FCC Sets 'Reasonably Comparable' Rural Benchmark Rates for USF-Backed ILEC Voice, Broadband
The FCC set 2018 rural benchmark rates for ILEC fixed voice and broadband services supported by high-cost USF subsidies, based on an urban rate survey. The new monthly average urban voice service rate (rate floor) is $25.50 and the statutorily…
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mandated "reasonable comparable" rural benchmark rate will be $45.38, requiring USF-backed ILECs to certify their basic residential rates don't exceed that level, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 10-90 in Thursday's Daily Digest. Noting a May USF rate freeze (see 1705180061), the PN said the carriers won't be subject to any support reductions for any rate of at least $18 but must still report in Form 481 filings their rates if they're below the $25.50 floor. Most rural broadband benchmark rates were set between $85.54 and $94.36, depending on data speeds and capacity allowances; for Alaska Plan carriers, the benchmarks range from $109.89 to $115.66. The bureau raised the 160 GB minimum monthly usage allowance to 170 GBs for price-cap and rate-of-return carriers.