Carriers and interconnected VoIP providers must designate a single agent for service of process in the District of Columbia for all Commission business. Although FCC Form 499-A permits carriers and interconnected VoIP providers to designate a preferred alternate or local agents for service of process, each designated agent for a particular carrier or interconnected VoIP provider must accept service for all purposes relating to Commission business. A carrier or interconnected VoIP provider may not limit a designated agent's ability to accept service on behalf of the carrier or interconnected VoIP provider by subject matter, by jurisdiction, by affiliate or by any other grounds. The Commission may assume that the local or alternate agent is the filer's preferred destination for all service of process.

Note: New carriers or interconnected VoIP providers must identify an agent for service of process within 30 days of providing service and all carriers or interconnected VoIP providers must notify the FCC within one week if the contact information changes for their D.C. Agent. See Section II-C, above, for filing directions.

New telecommunications carriers and other telecommunications providers must register with the Commission when they begin to provide service. Carriers and other telecommunications providers must update registration information within one week of a material change. See Section II-C, above, for filing directions. Registration information includes information reported in Blocks 1, 2-A, 2-B, and 2-C of FCC Form 499-A.

Lines 219-227 - The third part of Block 2 contains FCC registration information, as required of all interstate telecommunications carriers pursuant to section 64.1195 of the Commission's rules. 47 C.F.R. § 64.1195. As explained above, virtually all carriers filing the FCC Form 499 are considered to be interstate carriers. Interstate telecommunications carriers must provide the names and business addresses of their Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and President. If the reporting entity does not have one or more of these officers or if the same person occupies more than one position, then names should be supplied for the three most senior-level officers of the reporting entity. For purposes of this filing, an officer is an occupant of a position listed in the articles of incorporation, articles of formation, or other similar legal document. List only one name if the filing entity is a sole proprietorship. If the filing entity is a partnership, list the managing partner on Line 221. If the legal entity is owned by two partners, list the second partner on Line 223. If there are three or more partners, provide information for the managing partner and the two other partners with the greatest financial interest in the partnership.

Line 227 - check those jurisdictions where the filing entity provided telecommunications service or interconnected VoIP service in the past 15 months, and any additional jurisdictions in which the filing entity expects to provide telecommunications service or interconnected VoIP service in the next 12 months. Identify jurisdictions where customers physically obtain service. For most switched services, identify jurisdictions where customers can originate calls. However, for services where the called party pays, also identify jurisdictions where calls terminate.26 For example, an operator service provider that handled inmate calls originating in New Jersey and terminating collect in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, would identify New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania as jurisdictions served.

Lines 301-302; 401-402 -- copy the Filer 499 ID from Line 101 into Lines 301 and 401. Copy the legal name of the reporting entity from Line 102 into Lines 302 and 402.

Lines 303-314; 403-423 contain detailed revenue data.

26 Both parties to a collect call are "consumers." 47 C.F.R § 64.708. See also 47 C.F.R § 64.710(b)(1).

1.

Separating revenues from other contributors to the federal universal service support mechanisms (Block 3) from end-user and non-telecommunications revenues (Block 4) (carrier's carrier vs. end-user)

In the Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet, filers must report revenues using two broad categories: (1) Revenues from other contributors to the federal universal service support mechanisms; and, (2) Revenues from all other sources. Taken together, these revenues should include all revenues billed to customers and should include all revenues on the reporting entities' books of account.

For the purposes of this Worksheet, "Revenues from services provided for resale by other contributors to federal universal service support mechanisms" are revenues from services provided by underlying carriers to other entities that currently are contributors to universal service support mechanisms and that are resold in the form of telecommunications. Such revenues are referred to herein as "carrier's carrier revenues" or "revenues from resellers." An underlying carrier also may include as carrier's carrier revenues any switched service revenues received from another U.S. carrier where that carrier is using the underlying carrier's service to refile the foreignbilled traffic of a foreign telephone operator. Revenues from all other sources consist primarily of revenues from services provided to end users, referred to here as "end-user revenues." This latter category includes foreign and non-telecommunications revenues.

