The Commission will use a competitive application process to determine the recipients of high-cost universal service support for offering voice and broadband service to fixed locations, and the amount of support that they may receive from Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and of the fixed Connect USVI Fund for specific geographic areas in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively, subject to applicable procedures following the selection of competitive applications.

High-cost universal service support may be made available for Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the fixed Connect USVI Fund for all areas of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively, as announced by public notice.

(a) For Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund, proposals will be accepted for each municipio in Puerto Rico.

(b) For Stage 2 of the fixed Connect USVI Fund, proposals will be accepted for one geographic area composed of St. John and St. Thomas islands together, and a second geographic area of St. Croix island.

(c) For both Funds, all locations must be served within each defined geographic area by the deployment milestone as defined in § 54.1506. The number of supported locations will be identified for each geographic area in the territories by public notice.

(a) Term of support. Support awarded through Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and of the fixed Connect USVI Fund shall be provided for ten years.

(b) Phase-down of legacy support. Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and of the fixed Connect USVI Fund shall replace the legacy frozen high-cost support for the Territories. Beginning on a date determined by the Wireline Competition Bureau and announced by public notice following authorization of a winning application, frozen support recipient carriers will receive 2/3 frozen fixed support amortized for the first 12 months following the date announced by public notice; and 1/3 frozen fixed support amortized over the second 12-month period. Beginning June 1, 2023, legacy frozen support recipient carriers that continue receiving phase-down legacy support for use in accordance with applicable rules shall be authorized to continue to receive 1/3 frozen fixed support for the geographic areas in which it was not selected as the winning applicant of the Stage 2 competitive process. The frozen support recipient carriers shall receive a monthly support amount equal to the amortized monthly 1/3 frozen fixed support amount until December 31, 2025, and zero frozen support thereafter.

(a) Provider eligibility. A provider shall be eligible to submit an application for support from Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or of the fixed Connect USVI Fund if it had its own fixed network and provided broadband service in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively, according to its June 2018 FCC Form 477 data. A provider must obtain eligible telecommunications carrier designation no later than sixty (60) days after public notice of selection to receive fixed support. Any entity that is awarded support but fails to obtain ETC designation within sixty (60) days shall be considered in default and will not be eligible to receive high-cost funding.

(b) Application processing. No application will be considered unless it has been submitted in an acceptable form during the period specified by public notice. No applications submitted or demonstrations made at any other time shall be accepted or considered.

(c) Application format. All applications must be substantially in the format as specified and announced by the Wireline Competition Bureau.

(1) Any application that, as of the submission deadline, either does not identify the applicant seeking support as specified in the public notice announcing application procedures or does not include required certifications shall be denied.

(2) An applicant may be afforded an opportunity to make minor modifications to amend its application or correct defects noted by the applicant, the Commission, the Administrator, or other parties. Minor modifications include correcting typographical errors in the application and supplying non-material information that was inadvertently omitted or was not available at the time the application was submitted.

(3) Applications to which major modifications are made after the deadline for submitting proposals shall be denied. Major modifications may include, but are not limited to, any changes in the ownership of the applicant that constitute an assignment or change of control, or the identity of the applicant, or the certifications required in the application.

(d) Application contents. In addition to providing information required by the Wireline Competition Bureau, any applicant for support from Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or of the fixed Connect USVI Fund shall:

(1) Include ownership information as set forth in § 1.2112(a) of this chapter;

(2) Submit a detailed network plan and documents evidencing adequate financing for the project;

(3) Disclose its status as an eligible telecommunications carrier to the extent applicable and certify that it acknowledges that it must be designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier for the area in which it will receive support prior to being authorized to receive support;

(4) Describe the technology or technologies that will be used to provide service for each application; and

(5) To the extent that an applicant plans to use spectrum to offer its voice and broadband services, demonstrate it has the proper authorizations, if applicable, and access to operate on the spectrum it intends to use, and that the spectrum resources will be sufficient to cover peak network usage and deliver the minimum performance requirements to serve all of the fixed locations in eligible areas, and certify that it will retain its access to the spectrum for the term of support; and

(6) Provide a letter from a bank meeting the eligibility requirements outlined in § 54.1508 committing to issue an irrevocable stand-by letter of credit, in the required form, to the winning applicant. The letter shall at a minimum provide the dollar amount of the letter of credit and the issuing bank's agreement to follow the terms and conditions of the Commission's model letter of credit.

