PART 43—REPORTS OF COMMUNICATION COMMON CARRIERS, PROVIDERS OF INTERNATIONAL SERVICES AND CERTAIN AFFILIATES

Chapter I—Federal Communications Commission › Subchapter B—Common Carrier Services

§ 43.01 Applicability.

(a) The sections in this part include requirements which have been promulgated under authority of sections 211 and 219 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to the filing by communication common carriers and certain of their affiliates of periodic reports and certain other data, but do not include certain requirements relating to the filing of information with respect to specific services, accounting systems and other matters incorporated in other parts of this chapter.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, carriers becoming subject to the provisions of the several sections of this part for the first time, shall, within thirty (30) days of becoming subject, file the required data as set forth in the various sections of this part.

(c) Carriers becoming subject to the provisions of §§ 43.21 and 43.43 for the first time, because their annual operating revenues equal or exceed the indexed revenue threshold for a given year, shall begin collecting data pursuant to such provisions in the calendar year following the publication of that indexed revenue threshold in the Federal Register. With respect to such initial filing of reports by any carrier, pursuant to the provisions of § 43.21(e) the carrier is to begin filing data for the calendar year following the publication of that indexed revenue threshold in the Federal Register by April 1 of the second calendar year following publication of that indexed revenue threshold in the Federal Register.

§ 43.21 Transactions with affiliates.

(a)-(d) [Reserved]

(e) Each incumbent local exchange carrier, except mid-sized incumbent local exchange carriers, as defined by § 32.9000 with annual operating revenues equal to or above the indexed revenue threshold shall file, no later than April 1 of each year:

(1) Its revenues, expenses and investment for all accounts established in part 32 of this chapter, on an operating company basis,

(2)-(3) [Reserved]

(f)-(k) [Reserved]

§ 43.41 [Reserved]

§ 43.43 Reports of proposed changes in depreciation rates.

(a) Each communication common carrier with annual operating expenses that equal or exceed the indexed revenue threshold, as defined in § 32.9000, and that has been found by this Commission to be a dominant carrier with respect to any communications service shall, before making any changes in the depreciation rates applicable to its operated plant, file with the Commission a report furnishing the data described in the subsequent paragraphs of this section, and also comply with the other requirements thereof.

(b) Each such report shall contain the following:

(1) A schedule showing for each class and subclass of plant (whether or not the depreciation rate is proposed to be changed) an appropriate designation therefor, the depreciation rate currently in effect, the proposed rate, and the service-life and net-salvage estimates underlying both the current and proposed depreciation rates;

(2) An additional schedule showing for each class and subclass, as well as the totals for all depreciable plant, (i) the book cost of plant at the most recent date available, (ii) the estimated amount of depreciation accruals determined by applying the currently effective rate to the amount of such book cost, (iii) the estimated amount of depreciation accruals determined by applying the rate proposed to be used to the amount of such book cost, and (iv) the difference between the amounts determined in paragraphs (b)(2) (ii) and (iii) of this section;

(3) A statement giving the reasons for the proposed change in each rate;

(4) A statement describing the method or methods employed in the development of the service-life and salvage estimates underlying each proposed change in a depreciation rate; and

(5) The date as of which the revised rates are proposed to be made effective in the accounts.

(c) Except as specified in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(3) of this section, when the change in the depreciation rate proposed for any class or subclass of plant (other than one occasioned solely by a shift in the relative investment in the several subclasses of the class of plant) amounts to twenty percent (20%) or more of the rate currently applied thereto, or when the proposed change will produce an increase or decrease of one percent (1%) or more of the aggregate depreciation charges for all depreciable plant (based on the amounts determined in compliance with paragraph (b)(2) of this section) the carrier shall supplement the data required by paragraph (b) of this section) with copies of the underlying studies, including calculations and charts, developed by the carrier to support service-life and net-salvage estimates. If a carrier must submit data of a repetitive nature to comply with this requirement, the carrier need only submit a fully illustrative portion thereof.

(1) A Local Exchange Carrier regulated under price caps, pursuant to §§ 61.41 through 61.49 of this chapter, is not required to submit the supplemental information described in paragraph (c) introductory text of this section for a specific account if: The carrier's currently prescribed depreciation rate for the specific accounts derived from basic factors that fall within the basic factor ranges established for that same account; and the carrier's proposed depreciation rate for the specific account would also be derived from basic factors that fall within the basic factor ranges for the same account.

(2) Local Exchange Carriers that are regulated under price caps, pursuant to §§ 61.41 through 61.49 of this chapter, and have selected basic factors that fall within the basic factor ranges for all accounts are exempt from paragraphs (b)(3), (b)(4), and (c) introductory text of this section. They shall instead comply with paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2) and (b)(5) of this section and provide a book and theoretical reserve summary and a summary of basic factors underlying proposed rates by account.

(3) Interexchange carriers regulated under price caps, pursuant to §§ 61.41 through 61.49 of this chapter, are exempted from submitting the supplemental information as described in paragraph (c) introductory text of this section. They shall instead submit: Generation data, a summary of basic factors underlying proposed depreciation rates by account and a short narrative supporting those basic factors, including company plans of forecasted retirements and additions, recent annual retirements, salvage and cost of removal.

