REGULATORY FEES  
 FACT SHEETFederal Communications Commission
445 12th St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554 August 2007
WHAT YOU OWE – INTERSTATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
SERVICE PROVIDERS (ITSP) FOR FY 2007
This Fact Sheet provides information for interstate telecommunications service providers (ITSPs) to 
help them prepare and pay their ITSP regulatory fees.  Telecommunications providers that are 
subject to the ITSP fee typically identify themselves on FCC Form 499-A filings using one or more 
of the following categories:1  
All Distance -- provides fixed local exchange services and interstate long distance services to end 
users for a flat rate (may also include intrastate toll).
CAP/CLEC (Competitive Access Provider/Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) -- competes with 
incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) to provide local exchange services, or telecommunications 
services that link customers with interexchange facilities, local exchange networks, or other 
customers, other than coaxial cable providers.
Coaxial Cable -- uses coaxial cable (cable TV) facilities to provide local exchange services or 
telecommunications services that link customers with interexchange facilities, local exchange 
networks, or other customers.
Incumbent LEC -- provides local exchange services.  An incumbent LEC generally is a carrier that 
was at one time franchised as a monopoly service provider.  See 47 U.S.C. §251(h).
Interexchange Carrier (IXC) -- provides long distance telecommunications services substantially 
through switches or circuits that it owns or leases. 
Local Reseller -- provides local exchange or fixed telecommunications services by reselling services 
of other carriers.
Operator Service Provider (OSP) -- serves customers needing the assistance of an operator to 
complete calls, or needing alternate billing arrangements such as collect calling.
  
1 If you timely filed an FCC 499-A (OMB Control No. 3060-0855), in 2007, you will receive this Factsheet as part of a 
package that includes a pre-completed FCC Form 159-W that also includes Form 159 information.  If the pre-completed 
information is correct, complete the form and use it to pay your ITSP regulatory fee.  If the information is incorrect, you 
may enter corrections on the pre-completed form rather than completing one of the enclosed blank forms.
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Payphone Service Provider -- provides customers access to telephone networks through payphone 
equipment, special teleconference rooms, etc.  Payphone service providers also are referred to as 
payphone aggregators.
Prepaid Card -- provides prepaid calling card services by selling prepaid calling cards to the public 
or to retailers.  Prepaid card providers typically resell the toll service of other carriers and determine 
the price of the service by setting the price of the card and controlling the number of minutes that can 
be used by the card.
Private Service Provider -- offers telecommunications to others for a fee on a non-common carrier 
basis.  This would include a company that offers excess capacity on a private system that it uses 
primarily for internal purposes.  This category does not include Specialized Mobile Radio operators.
Shared-Tenant Service Provider /Building LEC -- manages or owns a multi-tenant location that 
provides telecommunications services or facilities to the tenants for a fee.
Toll Reseller -- provides long distance telecommunications services primarily by reselling the long 
distance telecommunications services of other carriers.
Other Local and Other Toll Service Providers -- other providers of local exchange or toll services, 
including private service providers (which offer telecommunications services to others and includes 
companies that offer excess capacity on a private system that is used primarily for internal purposes) 
and shared tenant service providers (which manage or own multi-tenant locations that provide 
telecommunications services or facilities to tenants for a fee.)
In its FY 1996 Regulatory Fee Report and Order, the Commission amended its rule regarding the 
Telecommunications Relay Service Fund administrator to permit the National Exchange Carrier 
Association (NECA) to process regulatory fees on behalf of its pooling exchange carriers and to submit 
their consolidated fees to our lockbox bank in a single payment instrument.  However, we remind 
entities subject to regulatory fee payment that the regulatee, not an agent such as NECA, is responsible 
for ensuring that payment is made, and that there is a penalty for not submitting the entire fee in a 
timely manner.  