(e) Identification of winning applicant. After receipt and review of the proposals, a public notice shall identify each winning applicant that may be authorized to receive support from Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the fixed Connect USVI Fund support after the winning applicant submits a letter of credit and an accompanying opinion letter, as described in this section, in a form acceptable to the Commission. Each such winning applicant shall submit a letter of credit and accompanying opinion letter in a form acceptable to the Commission no later than the number of days provided by public notice.

(f) Authorization to receive support. After receipt of all necessary information, a public notice will identify each winning applicant that is authorized to receive Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed support.

Recipients of support from Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the fixed Connect USVI Fund must complete deployment to at least 40 percent of supported locations at the end of the third year of support, at least 60 percent at the end of the fourth year, at least 80 percent at the end of the fifth year, and 100 percent by the end of the sixth year. Compliance with the percentage of completion shall be determined based on the total number of supported locations in each geographic area. Recipients will be subject to the notification and default rules in § 54.320(d).

(a) Recipients of Stage 2 Uniendo a Puerto Rico and the Connect USVI Fund fixed support are required to offer broadband service with latency suitable for real-time applications, including Voice over internet Protocol, and usage capacity that is reasonably comparable to comparable offerings in urban areas, at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates for comparable offerings in urban areas.

(1) For purposes of determining reasonable comparable usage capacity, recipients are presumed to meet this requirement if they meet or exceed the usage level announced by public notice issued by the Wireline Competition Bureau.

(2) For purposes of determining reasonable comparability of rates, recipients are presumed to meet this requirement if they offer rates at or below the applicable benchmark to be announced annually by public notice issued by the Wireline Competition Bureau, or at or below the non-promotional prices charged for a comparable fixed wireline service in urban areas in the state or U.S. Territory where the eligible telecommunications carrier receives support.

(b) Support recipients are required to offer broadband service meeting the performance standards as proposed in their selected applications, as follows:

(1) Actual speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, and a minimum usage allowance of 200 GB per month or an amount that reflects the average usage of a majority of fixed broadband customers, using Measuring Broadband America data or a similar data source, whichever is higher, and announced annually by public notice issued by the Wireline Competition Bureau over the 10-year term.

(2) Actual speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream and at least 2 terabytes of monthly usage.

(3) Actual speeds of at least 1 Gigabit per second downstream and 500 Mbps upstream and at least 2 terabytes of monthly usage.

(c) For each of the tiers in paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this section, support recipients are required to meet one of two latency performance levels:

(1) Low latency recipients will be required to meet 95 percent or more of all peak period measurements of network round trip latency at or below 100 milliseconds; and

(2) High latency recipients will be required to meet 95 percent or more of all peak period measurements of network round trip latency at or below 750 ms and, with respect to voice performance, and to demonstrate a score of four or higher using the Mean Opinion Score (MOS).

(a) Letter of credit. Before being authorized to receive support from Stage 2 of the fixed Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or the fixed Connect USVI Fund, a winning applicant shall obtain an irrevocable standby letter of credit which shall be acceptable in all respects to the Commission. No later than the number of days provided by public notice, the applicant shall submit a letter from a bank meeting the eligibility requirements outlined in this section committing to issue an irrevocable stand-by letter of credit, in the required form, to the winning applicant. The letter shall at a minimum provide the dollar amount of the letter of credit and the issuing bank's agreement to follow the terms and conditions of the Commission's model letter of credit. The letter of credit must remain open until the recipient has certified it has deployed broadband and voice service meeting the requirements in this subpart to 100% of the required number of locations, and Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has verified that the entity has fully deployed.

(b) Value. Each recipient authorized to receive the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed support shall maintain the standby letter of credit or multiple standby letters of credit in an amount equal to at a minimum the amount of fixed support that has been disbursed and that will be disbursed in the coming year, until the USAC has verified that the recipient met the final service milestone.