(d) Each report shall be filed in duplicate and the original shall be signed by the responsible official to whom correspondence related thereto should be addressed.

(e) Unless otherwise directed or approved by the Commission, the following shall be observed: Proposed changes in depreciation rates shall be filed at least ninety (90) days prior to the last day of the month with respect to which the revised rates are first to be applied in the accounts (e.g., if the new rates are to be first applied in the depreciation accounts for September, they must be filed on or before July 1). Such rates may be made retroactive to a date not prior to the beginning of the year in which the filing is made: Provided however, that in no event shall a carrier for which the Commission has prescribed depreciation rates make any changes in such rates unless the changes are prescribed by the Commission. Carriers who select basic factors that fall within the basic factor ranges for all accounts are exempt from depreciation rate prescription by the Commission.

(f) Any changes in depreciation rates that are made under the provisions of paragraph (e) of this section shall not be construed as having been approved by the Commission unless the carrier has been specifically so informed.

§ 43.51 Contracts and concessions.

(a)(1) Any communication common carrier described in paragraph (b) of this section must file with the Commission, within thirty (30) days of execution, a copy of each contract, agreement, concession, license, authorization, operating agreement or other arrangement to which it is a party and amendments thereto (collectively hereinafter referred to as “agreement” for purposes of this rule) with respect to the following:

(i) The exchange of services; and,

(ii) The interchange or routing of traffic and matters concerning rates, accounting rates, division of tolls, or the basis of settlement of traffic balances, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section.

(2) If the contract, agreement, concession, license, authorization, operating agreement or other arrangement and amendments thereto is made other than in writing, a certified statement covering all details thereof must be filed by at least one of the parties to the agreement. Each other party to the agreement which is also subject to these provisions may, in lieu of also filing a copy of the agreement, file a certified statement referencing the filed document. The Commission may, at any time and upon reasonable request, require any communication common carrier not subject to the provisions of this section to submit the documents referenced in this section.

(b) The following communication common carriers must comply with the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section:

(1) A carrier that is engaged in domestic communications and has not been classified as non-dominant pursuant to § 61.3 of this Chapter; or

(2) A carrier that is engaged in foreign communications and that has been classified as dominant for any service on any of the U.S.-international routes included in the contract, except for a carrier classified as dominant on a particular route due only to a foreign carrier affiliation under § 63.10 of this chapter.

(c) With respect to contracts coming within the scope of paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section between subject telephone carriers and connecting carriers, except those contracts related to communications with foreign or overseas points, such documents shall not be filed with the Commission; but each subject telephone carrier shall maintain a copy of such contracts to which it is a party in appropriate files at a central location upon its premises, copies of which shall be readily accessible to Commission staff and members of the public upon reasonable request therefor; and upon request by the Commission, a subject telephone carrier shall promptly forward individual contracts to the Commission.

(d) Any U.S. carrier, other than a provider of commercial mobile radio services, that is engaged in foreign communications, and enters into an agreement with a foreign carrier, is subject to the Commission's authority to require the U.S. carrier providing service on any U.S.-international routes to file, on an as-needed basis, a copy of each agreement to which it is a party.

Note 1 to § 43.51: For purposes of this section, affiliated and foreign carrier are defined in § 63.09 of this chapter.

Note 2 to § 43.51: To the extent that a foreign government provides telecommunications services directly through a governmental organization, body or agency, it shall be treated as a foreign carrier for the purposes of this section.

§ 43.62 [Reserved]

§ 43.72 [Reserved]

§ 43.82 Circuit capacity reports.

(a)Submarine cable capacity. Not later than March 31 of each year:

(1) Capacity holder report. Each cable landing licensee and common carrier shall file a report showing its capacity on submarine cables landing in the United States as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year.

(2) United States. United States is defined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 153.

Note to paragraph (a): United States is defined in Section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 153.

(b) Registration Form. A Registration Form, containing information about the filer, such as address, phone number, email address, etc., shall be filed with each report. The Registration Form shall include a certification enabling the filer to check a box to indicate that the filer requests that its circuit capacity data be treated as confidential consistent with § 0.459(a)(4) of this chapter.

(c) Filing Manual. Authority is delegated to the Chief of the Office of International Affairs to prepare instructions and reporting requirements for the filing of these reports prepared and published as a Filing Manual. The information required under this Section shall be filed electronically in conformance with the instructions and reporting requirements in the Filing Manual.

(d) Compliance. Submission of false or inaccurate certifications or failure to file timely and complete annual circuit capacity reports in accordance with the Commission's rules in this chapter and the Filing Manual shall constitute grounds for enforcement action, including but not limited to a forfeiture or cancellation of the cable landing license or international section 214 authorization, pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and any other applicable law.

(e) Sharing of circuit capacity reports with Federal agencies. For purposes of the information collected under this subpart, the Commission may disclose to the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State any information submitted by an applicant, petitioner, licensee, or authorization holder under this subpart. Where such information has been submitted in confidence pursuant to § 0.457 or § 0.459 of this chapter, such information may be shared subject to the provisions of § 0.442 of this chapter and, notwithstanding the provisions of § 0.442(d)(1) of this chapter, notice will be provided at the time of disclosure.