Federal Communications Commission	DA 19-1237



DA 19-1237
Released:  December 5, 2019

WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU AND OFFICE OF ECONOMICS AND ANALYTICS ANNOUNCE RESULTS OF 2020 URBAN RATE SURVEY FOR FIXED VOICE AND BROADBAND SERVICES, POSTING OF SURVEY DATA AND EXPLANATORY NOTES, AND REQUIRED MINIMUM USAGE ALLOWANCE FOR ELIGIBLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS  

WC Docket No. 10-90

Today, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) and the Office of Economics and Analytics (Office) announce the 2020 reasonable comparability benchmarks for fixed voice and broadband services for eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) subject to broadband public interest obligations, including incumbent local exchange rate-of-return carriers, incumbent price-cap carriers receiving CAF Phase II support, Rural Broadband Experiment providers, and Connect America Fund Phase II Auction (Auction 903) winners. 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 (2011) (USF/ICC Transformation Order), aff’d sub nom, In re: FCC 11-161, 753 F.3d 1015 (10th Cir. 2014).
  In addition, we announce the posting of the fixed voice and broadband services data collected in the most recent urban rate survey, and explanatory notes regarding the data, on the Commission’s website at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/urban-rate-survey-data.  The Bureau and Office also announces the required minimum usage allowance for ETCs subject to public interest obligations for fixed broadband.  
Voice Rates.  Based on the survey results, the 2020 urban average monthly rate is $34.81. The USF/ICC Transformation Order defined the average urban rate to include local end-user rates plus state regulated fees (specifically, state subscriber line charges (SLCs), state universal service, and mandatory extended area service charges).  USF/ICC Transformation Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 17751, para. 238.  The reasonable comparability benchmark for voice services applies to mainland providers and those in Alaska.  In April 2019, the Commission eliminated the rate floor requirement so that rate is no longer calculated.  See Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Report and Order, 34 FCC Rcd 2621 (2019).
  Therefore, the reasonable comparability benchmark for voice services, two standard deviations above the urban average, is $54.76. Id. at 17694, para. 84.  
  Under the Commission’s rules, each ETC, including competitive ETCs providing fixed voice services, The Bureau has adopted a benchmark only for fixed voice services because “the differences in rate plans and other attributes of fixed and mobile services would make it inordinately difficult to create a unified benchmark” that applied to both fixed and mobile services.  See Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Order, 28 FCC Rcd 4242, para. 6 (WCB 2014). 
 must certify in the FCC Form 481 filed no later than July 1, 2020, that the pricing of its basic residential voice services is no more than $54.76. 47 CFR § 54.313(a)(10); see also USF/ICC Transformation Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 18046-47, para. 1026.  In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission required that as a condition of receiving high-cost support, ETCs must offer voice service in supported areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates for similar services in urban areas.  USF/Transformation Order, 26 FCC at 17693, para. 81.  

Broadband Rates.  Recipients of high-cost and/or Connect America Fund support that are subject to broadband performance obligations are required to offer broadband service at rates that are at or below the relevant reasonable comparability benchmark. USF/Transformation Order, 26 FCC at 17695, para. 86.  
  Carriers subject to the Alaska Plan are required to meet Alaska-specific benchmarks Connect America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 10139, 10149, para 28 (2016).
 and to certify that they are meeting the relevant reasonable comparability benchmark for their broadband service offering in the FCC Form 481 filed no later than July 1, 2020. 47 CFR § 54.313(a)(12).  The Commission has directed the Bureau to develop an Alaska-specific reasonable comparability benchmark.  See Connect America Fund; Universal Service Reform–Mobility Fund; Connect America Fund–Alaska Plan, WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 16-271, WT Docket No. 10-208, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 10139, 10149, para. 28 (2016); Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Order, 31 FCC Rcd 12086, 12092, para. 21 (2016).

Under the approach adopted by the Bureau in 2014, the reasonable comparability broadband benchmark varies, depending upon the supported service’s download and upload bandwidths and usage allowance. Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Report and Order, 29 FCC Rcd 13485 (WCB 2014).
  Alaska-specific benchmarks were developed in the same manner using data from Alaska carriers serving Alaska urban areas.  
The following table provides the 2020 benchmark for a number of different broadband service offerings, though providers will need to determine the benchmark for services with characteristics not shown in the table: We emphasize that carriers subject to broadband public interest obligations may offer their customers services other than those meeting the defined benchmark and minimum usage allowance.  As long as the carrier offers at least one broadband service plan that meets the relevant metrics, it is free to offer other plans and packages to meet the varying needs of consumers.  We note that usage allowance requirements do not apply to those areas that rely exclusively on satellite backhaul.  See USF/ICC Transformation Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 17699-700, para. 101; see also 47 CFR § 54.313(g).
 
