Monthly Carrier Remittance Worksheet Instructions

On December 30, 1998, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) (formerly known as the Alaska Public Utilities Commission or APUC) issued Order R-97-6(8) to create the Alaska Universal Service Fund (AUSF) and designating the Alaska Universal Service Administrative Company (AUSAC) to administer the collection and distribution of the monies for the Alaska Universal Service Fund (AUSF). The Alaska Universal Service Fund (AUSF) is established to promote the efficiency, availability and affordability of universal telephone service in Alaska. These instructions explain how to complete the Monthly Carrier Remittance Worksheet, which is used to calculate and provide underlying support for monthly payments by intrastate telecommunications carriers to the Alaska Universal Service Fund (AUSF). The monthly payments due are computed as a specified percentage of revenues billed to end-users.

With certain exceptions, the AUSF is to be funded by all intrastate telecommunications carriers that operate or provide telecommunications services within the State of Alaska. An intrastate telecommunications transmission is one that originates and terminates in Alaska, irrespective of actual routing.

Monthly Carrier Remittance Worksheets and remittances must be received by AUSAC on or before the 20th calendar day of each month. Payment shall be delinquent on the 21st calendar day.

Payments due shall be made by wire transfer or Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) directly to AUSAC's AUSF bank account on or before the 20th calendar day of each month. If this due date is a local bank holiday, funds shall be wire transferred or EFT on the prior workday.

If payment is not received in immediately available funds by the due date, interest at the rate of .000287 per day, calculated on the total amount due, will be charged until the date paid. In addition to interest, if payment is not received in immediately available funds within two (2) working days of the due date, a one-time liquidated damages sum equal to the greater of one percent (1%) of the total amount due or $35.00 will be charged.

If the AUSF Monthly Carrier Remittance Worksheet is not received by the due date, a one-time penalty charge of $35.00 will be charged.

In cases where technical issues with online banking prevent a carrier from making EFT payments, carriers must contact AUSAC prior to sending any non-EFT remittance payments. Exceptions or waivers may be made on a case-by-case basis.

Revisions may be used for correction of revenues previously reported. Revision period is the most recent 6 months. When filing a revision, follow these same instructions, making certain that the correct Revenue Data Month has been entered in Block C and revision is indicated in Block D. Attach a copy of the original filing for the Revenue Data Month being revised. Provide actual revised revenue amounts, not differences.

As a general rule, the AUSF surcharge is charged to a company as a percentage of end-user revenues billed for intrastate telecommunications services. Intrastate telecommunications carriers may recover the surcharge from end-users through a line item charge on their bills, identified as "Alaska Universal Service Fund Surcharge."

End-user revenues are revenues billed to end-users. An end-user is any customer of an intrastate telecommunications service who is not a telecommunications carrier, (hereinafter referred to as a "carrier") except that a carrier shall be deemed to be an "end-user" to the extent that such carrier uses a telecommunication service for administrative purposes, without making such services available to others, directly or indirectly. Telecommunications carriers offer telecommunications services for a fee directly to the public or to such classes of users as to be effectively available to the public. Telecommunications carriers subject to the AUSF surcharge are those carriers offering one or more of the following services:

• Cellular telephone and paging services
• Mobile radio services
• Operator services
• Personal communications services (PCS)
• Local exchange service
• Special access service
• WATS
• Toll-free service
• 900 service
• Message telephone service (MTS)
• Private line service
• Telex
• Telegraph
• Video services
• Satellite service
• Resale of intrastate services
• Pay phone services
• Network Access Fee
• Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

In order to ensure that the surcharge is charged equitably and fairly on end-user revenues once but not twice, when a carrier receives revenues from sale of telecommunications service to another carrier, most generally as a wholesale transaction, the selling carrier's revenues are exempt from the AUSF surcharge. In such cases the purchasing carrier is charged the AUSF surcharge when it converts the purchased service into a service sold to the public or to an end-user. However, if the carrier purchasing the service uses the service for its own administrative purposes, then that revenue is considered an end-user revenue and is treated for surcharge purposes like any other end user revenue.

In summary, a company purchasing a service for resale to an end-user will assess the AUSF assessment on revenues collected from its end-users. The wholesale company will not include service that it sells to resellers in its retail revenues. Services purchased for internal use and not resold to end-users will be considered end user revenues to the wholesale company, which should calculate and make AUSF payments on such revenues. They will not be included in the reseller's retail revenues.

There are several categories of exemptions from the AUSF surcharge. They are described below with illustrative examples. The examples are meant as illustrations and do not necessarily limit the possible exemptions.

• Wholesale transactions between carriers, including access charges, interconnection charges, and billing and collection charges are exempt from the AUSF surcharge because they are not end-user revenues. The exception is when the purchasing company uses the service for its own administrative means.
• All interstate revenues and international revenues are exempt from the AUSF surcharge by definition. If carriers are not able to directly segregate intrastate revenues from interstate and international revenues, they may use accepted, rational and systematic methods to allocate such revenues. Such allocation methods are subject to verification and audit.
• Services offered by telecommunications carriers but which are not considered telecommunications services are also exempt from the AUSF surcharge. Examples of such services are sales and rentals of telephone equipment, inside wire and maintenance services sold to customers, and yellow pages ("directory") advertising. Also exempt are other surcharges imposed by the RCA; for example the regulatory cost surcharge, E911 surcharges, and the TRS surcharge. Late payment fees are also exempted.
• Also exempted are state, local and federal taxes, federal USF payments, and support payments from the AUSF. These are not end-user revenues.
• Other exemptions include cable TV services, open video systems, cable leased access, and direct broadcast satellite services. These are exempted by the RCA's order establishing the AUSF.

Contributors to the AUSF shall maintain records and documentation to justify information reported in the Monthly Carrier Remittance Worksheet Instructions including the methodology used to determine projections, for five years and shall provide such records and documentation to the Commission or AUSAC upon request.