Fee Payment Amount and Payment Type Code for ITSPs
Fee Payment Amount: $0.00266 per dollar of subject revenue
Payment Type Code: 0772
FCC Form 159-W and FCC Form 499-A
This Fact Sheet provides information for ITSPs providers to help them prepare and pay their ITSP 
regulatory fees.  ITSP providers receive from the Commission an annual bill that includes a pre-
filled FCC Form 159-W Remittance Advice Form and a Regulatory Fee Worksheet that shows how 
the bill was calculated.  The bill is based on information that you had previously provided on FCC 
Form 499-A.  Your FCC Form 499-A was due on April 1, 2007.  Your FCC prepared Form 159-W 
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is based on the information in your FCC Form 499-A, including any updates processed as of June 
30, 2007.   
To file electronically:
You can file your Form 159-W electronically using the FCC’s Fee Filer web application located at:  
http://www.fcc.gov/fees/feefiler.html.  
If you file electronically, you may incorporate within a single payment your ITSP fee and any other 
regulatory fees that you owe.  If you log in with the FRN which appears on your Form 159-W, you will 
automatically be presented with the information from your Form 159-W.  Adjustments or corrections 
may be made if necessary.
Payment methods for electronic filings:
· Online Credit Card
· Online ACH Debit from Bank Account
· Check, money order, or credit card payment (mailed with a Fee Filer-produced Remittance 
Voucher Form 159-E)
Federal Communications Commission
Mail to: Regulatory Fees
P.O. Box 358365
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5365
· Wire Transfer (preceded by a faxed copy of a Fee Filer-produced Remittance Voucher Form 
159-E – see http://www.fcc.gov/fees/wiretran.html for full instructions.)
To file by paper only:
If you agree with the dollar amounts on your pre-filled FCC Form 159-W, please sign it and submit 
it with your payment.  
If you disagree with the dollar amounts on your pre-filled FCC Form 159-W:
· Complete and submit the attached blank FCC Form 159-W Worksheet and a blank FCC 
Form 159.  Please include the bill number from your pre-filled Form 159-W (if listed) 
somewhere on your FCC Form 159-W Worksheet, and include a copy of the pre-filled  
Form 159-W for reference.
· OR enter corrected amounts directly onto the pre-filled Form 159-W, sign it, and submit it 
with your payment.
· See the “Corrections and Updates” section below for additional requirements.
If you owe an ITSP regulatory fee but did not receive a bill, you must complete the attached 
blank FCC Form 159-W Worksheet and a blank FCC Form 159.  
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Payment methods for paper filings:
Are you filing a pre-filled Form 159-W that contains a Bill Number?
· Check, money order, or credit card payment
Federal Communications Commission
Mail to: Regulatory Fees
P.O. Box 358365
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5365
· Wire Transfer (preceded by a faxed copy of a Form 159-W – see 
http://www.fcc.gov/fees/wiretran.html for full instructions.)
Are you filing a pre-filled Form 159-W without a Bill Number OR a hand-filled Form 159-W 
Worksheet/Form 159?
· Check, money order, or credit card payment
Federal Communications Commission
Mail to: Regulatory Fees
P.O. Box 358835
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5835
· Wire Transfer (preceded by a faxed copy of a Form 159-W – see 
http://www.fcc.gov/fees/wiretran.html for full instructions.)
Corrections and Updates
If the Applicant’s FRN, your six-digit Filer 499 ID, or the company’s name/address information 
needs to be filled in or corrected on your pre-filled Form 159-W, please provide or correct that 
information directly on the form.  If filing electronically, this information can be updated online in 
the Fee Filer.  Address information can be updated in the FRN Registration System (CORES).  No 
further documentation is required for such changes.
If you disagree with the dollar amounts on your pre-filled Form 159-W, further documentation is 
required.  All documentation must accompany your payment, unless you pay online.  If you pay 
online, mail all supporting forms to:
Federal Communications Commission
Office of the Managing Director
Attn:  ITSP Regulatory Fee
445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625
Washington D.C. 20554
Documentation required to support changes to the dollar amount:
(1) your completed FCC Form 159-W Worksheet (blank form is enclosed) OR the pre-
filled Form 159-W with corrected amounts.
