Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge for Special Access Lines; Reallocation of General Support Facility Costs

The Commission is concerned that its most recent changes to access charges assessed on multi-line business lines may encourage some multi-line businesses that are currently using switched access to purchase instead special access lines, which would negatively affect the Commission's transition from the per-minute carrier common line (CCL) charge to the flat presubscribed interexchange carrier charge (PICC) as set out in the Access Charge Reform First Report and Order. The Commission tentatively concludes, therefore, that it should permit price cap LECs to assess a PICC on special access lines to recover revenues for the common line basket. The Commission seeks comments on this proposal and the related issue of how special access connections should be counted for purposes of assessing a ``per line'' PICC. This rule will help ensure the transition from the per minute CCL charge to the flat PICC. In the second part of this FNPRM, the Commission also addresses the allocation of general support facility costs. Under the current allocation of general support facility costs, incumbent LECs recover through interstate access charges costs associated with the LECs' nonregulated billing and collection functions. In the FNPRM, the Commission tentatively concludes that price cap incumbent LECs' general purpose computer costs attributable to billing and collection should not be recovered through regulated access charges. The Commission seeks comment on two proposed options for reassigning these costs to the billing and collection category. This rule is intended to correct the misallocation of GSF costs.