The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a Report and Order which extends the existing freeze of jurisdictional separations category relationships and cost allocation factors in Part 36 of the FCC’s rules for another three years, through June 30, 2017. Jurisdictional separations is the process by which incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) apportion regulated common costs of network facilities and services to either the intrastate or interstate jurisdiction, preventing ILECs from recovering the same costs in both jurisdictions. After considering certain legislative, technological, and rapid marketplace changes, in May 2001, the FCC placed an interim freeze, for a period of five years, on jurisdictional separations, in order to continue to work on comprehensive separations reform. The FCC then extended the freeze numerous times. The recently-adopted Report and Oder will put the freeze into its 16th year. The recent freeze extension does not address the FCC’s proposal to open a filing window for rate-of-return incumbent LECs to file waiver requests to unfreeze their jurisdictional separations category relationships, nor does it affect the FCC’s ability to address pending or future waiver petitions.