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(2) your most recently filed FCC Form 499-A Telecommunications Reporting 
Worksheet. 
(3) if you are correcting the pre-filled Form 159-W because there was an error in your 
FCC Form 499-A filing, you must file a corrected FCC Form 499-A using the 
procedures specified in the FCC Form 499-A instructions.  The 159-W and FCC 
Form 499-A that you enclose with your regulatory fee payment will not be used to 
update the FCC Form 499-A database.  Furthermore, you will continue to owe the 
original bill amount until USAC accepts your revised filing.  
De Minimis Fee Exemption (Less Than $10): If you received an ITSP fee notification that shows 
an amount due under $10, you may not be required to pay.  Please review the information on the 
159-W to ensure that the data used to calculate the fee amount are correct.  If the data are correct 
and your total regulatory fee obligation, including your ITSP fee and all other FCC regulatory fees 
obligations that you may have, is less than $10, then you do not owe any FCC regulatory fees for 
2007.  If that is the case, you need not respond to the notification nor make any other filing with the 
Commission in connection with the ITSP regulatory fee.  
Limitations on Credit Card Transactions
The U.S. Treasury will reject Credit Card transactions greater than $99,999.99 from a single credit 
card in a single day, in accordance with U.S. Treasury Bulletin No. 2005-03.  If you need to pay 
$100,000.00 or more, then you must pay via a check, debit, or wire transfer.  
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Question 1.  What is the FCC Form 499-A Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet? 
As required under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,2 the Commission has established, 
in a series of separate proceedings, procedures to finance interstate telecommunications relay 
services (TRS), universal service support mechanisms, administration of the North American 
Numbering Plan (NANPA), and shared costs of local number portability (LNPA).  To accomplish 
these Congressional directed objectives, contributions are collected from all telecommunications 
carriers providing interstate telecommunications and certain other providers of telecommunications.  
In 1999, the Commission amended its rules so that for the purpose of determining their 
contribution(s), contributors to these mechanisms need only file the FCC Form 499-A 
Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet.3 The FCC Form 499-A is filed by interstate service 
providers each year on April 1.  A copy of the form and instructions can be downloaded at
http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html.
Question 2.  Which companies must file an FCC Form 499-A?
All providers of telecommunications services within the United States, with very limited 
exceptions, must file an FCC Form 499-A.4 For this purpose, the United States is defined as the 
contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, 
Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, Navassa Island, the Northern Mariana 
Islands, Palmyra, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wake Island.  As a general matter, each 
legal entity that provides interstate telecommunications services for a fee, including each affiliate or 
subsidiary of an entity, must complete separately and file a copy of the FCC Form 499-A.  The 
Commission, however, has adopted an exception to the separate legal-entity requirement, which 
enables contributors meeting certain criteria to file the FCC Form 499-A on a consolidated basis.
For purposes of determining whether an entity provides telecommunications, please note that the 
term "telecommunications" means the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, 
of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as 
sent and received.  For the purpose of filing, the term "interstate telecommunications" includes, but 
is not limited to, the following types of services:  wireless telephony including cellular and personal 
communications services (PCS); paging and messaging services; dispatch services; mobile radio 
services; operator services; access to interexchange service; interconnected Voice over Internet 
Protocol (VoIP) service, special access; wide area telecommunications services (WATS); subscriber 
toll-free services; 900 services; message telephone services (MTS); private line; telex; telegraph; 
video services; satellite services; and resale services.  Note, for example, that all local exchange 
carriers provide access services and, therefore, provide interstate telecommunications.
  
2 47 U.S.C. §§151, 225, 251, 254.
3 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review -- Streamlined Contributor Reporting Requirements Associated with Administration 
of Telecommunications Relay Services, North American Numbering Plan, Local Number Portability, and Universal 
Service Support Mechanisms, CC Docket No. 98-171, Report and Order, 14 FCC Rcd 16602 (1999) (Contributor 
Reporting Requirements Order).