Download Bandwidth (Mbps)
Upload Bandwidth (Mbps)
Capacity Allowance (GB)
2020 U.S.
2020 AK
4
1
250
$73.81
$84.40
4
1
Unlimited
$78.92
$89.93
10
1
250
$76.73
$87.27
10
1
Unlimited
$83.13
$94.09
25
3
250
$82.32
$93.54
25
3
Unlimited
$88.83
$100.48
25
5
250
$83.55
$94.23
25
5
Unlimited
$90.06
$101.16
50
5
Unlimited
$98.22
$107.73
100
10
Unlimited
$111.88
$124.14
250
25
Unlimited
$134.43
$166.21
500
50
Unlimited
$152.25
$181.76
1000
100
Unlimited
$158.82
$190.37

To facilitate benchmark calculations, the Office will post an Excel file with a tool in which providers can enter the relevant variables to determine the benchmark for specific service characteristics at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/urban-rate-survey-data.
Minimum Usage Allowance.  Under the USF/ICC Transformation Order and subsequent orders, ETCs subject to broadband public interest obligations must provide broadband with usage allowances reasonably comparable to those available through comparable offerings in urban areas. See USF/ICC Transformation Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 17699, para. 99.  See 47 CFR §§ 54.308(a), 54.309(a). 
  The Commission delegated to the Bureau the task of setting a specific minimum usage allowance and specified that minimum should be adjusted over time. USF/ICC Transformation Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 17699, para. 99.  In 2013, the Bureau concluded that price cap carriers accepting model-based support would be required to offer a minimum usage allowance over the course of Phase II’s term that (1) remains consistent with trends in usage for 80 percent of consumers using cable or fiber-based fixed broadband services, or alternatively, (2) is at least 100 GB and at or above the usage level for 80 percent of all of that carrier’s broadband subscribers, including those subscribers that live outside of Phase II-funded areas.  See Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, Report and Order, 28 FCC Rcd 15060, 15068, paras. 18 (WCB 2013) (Phase II Service Obligations Order).  The Bureau adopted the same approach for determining usage allowances for rate-of-return carriers as the Bureau had previously adopted for Phase II model-based support recipients.  Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Results of 2016 Urban Rate Survey for Fixed Voice and Broadband Services, et al., Public Notice, 31 FCC Rcd 3393 (WCB 2016).  

In the 2016 Rate-of-Return Reform Order, the Commission specified that the required minimum usage allowance for rate-of-return carriers receiving model-based support would be 150 GB per month, or a usage allowance reflecting the average usage of a majority of fixed broadband customers, using Measuring Broadband America data or a similar data source, whichever is higher. Connect America Fund et al., Report and Order, Order and Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 3087, 3099, para. 27 (2016).  See 47 CFR § 54.308(a)(1).
  In the 2016 Phase II Auction Order, the Commission concluded that price cap carriers that accepted model-based support could meet the baseline performance data usage allowance established for the Phase II auction support in lieu of meeting the standard previously adopted by the Bureau’s Phase II Service Obligations Order. Connect America et al., Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 5949, 5959, para. 25 & n.52 (2016).
  The usage allowance adopted by the Commission for the baseline performance tier is the same as that specified for rate-of-return recipients of model-based support:  150 GB per month, or a usage allowance that reflects the average usage of a majority of fixed broadband customers, using Measuring Broadband America (MBA) data or a similar data source, whichever is higher. Id. at 5959-60, para. 25.  See 47 CFR § 54.309(a)(2)(ii).
 
Based on MBA October 2018-September 2019 usage data, the average monthly usage is 251.45 GBs per month. Raw Data - Measuring Broadband America - Eighth Report available at 
https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/measuring-broadband-america/raw-data-measuring-broadband-america-eighth.
  For administrative convenience, the Bureau and the Office specify a minimum monthly usage allowance of 250 GB for 2020.
For further information, please contact Suzanne Yelen, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-7400 or (202) 418-0484 (TTY), or at suzanne.yelen@fcc.gov. 
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