The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has released the 2014 high-cost loop support (HCLS) benchmarks for capital expenditures and operating expenses caps. The Bureau indicates that these new benchmarks are consistent with the FCC’s July 2013 order that froze the quantile-based regression analysis caps at their then-current state “to provide greater clarity regarding support amounts that rate-of-return carriers will receive in 2014.” The new benchmarks are available as an Excel spreadsheet on the FCC’s website and include inputs and coefficients. The Bureau also indicates that the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) should use these new caps for HCLS calculations for the period beginning on January 1, 2014.