4 Section 254(d) applies not only to “every telecommunications carrier that provides interstate telecommunications 
services” but also to certain “other providers of interstate telecommunications.”  47 U.S.C. §254(d) (emphasis added).
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Note: entities that offer interstate telecommunications for a fee to the public, even if only to a 
narrow or limited class of users that utilize their services, must file the FCC Form 499-A and are 
subject to the universal service contribution requirement.  This includes entities that provide 
interstate telecommunications to entities other than themselves for a fee on a private, contractual 
basis. In addition, owners of pay telephones, sometimes referred to as "pay telephone aggregators," 
must file this worksheet.  Most telecommunications carriers must file this worksheet even if they 
qualify for the de minimis exemption under the Commission's rules for universal service.5
Question 3.  Should all FCC Form 499-A filers also pay ITSP regulatory fees?
No.  Interstate service providers that have mobile service or satellite service revenues but that do not 
have interstate local revenues or interstate toll revenues are exempt from payment of ITSP fees.  
Interstate service providers that provide service to only other carriers are also exempt from paying 
ITSP regulatory fees.  Governmental entities and entities that are tax exempt under §501 of the 
Internal Revenue Code are exempt.  In addition, at this time revenues from Interconnected VoIP 
services are exempt from the ITSP fee.  Carriers whose total regulatory fee payment obligation is 
less than $10 also are exempt. However, the vast majority of FCC Form 499-A filers are required 
to pay ITSP regulatory fees.
Question 4.  Should a carrier make a regulatory fee payment if it has not filed an FCC Form 
499-A?
Yes.  If a telecommunications carrier provided interstate telecommunications services in 2006, then 
it should have filed an FCC Form 499-A, and it must also pay the appropriate regulatory fee
payments.  The FCC Form 499-A was due on April 1, 2007 and should have contained revenue 
information for calendar year 2006. Carriers who have not yet filed the FCC Form 499-A should 
contact the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) at (888) 641-8722 in order to 
obtain a filing package and to be assigned a 6-digit Filer 499 ID number.  If a carrier has forgotten 
its Filer 499 ID, it may contact USAC at (888) 641-8722, or it may access the Commission’s online 
carrier Locator:  http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cib/form499/499a.cfm .
Question 5.  What types of revenues are reported on the FCC Form 499-A?
The FCC Form 499-A requires filers to disclose all revenues from all goods and services, including 
revenues from non-regulated and non-telecommunications services.  Detailed information is 
submitted for telecommunications services provided to other carriers, for telecommunications 
  
5 See Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review – Streamlined Contributor 
Reporting Requirements Associated with Administration of Telecommunications Relay Service, North American 
Numbering Plan, Local Number Portability, and Universal Service Support Mechanisms, Telecommunications Services 
for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Administration 
of the North American Numbering Plan Cost Recovery Contribution Factor and Fund Size, Number Resource 
Optimization, Telephone Number Portability, Truth-in-Billing and Billing Format, CC Docket Nos. 96-45, 98-171, 90-
571, 92-237, 99-200, 95-116, 98-170, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Report and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 3752 
(2002).
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provided to end users, and for other goods and services.  The detailed information is used to classify 
revenues.  Only certain revenues are subject to the ITSP regulatory fee.
Question 6.  When calculating the ITSP regulatory fee, what kind of costs can be deducted 
from revenues that appear on FCC Form 499-A?
None.   The ITSP regulatory fee is based on billed interstate and international end-user revenues for 
local and most toll services.  Other types of revenues provided on FCC Form 499-A are excluded.  
Filers are not allowed to deduct any expenses from subject end-user revenues. Filers may not 
reduce revenues to reflect uncollectible amounts.
Question 7.  Where can I call to get help calculating my ITSP regulatory fee?
Call the FCC Financial Operations Help Desk at (877) 480-3201, and select Option 4.
