FCC Eliminates Certain Form 481 Filing Requirements

July 26, 2017

On July 7, the FCC released a Report and Order eliminating several reporting requirements of the annual FCC Form 481 that it deems to be either duplicative of other reporting requirements or are simply no longer necessary.

The requirements eliminated were:

• Network Outage Reporting – Detailed information about any outages affecting voice service for at least 30 minutes ETCs have experienced in the prior calendar year; already collected through the FCC’s Network Outage Reporting System (NORS)
• Unfulfilled Service Requests – Reporting of the number of service requests ETCs receive but do not fulfill; can be monitored through broadband deployment obligations
• Complaints – Reporting the number of complaints per 1,000 subscribers for voice and broadband services; already collected through the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) or with individual states
• Pricing Information – Reporting pricing of voice and broadband service offerings; the FCC has not made sufficient use of this pricing data to support continued collection
• Service Quality Certification – Certifying compliance with applicable service quality standards and consumer protection rules; ETCs have an independent obligation to comply and can be audited at any time by USAC of the FCC
• Filing duplicate copies of Form 481 with the FCC and with states, U.S. Territories, and/or Tribal governments; these entities already have access to confidentially filed information for ETCs within their jurisdiction, *contingent upon USAC’s successful implementation of a new electronic database

These eliminations are schedule to be effective immediately following approval by the Office of Management and Budget so will likely be in effect for next year’s annual July filing.

Vantage Point can help.

If you have questions regarding these FCC Form 481 reporting requirement changes or if you would like Vantage Point’s assistance, please contact:

Leah Richter, Senior Telecommunications Analyst, 605-995-1793
Jesse Taylor, Telco Consultant, 605-995-1819