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RLECs Oppose Possible FCC Expense Limit Retroactivity or Disruption of Settled Cost Recovery

Rural telcos objected to the possible retroactive impact of some expense limitations apparently being considered by the FCC, or any sweeping disruption of settled cost-recovery principles. "[W]hile an October 2015 Public Notice purported to 'remind' carriers that certain expense items…

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were ineligible for recovery via USF in 2015, then-existing rules that are still in effect today only prohibited recovery of some of the listed items," said an NTCA/WTA filing posted in docket 10-90 Thursday on a meeting with Wireline Bureau officials. "In fact, the rules in effect then and still today expressly permit recovery of several other expense categories listed in the Public Notice (or are ambiguous or internally inconsistent at best)." New limitations should be applied only prospectively, the groups said, noting they back "delineating explicit limitations with respect to the recoverability of specific expense categories" consistent with their prior filings and commissioner statements (see 1801310057). The groups also "objected to any far-ranging, open-ended language in either a new rule or order text that would attempt to recast, restate, or recharacterize decades of settled cost recovery standards and jurisprudence," they said. "[T]he focus should be on promoting clear accountability by providing very direct and plain indication of what expenses are not recoverable through USF and/or rates, rather than rewriting cost recovery policies more broadly in a way that could create, rather than dispel, confusion for small businesses and increase, rather than decrease, complicated compliance risks and burdens."