(1) Once the recipient has met its 60 percent service milestone, it may obtain a new letter of credit or renew its existing letter of credit so that it is valued at a minimum at 90 percent of the total support amount already disbursed plus the amount that will be disbursed in the coming year.

(2) Once the recipient has met its 80 percent service milestone, it may obtain a new letter of credit or renew its existing letter of credit so that it is valued at a minimum at 80 percent of the total support that has been disbursed plus the amount that will be disbursed in the coming year.

(c) Acceptable bank issuing letter of credit. The bank issuing the letter of credit shall be acceptable to the Commission. A bank that is acceptable to the Commission is:

(1) Any United States bank:

(i) That is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and

(ii) That has a bank safety rating issued by Weiss of B- or better; or

(2) CoBank, so long as it maintains assets that place it among the 100 largest United States Banks, determined on basis of total assets as of the calendar year immediately preceding the issuance of the letter of credit and it has a long-term unsecured credit rating issued by Standard & Poor's of BBB- or better (or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized credit rating agency); or

(3) The National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, so long as it maintains assets that place it among the 100 largest United States Banks, determined on basis of total assets as of the calendar year immediately preceding the issuance of the letter of credit and it has a long-term unsecured credit rating issued by Standard & Poor's of BBB- or better (or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized credit rating agency); or

(4) Any non-United States bank:

(i) That is among the 100 largest non-U.S. banks in the world, determined on the basis of total assets as of the end of the calendar year immediately preceding the issuance of the letter of credit (determined on a U.S. dollar equivalent basis as of such date);

(ii) Has a branch office:

(A) Located in the District of Columbia, or

(B) Located in New York City, New York, or such other branch office agreed to by the Commission, that will accept a letter of credit presentation from the Administrator via overnight courier, in addition to in-person presentations;

(iii) Has a long-term unsecured credit rating issued by a widely-recognized credit rating agency that is equivalent to a BBB- or better rating by Standard & Poor's; and

(iv) Issues the letter of credit payable in United States dollars

(d) Bankruptcy opinion letter. A winning applicant of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed support shall provide with its letter of credit an opinion letter from its legal counsel clearly stating, subject only to customary assumptions, limitations, and qualifications, that in a proceeding under Title 11 of the United States Code, 11 U.S.C. 101 et seq. (the “Bankruptcy Code”), the bankruptcy court would not treat the letter of credit or proceeds of the letter of credit as property of the winning bidder's bankruptcy estate under section 541 of the Bankruptcy Code.

(e) Authorization for Stage 2 support. Authorization to receive the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed support is conditioned upon full and timely performance of all of the requirements set forth in this section, and any additional terms and conditions upon which the support was granted.

(1) Failure by a Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed support recipient to meet its service milestones as required by § 54.1506 will trigger reporting obligations and the withholding of support as described in § 54.320(d). Failure to come into full compliance within 12 months will trigger a recovery action by the USAC. If the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed support recipient does not repay the requisite amount of support within six months, the USAC will be entitled to draw the entire amount of the letter of credit and may disqualify the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed support recipient from the receipt of any or all universal service support.

(2) A default will be evidenced by a letter issued by the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, or the Chief's designee, which letter, attached to a standby letter of credit draw certificate, shall be sufficient for a draw on the standby letter of credit for the entire amount of the standby letter of credit.

(a) Term of support. Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or the Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 mobile support shall be provided to eligible mobile carriers that elect to make a commitment to its eligible service area for a three-year term to begin on a date determined by the Wireline Competition Bureau.

(b) Election of support. Eligible mobile carriers as provided in § 54.1510 shall have a one-time option to elect to participate in Stage 2 of the mobile Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the mobile Connect USVI Fund for the eligible service area. An eligible mobile carrier may elect to receive all or a subset of the Stage 2 support for which it is eligible. FCC will publish the order adopting Stage 2 of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund in the Federal Register. To participate, an eligible provider must submit an election to participate within 30 days following that publication. Each provider must provide to the Commission through the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System as well as by emailing a copy to [email protected] either a renewal of its Stage 1 certification specifying the number of subscribers (voice or broadband internet access service) it served in the territory as of June 30, 2017; or a new certification specifying the number of subscribers (voice or broadband internet access service) it served in the territory as of June 30, 2017, along with accompanying evidence. Each provider will make two simultaneous elections. First, each provider may elect to receive Stage 2 support for which it is eligible to restore, harden, and expand networks capable of providing 4G LTE or better services. Second, each provider may elect to receive Stage 2 support for which it is eligible to deploy networks capable of providing 5G service.