For the purpose of completing Block 3, a "reseller" is a telecommunications carrier or telecommunications provider that: 1) incorporates purchased telecommunications services into its own telecommunications offerings; and 2) can reasonably be expected to contribute to federal universal service support mechanisms based on revenues from such offerings when provided to end users.

On an interim basis, carriers that provide telecommunications inputs to interconnected VoIP providers should report the resulting revenues as end-user revenues on Line 406. These carriers may not exclude these revenues by invoking the "carrier's carrier" rule.27

Each filer should have documented procedures to ensure that it reports as "revenues from resellers" only revenues from entities that reasonably would be expected to contribute to support universal service. The procedures should include, but not be limited to, maintaining the following information on resellers: Filer 499 ID; legal name; address; name of a contact person; and phone number of the contact person. Filers shall provide this information to the Commission or the Administrator upon request. The filer should verify that each reseller will: 1) resell the filer's services in the form of telecommunications (and not as information services); and 2) contribute directly to the federal universal service support mechanisms. If the filer does not have independent reason to know that the reseller satisfies these criteria, it should obtain a signed statement certifying that these criteria are met. Current contributors to universal service are identified at http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cib/form499/499a.cfm. Filers will be responsible for any additional universal service assessments that result if its customers must be reclassified as end users.

Note: For the purposes of filling out this Worksheet -- and for calculating contributions to the universal service support mechanisms -- certain telecommunications carriers and other providers of telecommunications may be exempt from contribution to the universal service support mechanisms. These exempt entities, including "international only" and "intrastate only" providers and providers that meet the de minimis universal service threshold, should not be treated as resellers for the purpose of reporting revenues in Block 3. That is, filers that are underlying carriers should report revenues derived from the provision of telecommunications to exempt carriers and providers (including services provided to entities that are de minimis for universal service purposes) on Lines 403417 of Block 4 of the Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet, as appropriate. Underlying carriers must contribute to the universal service support mechanisms on the basis of such revenues. In Block 5, Line 511,

27

See 2006 Contribution Methodology Reform Order at paras. 58-59 (This requirement is in effect for two full quarters following the effective date of this Order.).

however, filers may elect to report the amounts of such revenues (i.e., those revenues from exempt entities that are reported as end-user revenues) so that these revenues may be excluded for purposes of calculating contributions to TRS, LNPA, and NANPA.

The reporting entity must report gross revenues from all sources, including non-regulated and nontelecommunications services on Lines 303 through 314 and Lines 403 through 418 and these must add to total gross revenues as reported on Line 419. Gross revenues include account set-up, connection, service restoration, termination and other non-recurring charges. These charges should be reported on the same line that the filer reports any associated recurring revenue. For example, an early termination charge for an interstate private line service would be reported as interstate revenue on Line 415. Deposits are not revenue. Gross revenues should include revenues derived from the activation and provision of interstate, international, and intrastate telecommunications, and non-telecommunications services. Gross revenues consist of total revenues billed to customers during the filing period with no allowances for uncollectibles, settlements, or out-of-period adjustments. Gross revenues do not include amounts that cannot be billed to customers. Gross revenues should include collection overages and unclaimed refunds for telecommunications and telecommunications services when not subject to escheats. Gross billed revenues may be distinct from booked revenues. National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) pool companies should report the actual gross billed revenues (CABS Revenues) reported to the NECA pool and not settlement revenues received from the pool. Entities making consolidated filings must include in their FCC Form 499 Filings all revenue on the consolidated books of account.

An entity is not required to impute or report revenues for services provided to itself or to wholly owned affiliates unless: 1) it is required to record such revenues for some other federal or state regulatory purpose; or 2) the filer is providing service to an affiliate for resale and the affiliate is not a direct universal service contributor.