Do not complete the blank FCC Form 159-W Worksheet if you have received an ITSP bill and the 
amounts are correct.  In your amounts are correct, then sign the pre-filled FCC Form 159-W and 
submit it with your payment.
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Approved by OMB
3060-0949
FCC FORM 159-W
INTERSTATE TELEPHONE SERVICE PROVIDER WORKSHEET
Payer Name: Filer 499 ID (FCC Form 499-A, Line 101):
Calendar Year 2006 Revenue Information (show amounts in whole dollars)
1 Service provided by U.S. carriers that both originates and terminates in foreign 
points.  FCC Form 499-A, Line 412 (e)
2 Interstate end-user revenues from all telecommunications services.  FCC Form 499-
A, Line 420 (d)
3 International end-user revenues from all telecommunications services except 
international-to-international.  FCC Form 499-A, Line 420 (e)
4 Total end-user revenues (Sum of lines 1, 2 and 3)  
Also enter this number on Block (28A) - FCC Code 1.   
5 End-user interstate mobile service monthly and activation charges.  FCC Form 499-
A, Line 409 (d)
6 End-user international mobile service monthly and activation charges. FCC Form 
499-A, Line 409 (e)
7 End-user interstate mobile service message charges including roaming charges but 
excluding toll charges.  FCC Form 499-A, Line 410 (d)
8 End-user international mobile service message charges including roaming charges 
but excluding toll charges.  FCC Form 499-A, Line 410 (e)
9 End-user interstate satellite service.  FCC Form 499-A Line 416 (d) + Line 416 (e)
10 End-user interconnected VoIP FCC Form 499-A Line 404.4 (d) + Line 404.4 (e) + 
Line 404.5 (d) + Line 404.5 (e) + Line 414.2 (d) + Line 414.2 (e)
11 Surcharges on mobile and satellite services identified as recovering universal service 
contributions and included in Line 403 (d) or 403 (e) on your FCC Form 499-A.  
Note: You may not include in Block (11) universal service pass-through 
surcharges applied to local or toll services, nor any surcharges identified as 
intrastate surcharges.
12 Interstate and international revenues from resellers that do not contribute to USF. 
FCC Form 499-A, Line 511 (b)
13 Total excluded end-user revenues.  (Sum lines 5 through 12.)  
Also enter this number on Block (29A) – FCC Code 2.
14 Total subject revenues.  (Line 4 minus Line 13)  
Also enter this number on Block (25A) – Quantity. Please round to nearest dollar.
15 Interstate telecommunications service provider fee factor .00266
16 2007 Regulatory Fee (Line 14 times Line 15).  Also enter this number on Block 
(27A) – Total Fee.  You are exempt from filing if the sum of all regulatory fees due 
on Line 16 is less than $10.  If you file, using this form, you must also complete an
FCC Form 159, and include a copy of this FCC Form 159-W with your filing.
Please Round to Nearest Dollar
FCC FORM 159-W
August 2007
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APPROVED BY OMB
3060-0949
FCC NOTICE TO INDIVIDUALS REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT
The public reporting for the two collections of information mentioned herein are estimated as 
follows:  FCC Form 159-W (3060-0949), 15 minutes per response; FCC Form 499-A (3060-0855), 
10 to 13.5 hours per response; and FCC Forms 159 and 159-C (3060-0589), 10 minutes to 4 hours.  
The estimated time to respond includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the required data, and completing and reviewing the collection 
of information.  If you have any comments on this burden estimate, or how we can improve the 
collection, please write to the Federal Communications Commission, AMD-PERM, Paperwork 
Reduction Project ((3060-0949), (3060-0855), and/or (3060-0589), Washington, DC 20554.  We 
will also accept your comments via the Internet if you send them to pra@fcc.gov.  PLEASE DO 
NOT SEND COMPLETED FORMS TO THIS ADDRESS.   