(c) Support amounts. A carrier exercising the election of support specified in paragraph (b) of this section shall receive a pro rata share of the available mobile support based on the number of subscribers reported in its June 2017 FCC Form 477. Each carrier may receive up to 75% of its eligible pro rata support amount to restore, harden, and expand networks capable of provider 4G LTE or better services meeting the minimum service requirements provided in § 54.1514(b). Each carrier may also elect to receive up to 25% of its eligible pro rata support amount to deploy networks capable of providing 5G service.

(d) Support payments. Each eligible mobile provider that elects to participate in Stage 2 of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or the USVI Connect Fund will receive monthly installments of its pro rata share of mobile support amortized over the three-year support period provided in paragraph (a) of this section. Each recipient's pro rata share will be adjusted according to its election to receive or decline support for 4G LTE or 5G deployment. A mobile provider that fails to meet its commitment to use its eligible support for 4G LTE or 5G deployment shall return an amount equal the unused amount of Stage 2 support to the Administrator within 30 days following the end of the three-year support period.

(e) Phase-down of legacy support. An eligible mobile carrier may elect or decline to participate in Stage 2 of the mobile Uniendo a Puerto Rico and/or the mobile Connect USVI Fund. Beginning on a date to be determined by the Bureau and announced by public notice, an eligible mobile carrier that declines to participate in Stage 2 will receive one-half of its prior frozen fixed support amortized for a 12-month period and zero fixed support thereafter.

Facilities-based mobile carriers that provided mobile wireless services to consumers in the Territories as reported by their June 2017 FCC Form 477 shall be eligible to participate in Stage 2 of the mobile Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the mobile Connect USVI Fund, respectively.

Recipients of Uniendo a Puerto Rico and Connect USVI Stage 2 mobile support shall use the support solely for:

(a) Deployment, replacement, and upgrade at 4G LTE or better technological network level, as specified in this part; and

(b) Hardening of 4G LTE or better network facilities to help prevent future damage from natural disasters.

Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 mobile support may be used for all geographic areas of Puerto Rico or of the U.S. Virgin Islands within a recipient's designated eligible telecommunications carrier service area consistent with the parameters of Stage 2 of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund.

(a) A recipient of Stage 2 mobile support shall commit to, at a minimum, the full restoration of its pre-hurricane network coverage area, as determined by FCC Form 477 reporting standards, at a level of service that meets or exceeds pre-hurricane network levels and at reasonably comparable levels to those services and rates available in urban areas.

(b) Each recipient of Stage 2 mobile support shall demonstrate mobile network coverage that is equal to or greater than 66 percent of its pre-hurricane coverage by the end of year two of the Stage 2 term of support, and that is equal to or greater than 100 percent of its pre-hurricane coverage by the end of year three of the Stage 2 term of support.

(a) Each recipient of Stage 2 mobile support shall submit no later than 30 days following the end of the calendar year reports demonstrating and certifying to the fact that its mobile network coverage is equal to or greater than 66 percent of its pre-hurricane coverage by the end of year two of the Stage 2 term of support and 100 percent of its pre-hurricane coverage by the end of year three of the Stage 2 term of support.

(1) A recipient of Stage 2 mobile support shall submit with the report required by this section the documentation in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section in support of its milestone obligations:

(i) Electronic shapefiles site coverage plots illustrating the area reached by mobile services;

(ii) A list of all census blocks in the Territories reached by mobile services; and

(iii) Data received or used from drive, drone, and/or scattered site tests, analyzing network coverage for mobile services.