If revenue category breakout cannot be determined directly from corporate books of account or subsidiary records, filers may provide on the Worksheet a good-faith estimate of the breakout. Filers may not simply report all revenues on one of the "other revenue" lines.

28

Where two contributors have merged prior to the filing date, the successor company should report total revenues for the reporting period for all predecessor operations. The two contributors, however, should continue to report separately if each maintains separate corporate identities and continues to operate." Where an entity obtains, through purchase, merger or transfer, the telecommunications operations or customer base of a telecommunications provider during the calendar year, it must report all telecommunications revenues associated with such operations or customer base including revenues billed in the calendar year prior to the date of acquisition

Gross revenues also should include any surcharges on telecommunications services or interconnected VoIP services that are billed to the customer and either retained by the filer or remitted to a non-government third party under contract. Gross revenues should exclude taxes and any surcharges that are not recorded on the company books as revenues but which instead are remitted to government bodies. Note that any charge included on the customer bill and represented to recover or collect contributions to federal or state universal service support mechanisms must be shown separately on Line 403. Other surcharges treated as revenues should be included in the revenue categories on which the surcharges were levied.

For international services, gross revenues consist of gross revenues billed by U.S. telecommunications providers with no allowances for settlement or settlement-like payments. International settlement and settlement-like receipts for foreign-billed service should not be included in revenues. For common carriers providing international

28 See also Section II-E, above.

telecommunications services: except in very limited circumstances, such as receipts from foreign carriers for calls that are reoriginated and reported as U.S. billed traffic, the total revenues identified as international on Line 419(e) should match the total U.S. billed revenues that will be reported each year pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 43.61. For example, if a filer receives payment from a foreign carrier for traffic that the filer receives outside of the United States, brings into the United States, and then refiles and carries the traffic to a foreign point, the filer would not include those settlement-like payments as revenues on the FCC Form 499-A even though they might be reported as revenues on the filer's 43.61 international traffic data report. Note that if the filer receives the traffic in the United States, then it is providing ordinary international service from the United States to a foreign point and receipts from the originating carrier would be reported as revenue on Line 414.

For international private line services, U.S. providers must report on Line 415 revenues from the U.S. portion of the circuit to the theoretical midpoint of the circuit regardless of whether such revenues were billed to the customer by the reporting carrier or by a partner carrier in a foreign point. Circuits within the United States that connect a customer to an international circuit should be reported as interstate. Circuits that connect foreign points should be reported on Line 418.

If you have any revenues for Lines 303-314 and 403-420, you may not omit the dollar amounts from column (a) even if 100% of the revenues are for interstate or international services.

Columns (b), (c), (d), and (e) are provided to identify the part of gross revenues that arise from interstate and international services for each entry on Lines 303 through 314 and Lines 403 through 417. Intrastate telecommunications means communications or transmission between points within the same State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia. Interstate and international telecommunications means communications or transmission between a point in one state, territory, possession of the United States or the District of Columbia and a point outside that state, territory, possession of the United States or the District of Columbia. Revenues from services offered under interstate tariffs, such as revenues from federal subscriber line charges and from federally tariffed LNP surcharges, should be identified as interstate revenues. This includes amounts incorporated in or bundled with other local service charges.

For example, if a prepaid calling card provider collects a fixed amount of revenue per minute of traffic, and 65 percent of minutes are interstate, then interstate revenues would include 65 percent of the per-minute revenues. Similarly, if a local exchange carrier bills local measured service charges for calls that originate in one state and terminate in another, these billings should be classified as interstate even though the charges are covered by a state tariff and the revenues are included in a local service account. If over ten percent of the traffic carried over a private or WATS line is interstate, then the revenues and costs generated by the entire line are classified as interstate.29 In general, flat-rated unbundled network access elements should be classified according to the regulatory agency that has primary jurisdiction over the contracts.

Amounts billed to customers to recover federal universal service contribution obligations should be attributed as either interstate or international revenues, as appropriate, but may not be reported as intrastate revenues. Filers should report intrastate revenues on Line 403 only to the extent that actual payments to state universal service programs were recovered by pass-through charges itemized on customer bills.