You are not required to respond to a collection of information sponsored by the federal government, 
and the government may not conduct or sponsor a collection, unless it displays a currently valid 
OMB control number.  FCC Form 159-W has been assigned OMB Control Number 3060-0949;
FCC Form 499-A has been assigned OMB Control Number 3060-0855; and FCC Forms 159 and 
159-C have been assigned OMB Control Number 3060-0589.
THE FOREGOING NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT 
OF 1995, P.L. 104-13, OCTOBER 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. SECTION 3507.
FCC FORM 159-W
August 2007
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Special Instructions for Completing FCC Forms 159 and 159-C
The following FCC Form 159 filing instructions apply only to: (1) ITSP providers who disagree with 
the dollar amounts on their bill; and (2) ITSP providers who owe an ITSP regulatory fee but did not 
receive a bill.  These ITSP providers, in addition to completing a blank FCC Form 159 following 
the filing instructions below, must also complete the attached blank FCC Form 159-W Worksheet.
Block (2) - Payer Name:
Ø Enter the legal name of the entity that is actually submitting the payment.  This may be the 
name of the interstate telecommunications service provider (applicant) that owes the regulatory 
fee or the name of an entity that is making payment on behalf of the applicant.
Block (9) - Telephone Number:
Ø Enter the contact name and telephone number of the specific individual responsible for 
submitting the payment and supporting FCC Form 159 and FCC Form 159-C.
Block (11) - Payer FRN:
Ø Enter the FRN of the entity identified in Block (2).
Block (21) - Applicant FRN:
Ø If different from payer, enter the applicant's FRN number.
Block (23A) - FCC Call Sign/Other ID:
Ø ITSPs should enter their Filer 499 ID number (FCC Form 499-A, Line 101.)
Block (24A) - Payment Type Code:  
Ø Enter 0772 when paying for an ITSP regulatory fee ($0.00266 per revenue dollar.)  
Block (25A) – Quantity (Total Subject Revenues):  
Ø First complete Blocks (28A) (FCC Code 1) and (29A) (FCC Code 2) on FCC Form 159. (See 
instructions below.)
Ø ITSPs should subtract the amount in Block (29A) (FCC Code 2) from the amount in Block 
(28A) (FCC Code 1) and enter the Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet end-user 
revenues.  This should equal the amount reported on Line 14 of the FCC Form 159-W, and the 
figure should be rounded to the nearest dollar.   
Block (27A) - Total Fee:  
Ø For ITSP regulatory fees (payment type code 0772), multiply the amount in Block 25A 
(Quantity) by $0.00266.  This amount should equal the amount reported on Line 16 of the FCC 
Form 159-W, and the figure should be rounded to the nearest dollar.  
Block (28A) - FCC Code 1:   
Ø For ITSP regulatory fees (payment type code 0772), enter the total end-user revenues.  This 
amount should be the same as Line 4 of the FCC Form 159-W.  Enter exact dollars and 
cents; do not round.  
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Block (29A) - FCC Code 2:  
Ø For ITSP regulatory fees (payment type code 0772), the amount entered in Block (29-A)
should equal the amount reported on Line 13 of the FCC Form 159-W.  This amount is 
excluded from the interstate and international end-user revenues that are used to calculate the 
telephone service provider fee.  Exclusions are limited to: 
Ø Interstate and international end-user revenues from mobile services;
Ø Interstate and international end-user revenues from satellite services;
Ø Interstate and international end-user revenues from interconnected VoIP services,
Ø Interstate and international end-user revenues from services provided to resellers that do 
not contribute to USF; and
Ø The interstate and international portion of any universal service pass-through 
surcharges levied on the interstate and international end-user revenues from the above 
revenues (i.e. mobile services, satellite services, and services provided to resellers that 
do not contribute to USF).
Ø The interstate and international end-user revenues reported on Line 511 of the FCC 
Form 499-A.
Certification:
Ø Provide the printed name and signature of an individual owner/licensee or officer attesting to 
the accuracy and completeness of the information supplied.
Please include a daytime telephone number in Block 9 so that we can contact you if questions 
arise regarding your payment.
- FCC -