowest corresponding price is unfairly high or low;

(B) where the rate offered by the provider does not represent the lowest corresponding price; and

(C) where the lowest corresponding price is not compensatory because the relevant entity is not similarly situated to and subscribing to a similar set of services to the customer paying the lowest corresponding price.

7.222 Rural Health Providers

For rural health providers, if there are no tariffed or publicly available rates for supported services, or if the carrier believes the rate calculated by the FCC's methodology is unfair, the carrier may submit a cost-based rate. The filing by the carrier must be supported by a justification that includes an itemization of the costs of providing the service.

7.223 Procedure

Requests for relief by a school, library, or consortium will be processed by the Board using the procedures for a consumer complaint.

Notes

30-046 Code Vt. R. 30-000-046-X

Effective date: October 27, 1997Statutory Authority: 30 V.S.A. §§ 2 and 209
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 27, 1997 (Secretary of State Rule Log #97-47)