Note: Where possible, filers should report their amount of total revenues that are interstate and international by using information from their books of account and other internal data reporting systems. Where a filer can determine the precise amount of revenues that it has billed for interstate and international services, it should enter those amounts in columns (d) and (e), respectively.

If interstate and international revenues cannot be determined directly from corporate books of account or subsidiary records, filers may provide on the Worksheet good-faith estimates of these figures. In such cases, the filer should enter the good-faith estimates of the percentage of interstate and the percentage of international revenues in columns (b) and (c), respectively. A reporting entity may not submit a good-faith estimate lower than one percent unless the correct figure should be $0. Information supporting good-faith estimates must be made available to either the FCC or to the administrators upon request. Using the good-faith estimate, calculate the amount of interstate revenues as the amount in column (a) times the percentage in column (b), and calculate the amount of international revenues as the amount in column (a) times the percentage in column (c). For convenience, calculated interstate and international revenue amounts that are greater than one thousand dollars may be rounded to the nearest thousand dollars. Please enter zero dollars in columns (d) and (e) if, and only if, there were no interstate revenues for the line for the reporting period.

Note that the FCC provides the following safe harbor percentages of interstate revenues associated with Line 309, Line 404.3 and 404.4, Line 409, and Line 410:3

64.9% of interconnected VoIP telecommunications revenues

37.1% of cellular and broadband PCS telecommunications revenues

12.0% of paging revenues

1.0% of analog SMR dispatch revenues

These safe harbor percentages may not be applied to universal service pass-through charges, fixed local service revenues, or toll service charges. All filers must report the actual amount of interstate and international revenues for these services. For example, toll charges for itemized calls appearing on mobile telephone customer bills should be reported as intrastate, interstate or international based on the origination and termination points of the calls.

Wireless telecommunications providers and interconnected VoIP providers that choose to avail themselves of these safe harbor percentages for interstate revenues may assume that the FCC will not find it necessary to review or question the data underlying their reported percentages. All affiliated wireless telecommunications providers and interconnected VoIP providers must make a single election, each quarter, whether to report actual revenues or to use the current safe harbor within the same safe harbor category. So, for example, if in a calendar quarter a wireless telecommunications provider reports actual interstate revenues for its cellular and broadband PCS telecommunications services, all of its affiliated legal entities must also report actual interstate telecommunications revenues for cellular and broadband PCS offerings. The same wireless telecommunications

30

31

See 2006 Contribution Methodology Reform Order at paras. 25-27, 53-55. Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review Streamlined Contributor Reporting Requirements Associated with Administration of Telecommunications Relay Service, North American Numbering Plan, Local Number Portability, and Universal Service Support Mechanisms, Telecommunications Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Administration of the North American Numbering Plan and North American Numbering Plan Cost Recovery Contribution Factor and Fund Size, Number Resource Optimization, Telephone Number Portability, Truth-in-Billing and Billing Format, Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CC Docket Nos. 96-45, 98-171, 90-571, 92-237, 99-200, 95-116, 98-170, FCC 02-329 (rel. Dec. 13, 2002) (Contribution Methodology Order); see also Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, Memorandum Opinion and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CC Docket No. 96-45, 13 FCC Rcd 21252, 21258-60 (1998).

31 See Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, Order and Order on Reconsideration, CC Docket No. 96-45, FCC 0320 (rel. Jan. 30, 2003). Note: Wireless telecommunications providers are "affiliated" for purposes of making the single election whether to report actual interstate telecommunications revenues or use the applicable interim wireless safe harbor if one entity (1) directly or indirectly controls or has the power to control another, (2) is directly or indirectly controlled by another, (3) is directly or indirectly controlled by a third party or parties that also controls or has the power to control another, or (4) has an "identity of interest" with another contributor. See also 47 C.F.R. § 1.2110(c)(5).