FCC NEWS

FCC RELEASES DATA ON LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPETITION

Summary Statistics

 ·        End-user customers obtained local telephone service by utilizing approximately 138.8 million incumbent LEC switched access lines, 28.7 million CLEC switched access lines, and 229.6 million mobile telephony service subscriptions at the end of December 2006.

 ·        Of the 28.7 million CLEC end-user switched access lines, 6.8 million lines were provided over coaxial cable connections.  The 6.8 million lines represent about 61% of the 11.2 million end-user switched access lines that CLECs reported providing over their own local loop facilities. 

 ·        Mobile telephony service providers reported 229.6 million subscribers at the end of December 2006, which is 26 million, or 13%, more than a year earlier.  About 7% of these subscribers were billed by mobile telephony service resellers. 

 ·        There was at least one CLEC serving customers in 82% of the nation’s Zip Codes at the end of December 2006.  About 98% of United States households resided in those Zip Codes.  Moreover, multiple carriers reported providing local telephone service in the major population centers of the country. 

 ·        The 28.7 million lines reported by CLECs is about 17% of the 167.5 million total end-user switched access lines reported for the end of December 2006.

 ·        CLECs reported 12.2 million (or 12%) of the 101.4 million lines that served residential end users and 16.4 million (or 25%) of the 66.1 million lines that served business, institutional, and government customers. 

 ·        CLECs reported providing 39% of their end-user switched access lines over their own local loop facilities, 41% by using unbundled network elements (UNEs) that they leased from other carriers, and 20% through resale arrangements with unaffiliated carriers.

  ·        Incumbent LECs reported providing about 16% fewer UNE loops with switching (referred to as the UNE-Platform) to unaffiliated carriers at the end of December 2006 than they reported six months earlier (7.1 million compared to 8.4 million) and about the same number of UNE loops without switching (4.4 million). 

  ·        Incumbent LECs were the presubscribed interstate long distance carrier for 58% of the switched access lines they provided to end users, while CLECs were the interstate long distance carrier for 76% of their switched access lines.

 The report can also be downloaded from the Wireline Competition Bureau Statistical Reports Internet site at www.fcc.gov/wcb/stats.

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FEDERAL-STATE UNIVERSAL SERVICE JOINT BOARD STAFF RELEASES MONITORING REPORT

Comprehensive Report Tracks Trends Related to Universal Service 

(December 28, 2007)  The staff of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service has released its most recent Monitoring Report on Universal Service.  This report reflects information on the telephone industry filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) through June 2007.  This report, with a few exceptions, reflects data filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by the telephone industry for the year 2006 and prior years.

The report released today addresses the various universal service support mechanisms, which amounted to about $6.6 billion in 2006.  In 2006, disbursements among the four categories of universal service mechanisms were: 61.8% for high-cost support; 25.2% for schools and libraries support; 12.4% for low-income support; and 0.6% for rural health care support.    The report presents data in eleven categories:   

1)      Industry Revenues and Contributions – Total industry revenues for telecommunications services provided to end users in 2006 were about $236 billion, compared to about $235 billion in 2005.  Revenues for fixed local service providers decreased to about $81 billion, from about $82 billion, while wireless service providers’ revenues increased to about $110 billion, from about $101 billion, and toll service providers’ revenues decreased to about $45 billion, from about $52 billion.  

2)      Low-Income Support – Total low-income support increased to about $808 million in 2006, from about $803 million in 2005.

3)      High-Cost Support – In 2006, total high-cost support amounted to about $4.1 billion, an increase from about $3.8 billion in 2005.  This increase is due to support to competitive carriers (CETCs) increasing from $0.6 billion in 2005 to $1.0 billion in 2006.

4)      Schools and Libraries Support – Schools and libraries support disbursements in 2006 decreased to $1.7 billion from $1.9 billion in 2005.

5)      Rural Health Care Support – The demand for rural health care support  disbursements increased to $41 million in 2006 from $26 million in 2005.

6)      Subscribership and Penetration – According to the Current Population Survey, the percentage of households subscribing to telephone service increased to an average of 93.6% in 2006, from 93.1% in 2005.

7)      Rates and Price Indices – The price index of overall telephone rates increased 1.7% in 2006, compared to the general rate of inflation of 2.5% for all goods and services.

8)      Network Usage – Interstate toll usage for customers of incumbent local exchange carriers declined to 379 billion minutes in 2006, from 401 billion minutes in 2005. 

9)      Quality of Service – The data show noticeable differences in the quality of service among carriers.  For example, complaints per million residential access lines in 2006 ranged from 0 to 961 for different carriers. 

10)  Infrastructure – The total number of access lines in service for the mandatory price-cap carriers (the regional Bell operating companies) declined to about 118 million in 2006, from about 127 million in 2005.  On the other hand, measures of their fiber transmission generally grew in 2006.

11)  Revenues, Expenses and Investment – For the larger local exchange carriers in 2006, 56% percent of net income was interstate, 35% of revenues was interstate, and 32% of expenses was interstate.

A monitoring program was established in the mid‑1980's, at the recommendation of the Separations Joint Board, to track trends related to universal service and related matters.  Since then, Joint Board staffs have prepared Monitoring Reports at least once a year ‑‑ a compendium of hundreds of pages of statistical data on subscribership and penetration, loop costs, separations factors, universal service fund payments, etc.  The report is unique in that it is the only document that includes information on every incumbent local telephone company in the nation.  In 1998      the publication of this report was moved from the Separations Joint Board staff to the Universal Service Joint Board staff.  This is the ninth Monitoring Report from the Universal Service Joint Board staff.

The report may also be downloaded from the Wireline Competition Bureau Statistical Reports Internet site, which can be reached at http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/stats.   It is available in both page image (.pdf) format and in a compressed (.zip) format, which, when unzipped yields text and spreadsheet files.

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FCC Extends Access Stimulation Reply Comment Deadline to Jan. 16

(OPASTCO 411, 12/27/07) The FCC recently extended the reply comment deadline for its access stimulation proceeding to Jan. 16, 2008. Comments should address whether or not current rules governing the tariffing of traffic-sensitive switched access services by local exchange carriers (LECs) ensure that rates remain just and reasonable. In its NPRM, the Commission tentatively concludes that its tariff rules must be revised to ensure that tariffed rates remain just and reasonable, even if a carrier experiences or induces significant increases in access demand. For more information, visit http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-5082A1.pdf.