(2) [Reserved]

(b) Each recipient of Stage 2 mobile support shall report and certify, no later than thirty (30) days following the end of the third year of the Stage 2 term of support for all eligible areas where a provider used Stage 2 support, mobile transmissions supporting voice and data to and from the network meeting or exceeding the following:

(1) For 4G LTE service, outdoor data transmission rates of at least 10 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload, at least one service plan that includes a data allowance of at least 5 GB that is offered to consumers at a rate that is reasonable comparable to similar service plans offered by mobile wireless providers in urban areas, and latency of 100 milliseconds or less round trip; and

(2) For 5G service, outdoor data transmission rates of at least 35 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload and a plan offered to consumers at a rate that is reasonably comparable to similar service plans offered by mobile wireless providers in urban areas.

(c) Each recipient of Stage 2 mobile support shall submit no later than thirty (30) days after the end of the third year of the Stage 2 term of support a certification that it has met the requisite public interest obligations in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(d) Each recipient of Stage 2 mobile support shall submit no later than thirty (30) days following the end of the calendar year an annual map reporting the network hardening activities undertaken during the prior calendar year. The recipient must submit, along with the map, a detailed narrative description of the network hardening activities identified and of how it made use of the support to facilitate those network hardening activities.

(e) Each recipient that elects to receive Stage 2 mobile support for the deployment of 5G technological networks shall submit an annual certification no later than thirty (30) days after the end of each 12-month period the use of Stage 2 support for the deployment of 5G technology to ensure compliance with its commitment. Each recipient must report the total cost incurred and total amount of Stage 2 support spent related to the deployment of 5G technology during the preceding 12-month period. Each recipient must describe in detail how it used the support for deployment of 5G technology.

(f) Each report shall be submitted to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, clearly referencing the appropriate docket for the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund; the Administrator; and the authority in the U.S. Territory, or Tribal governments, as appropriate.

(g) Recipients of Stage 2 mobile support have a continuing obligation to maintain the accuracy and completeness of the information provided in their milestone reports. All recipients of Stage 2 mobile support shall provide information about any substantial change that may be of decisional significance regarding their eligibility for Stage 2 support and compliance with Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund requirements in this section as an update to their milestone report submitted to the entities listed in paragraph (f) of this section. Such notification of a substantial change, including any reduction in the network coverage area being served or any failure to comply with any of the Stage 2 requirements in this part, shall be submitted within ten (10) business days after the reportable event occurs.

(h) In order for a recipient of Stage 2 mobile support to continue to receive mobile support for the following calendar year, it must submit the milestone reports required by this section by the deadlines set forth in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this section.

(a) Each recipient of fixed and mobile support from Stage 2 of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund shall create, maintain, and submit to the Wireline Competition Bureau for its review and approval a detailed Disaster Preparation and Response Plan document that describes and commits to the methods and procedures that it will use, during the period in which it receives Stage 2 support, to prepare for and respond to disasters in the Territories, including detailed descriptions of methods and processes to strengthen infrastructure; to ensure network diversity; to ensure backup power; to monitor its network; and to prepare for emergencies.

(b) Each Stage 2 support recipient shall submit the Disaster Preparation and Response Plan to the Bureau for its review and approval prior to receiving Stage 2 support. The Bureau shall approve submitted Disaster Preparation and Response Plans that are complete and thoroughly address the criteria enumerated in paragraph (a) of this section. The Bureau shall notify the support recipient of deficiencies identified in the Disaster Preparation and Response Plan and withhold authorization to receive funding until the support recipient has cured the deficiencies. Recipients shall materially comply with the representations in the document, once approved.

(c) Recipients shall amend their Disaster Preparation and Response Plan following any material change(s) to internal processes and responsibilities and provide the updated Disaster Preparation and Response Plan to the Bureau within 10 business days following the material change(s).

(d) Stage 2 support recipients shall use the Disaster Information Reporting System for mandatory reporting. (See www.fcc.gov/general/disaster-information-reporting-system-dirs-0 for more information.)

