Form 477: Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Report

 
The Local Competition and Broadband Report, containing data as of June 30, 2020, must be filed with the FCC by Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

Filers, in the following categories, must submit information regarding broadband connections in individual states:
 
Who Must File:

1. Entities that are facilities-based providers of broadband (i.e., faster than 200 kbps, in at least one direction) connections (including both wired lines and wireless channels) to one or more end user locations in a state;

2. ILECs or CLECs that provide wired or fixed wireless local exchange telephone service to one or more end user customers;

3. Providers of interconnected VoIP services that provide interconnected VoIP service to one or more revenue-generating end-user customers in a state; and

4. Facilities-based providers of mobile telephony services that serve one or more mobile telephony subscribers (subscriber may be a customer of the facilities-based provider or a customer of a mobile voice service reseller).

The Form 477 must be submitted online via the FCC’s Form 477 filing system. 

REVISIONS to Form 499-Q Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet

Carriers required to contribute to universal service support mechanisms must report their actual and projected end user and wholesale revenues for each calendar quarter by filing FCC Form 499Q on a quarterly basis. Filers making revisions to the August 1, 2020 Form 499-Q filing must submit the revisions to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) no later than September 17, 2020.

Annual FCC Regulatory Fees

Most federal licensees and other regulated entities must pay regulatory fees to offset costs associated with the FCC’s enforcement, public service, international, policy, and rulemaking activities. Fees vary by type of activity.

The FCC recently released a Public Notice announcing that FY 2020 data, on which regulatory fees will be based, is available for Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers (ITSPs) and Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) providers through the FCC’s Fee Filer system (www.fcc.gov/feefiler/). ITSPs that disagree with the revenue amount identified in the Fee Filer system should file a revised FCC Form 499-A with USAC. CMRS providers that wish to revise their subscriber count must do so directly in the Fee Filer system no later than August 28, 2020 (after that date, requests for revisions will be handled on a case-by-case basis). 

The FCC has not yet established the payment deadline for this year’s regulatory fees, but typically releases a public notice in late August advising licensees and regulated entities of the regulatory fee payment due date.  Regulatory fees are usually due by mid-September. The FCC will not issue bills for the regulatory fees and it is the licensee’s responsibility to pay the fees owed (regardless of the amount posted on the Fee Filer system). All licensees and regulatees must utilize the FCC’s Fee Filer system to coordinate paying any fees.

Failure to meet the payment deadline (once established) will result in late payment penalties of 25% being applied. The FCC does not waive late payment penalties.