The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) has announced the rate-of-return carriers that have elected to move their lower speed business data services (BDS) Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) transport and end user channel termination services to incentive regulation in order to help drive competition for BDS offerings. This election was permitted by the Rate-of-Return BDS Order, which adopted a path for rate-of-return carriers, receiving model-based or other forms of high-cost universal service support, to voluntarily elect to transition their lower speed BDS offerings to incentive regulation either on July 1, 2019 or July 1, 2020. The accompanying Appendix, in the Public Notice, identifies the 99 rate-of-return carriers that serve 139 study areas in 32 different states that have made this election.
