NAC704.68043. Purpose of fund.

The fund to maintain the availability of telephone service is established to:

     1. Ensure that the rates charged by a provider of basic service do not adversely affect universal service within all or a portion of the area served by that provider;

     2. Provide money to facilitate the extension of basic service to customers not currently offered telephone service, and to improve basic service to the extent other viable options are not available to provide or improve basic service;

     3. Provide money to ensure that persons with low income and persons in rural, insular and high-cost areas have access to available intrastate telecommunication services that are reasonably comparable to those services available in urban areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those charged in the urban areas, subject to any limitation imposed by the Commission on the size of the fund to maintain the availability of telephone service;

     4. Provide money to ensure that public or private nonprofit providers of health care which serve persons in rural areas have access to available intrastate telecommunication services that are reasonably comparable to those services available in urban areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those charged in the urban areas, to the extent that federal universal service support is not available pursuant to 47 C.F.R. §§ 54.601 to 54.623, inclusive, to support fully that objective, and subject to any limitation imposed by the Commission on the size of the fund to maintain the availability of telephone service; and

     5. Provide money to support discounts of rates for intrastate telecommunication services provided to eligible schools and libraries, to the extent that federal universal service support is not available pursuant to 47 C.F.R. §§ 54.500 to 54.517, inclusive, to reimburse fully those discounts, and subject to any limitations imposed by the Commission on the size of the fund to maintain the availability of telephone service.

     (Added to NAC by Pub. Service Comm’n, eff. 10-25-95; A by Pub. Utilities Comm’n by R150-97, 12-11-97; R136-07, 1-30-2008; R006-09, 10-27-2009)