Regulatory Fees and Surcharges
Nitel’s rates and charges for Service(s) are exclusive of the following charges and surcharges. Also, the following will not count toward the attainment of any volume or revenue commitment and are not subject to discount.
1.1 Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge (“FUSF”) is a monthly surcharge which allows Nitel to recover from its customers the funds it pays to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on interstate services to support the FCC’s universal service programs. The FCC regulates this surcharge, reviewing and adjusting the fee quarterly based on the FCC’s quarterly contribution factor. The FCC uses the fund to keep local telephone rates affordable for all customers, support telecommunications services in schools, public libraries and rural healthcare facilities and subsidize local service to high-cost areas and low income customers.
The surcharge is equal to Customer’s total net FUSF applicable charges which consist of all charges for interstate (including international) telecommunications services multiplied by the FUSF percentage. The FUSF percentage will be equal to the quarterly Universal Service Fund contribution factor established by the FCC, subject to rounding, in effect as of the bill date. The applicable quarterly contribution factor can be found at:
1.1.a FUSF Exemption. The surcharge will be waived to the extent that Customer demonstrates to Nitel’s reasonable satisfaction that Customer (a) has filed a Universal Service Worksheet with the Universal Service Administrator covering the twelve month period prior to the month for which Customer seeks the exemption (e.g. to be eligible for an exemption in February 2013, Customer must have filed a Universal Service Worksheet with the Universal Service Administrator covering February 2012) or (b) was not required to file a Universal Service Worksheet covering such period, either because Customer was not then providing telecommunications services or because Customer was then subject to the FCC’s de minimis exception to the FCC’s filing requirement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the surcharge will not be waived with respect to: (x) charges for services purchased by Customer for its own use as an end user; or (y) charges for which the bill date is on, prior to, or within thirty days after, the date on which Customer applies for an exemption with respect to those charges.
1.2 Property Tax Surcharge is a non-exemptible monthly charge applied to recover property tax assessments and related fees imposed by jurisdictional taxing authorities upon local exchange carriers, and related charges incurred from Nitel’s underlying carriers. The Property Tax Surcharge is equal to Customer’s total net charges for all Services and applicable Surcharges multiplied by 2.84%.
1.3 Regulatory Cost Recovery is a non-exemptible monthly charge applied to defray amounts paid to federal, state, and local governments for regulatory costs including fees paid to support government programs, charges assessed by the FCC, costs associated with administering and complying with government programs, and costs to terminate services on other carrier networks, and related charges incurred from Nitel’s underlying carriers. The Regulatory Cost Recovery Surcharge is equal to Customer’s total charges for all applicable Services and applicable Surcharges, multiplied by 3.63%.
1.4 Carrier Administration Fee is a non-exemptible monthly charge applied to defray costs incurred from local telephone companies for call delivery to their end users, as well as fees and assessments on network facilities and services, and any related charges incurred from Nitel’s underlying carriers. The Carrier Administration Charge is equal to Customer’s total charges for applicable Services and applicable Surcharges, multiplied by 2.95%.
1.5 Administrative Expense is a monthly charge to recover a portion of costs and expenses incurred by Nitel, and any related charges incurred from Nitel’s underlying carriers, to implement, administer and comply with the FCC and State PUC administered Universal Service Fund programs. The Administrative Expense Fee is equal to Customer’s total charges for all applicable Services and applicable Surcharges, ranging from 1.68% to 4.68%, based on service type.
1.6 Access Recovery Fee is a non-exemptible monthly charge applied on a per line basis, and any related charges incurred from Nitel’s underlying carriers, and is related to the Federal Intercarrier Compensation Rules that set the rates charged between carriers for telecommunications traffic. The Access Recovery Fee is equal to the total of applicable local access monthly charge multiplied by 4.99%. The private line Access Recovery Fee is equal to the total of all private line charges multiplied by 2.49%.
1.7 Franchise Recovery Fee is a non-exemptible monthly charge to recover the municipal franchise fee often referred to as a “right-of-way” fee. It is a monthly charge imposed by local jurisdictions on telecommunication services provided via networks that occupy the public rights of way. This fee varies by jurisdiction and may be established by local or state law, or by carrier agreement with the local jurisdiction. The Franchise Recovery Fee is equal to the Customer’s total of all charges multiplied by 1.89%.
1.8 Carrier Line Assessment (CLA) is a monthly surcharge to recover an FCC imposed, per line charge for business voice lines for customers using Nitel voice services, and any related charges incurred from Nitel’s underlying carriers. This charge is a result of legislation and FCC decisions regarding access reform. Access is the ability of a customer to access a carrier’s network. This access is provided by the local telephone company. Nitel is billed, and must pay a per line charge or access charge for each of our customers, directly or indirectly, to the customer’s local telephone company. The current CLA rate is $0.50 per Hosted Seat, SIP Trunk, and POTS Line and $0.75 per Digital PRI Trunk.
1.9 Subscriber Line Charge (SLC) is a monthly surcharge to recover costs imposed by the FCC, and any related charges incurred from Nitel’s underlying carriers, that local telephone companies pay for access charges on each local telephone line to partially reimburse long distance companies for the cost of routing long distance calls to and from local customers. The charge is applied on a per line basis. Sometimes called the federal subscriber line charge, this fee is regulated and capped by the FCC, not by state public utility commissions. The current SLC rate is $0.75 per Digital PRI Trunk.
1.10 Wireless Administrative Fee is a non-discountable monthly charge applied to help defray certain expenses including i) the cost of charges wireless vendors pay to interconnect with other carriers to deliver calls and ii) charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance. This fee will not be applied to other Nitel services that do not utilize wireless network services. The Wireless Administrative Fee shall be $4.98 per wireless line, regardless of whether the line is used for voice or data traffic.
1.11 Broadband Subscriber Line Charge (BSLC) is a non-exemptible monthly charge for broadband Internet services to recover expenses related to carrier interconnection charges and copper plant maintenance. The BSLC is equal to the Customer’s total charges for applicable Services multiplied by 6.4%.
1.12 Texas Franchise Tax Recovery Fee is a non-exemptible monthly charge to help recover the Texas Franchise Tax Fees imposed by the state of Texas. The fee is equal to the Customer’s total charges for applicable services multiplied by 0.7%.