PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0513 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 13-1340 Released: June 7, 2013 WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF VERSION 3.1.3 OF THE CONNECT AMERICA FUND PHASE II COST MODEL WC Docket No. 10-90 Today, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces the availability of the next version of the Connect America Cost Model (CAM v3.1.3), which allows Commission staff and interested parties to calculate costs based on a series of inputs and assumptions for Connect America Phase II implementation. This step represents further progress towards completion of Phase II implementation, to provide ongoing support for voice services and the extension of broadband- capable networks to millions of unserved locations using “a combination of a forward-looking cost model and competitive bidding.”1 CAM v3.1.3 updates the prior version (CAM v3.1.2) in two respects. First, CAM v3.1.3 updates the model’s coverage table, which is used in the support module to calculate support amounts. The Commission required the Bureau to exclude from support those areas that are served by an unsubsidized competitor. 2 Under the Commission’s rules, any “facilities-based provider of residential terrestrial fixed voice and broadband service that does not receive high-cost support” is considered an unsubsidized competitor.3 This version removes subsidized providers from the model’s source data used to calculate which census blocks presumptively will receive funding from the defined budget. Parties that disagree with the classification of an area as served by a subsidized competitor may avail themselves of the challenge process recently adopted by the Bureau.4 1 See Connect America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 26 FCC Rcd 17663, 17673, para. 23 (2011) (USF/ICC Transformation Order), pets. for review pending sub nom. In re: FCC 11-161, No. 11-9900 (10th Cir. filed Dec. 8, 2011). Including Version 3.1.3, the Bureau has now released six versions of the model to date. See Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Availability of Version One of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 05-337, Public Notice, 27 FCC Rcd 15356 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2012); Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Availability of Version Two of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, WC Docket No. 10-90, Public Notice, 28 FCC Rcd 280 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2013); Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Availability of Version Three of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, WC Docket No. 10-90, Public Notice, 28 FCC Rcd 2316 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2013); Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Availability of Version 3.1 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, WC Docket No. 10-90, Public Notice, 28 FCC Rcd 5707 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2013); Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Availability of Version 3.1.2 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model and Adds Additional Discussion Topics to Connect America Cost Model Virtual Workshop, WC Docket No. 10-90, Public Notice, DA 13-1136 (Wireline Comp. Bur. rel. May 17, 2013). 2 USF/ICC Transformation Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 17729, para. 170. 3 47 C.F.R. § 54.5. 4 See Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Report and Order, DA 13-1113, at Appendix (Unserved to Served Challenge) (Wireline Comp. Bur. rel. May 16, 2013). 2Additionally, CAM v3.1.3 updates the “OCNCoSize” input table to adjust records where an operating company number (OCN) was categorized inconsistently with other members of the same holding company.5 This change impacts one Consolidated record and two FairPoint records. Parties should follow the same procedures to access CAM v3.1.3 as announced for previous versions.6 In particular, parties may access CAM v3.1.3 at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/caf- phase-ii-models or https://cacm.usac.org.7 Additionally, authorized users who have signed the attachments to the protective order will have access to a system evaluator package that provides a test environment populated with a sample database, allowing users to view database structures, observe the processing steps of CAM for a subset of the country, and see changes in the database. For further information, please contact Katie King in the Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-1500, or via e-mail at katie.king@fcc.gov. - FCC - 5 The “OCNCoSize” input table can be found under the Model Inputs section of the Posted Data Sets tab. 6 Model documentation will be updated in the near future to reflect the CAM v3.1.3 updates. 7 In order to access any version of the model, parties must execute the relevant acknowledgement of confidentiality, licensing, and nondisclosure documents released as attachments to a Third Supplemental Protective Order. See Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Third Supplemental Protective Order, 27 FCC Rcd 15277 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2012).