Immediate implementation of the results of an FCC urban rate...

must have in place by July 1, said the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (http://bit.ly/1hvLUzF). The ETCs must have the rates in place to continue to receive the full level of high-cost loop support (HCLS) provided from the Connect America Fund (CAF). The contemplated increase in the urban rate floor from $14 per month to $20.46 monthly would be a dramatic price increase implemented within a very short period of time, said the Washington commission in comments posted Tuesday in FCC docket 10-90. It said implementation of the new urban rate floor should be delayed and then phased in. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) also expressed concern (http://bit.ly/Pe6biP) about the $6.46 rate floor increase, saying standalone phone service is price-regulated in the state. ILECs that have received basic local exchange service (BLES) pricing flexibility may increase their BLES rate by no more than $1.25 during any 12-month period, leaving them short of meeting the threshold to receive full-level HCLS, said PUCO’s comments also posted in the docket Tuesday. “If the benchmark rate continues to increase at a proportionately higher level than Ohio ILEC BLES rate increases, these carriers will never reach the benchmark rate, resulting in many of Ohio’s small, rural ILECs losing an ever-increasing amount of the high-cost support upon which they heavily rely to provide quality telecommunications services."