(a) Term of support. Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or the Connect USVI Fund transitional mobile support shall be made available to eligible mobile carriers that elect to make a commitment to their eligible service areas for a term of up to 24 months to begin in the month immediately following the end of the carrier's Stage 2 mobile support. The term of support shall end the earlier of either 24 months following a carrier's authorization to begin receiving transitional support or the authorization of support under a long-term funding mechanism subsequently adopted by the Commission providing mobile wireless support in the carrier's respective territory.

(b) Election of support. Eligible mobile carriers as provided in § 54.1517 shall have a one-time option to elect to receive transitional mobile support from the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund for the eligible service area. To participate, an eligible carrier must submit an election to participate within 15 days following publication in the Federal Register of the order adopting transitional mobile support of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund. Each carrier must submit its election to receive transitional support to the Commission through the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System as well as by emailing a copy of its election to [email protected].

(c) Support amounts. An eligible carrier that elects to receive transitional support shall receive a pro rata share of its monthly Stage 2 mobile support as of May 1, 2023. Each eligible carrier may receive 50% of its Stage 2 monthly mobile support amount as of May 1, 2023 in the first 12-month period (months 1-12) of transitional support, and 25% of its current monthly mobile Stage 2 support as if May 1, 2023 in the second 12-month period (months 13-24) of transitional support. However, the provision of monthly transitional support may end prior to the completion of the 24-month term as provided in subsection (a).

(d) Return of unused support. Each eligible mobile carrier that elects to receive transitional support from the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or the USVI Connect Fund will receive monthly installments of its pro rata share of mobile support over the support period provided in subsections (a) and (c). A mobile carrier that fails to use all its eligible transitional mobile support pursuant to section 54.1517 within one year of the end of the support term shall return an amount equal to the unused amount of transitional support to the Administrator within 30 days following the end of the term of support under paragraph (a).

Facilities-based mobile carriers that are recipients of mobile support from Stage 2 as of May 1, 2023 of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or the Connect USVI Fund shall be eligible to elect and receive transitional mobile support in the areas where they receive Stage 2 support.

Recipients of Uniendo a Puerto Rico and Connect USVI transitional mobile support shall use the support to improve the redundancy and resiliency of facilities for 4G LTE or better technologies to help ensure continuity of service by preventing or withstanding damage from disasters, including the maintenance of backup power systems for such networks.

Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund transitional mobile support may be used for all geographic areas of Puerto Rico or of the U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively, within a recipient's designated eligible telecommunications carrier service area.

A recipient of transitional mobile support shall commit to, at a minimum, maintaining its network coverage area as of June 30, 2023, or 100 percent of its network coverage area prior to Hurricanes Maria and Irma as specified by § 54.1514(a), whichever is greater. The recipient shall also commit to provide a minimum level of service that meets or exceeds network levels and at reasonably comparable levels to those services and rates available in urban areas as required by § 54.1521(a).

(a) Each recipient of transitional mobile support shall report and certify, no later than thirty (30) days following the end of the calendar year in which it receives such transitional support, that it has met the requisite mobile transmissions supporting voice and data to and from the network meeting or exceeding the following:

(1) For 4G LTE service, outdoor data transmission rates of at least 10 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload, at least one service plan that includes a data allowance of at least 5 GB that is offered to consumers at a rate that is reasonably comparable to similar service plans offered by mobile wireless providers in urban areas, and latency of 100 milliseconds or less round trip; and

(2) For 5G-NR service, outdoor data transmission rates of at least 35 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload and a plan offered to consumers at a rate that is reasonably comparable to similar service plans offered by mobile wireless providers in urban areas.

(b) Each recipient of transitional mobile support shall submit no later than thirty (30) days following the end of the calendar year an annual map reporting the network hardening activities undertaken during the prior calendar year. The recipient must submit, along with the map, a detailed narrative description of the network hardening activities identified and of how it made use of the support to facilitate those network hardening activities.

(c) Each report shall be submitted to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission through the Electronic Comment Filing System clearly referencing the appropriate docket for the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund; the Administrator; and the authority in the U.S. Territory, or Tribal governments, as appropriate. All filings and certifications shall also be submitted to the Bureau at [email protected].

(d) Recipients of transitional mobile support have a continuing obligation to maintain the accuracy and completeness of the information provided in their reports. All recipients of transitional mobile support shall provide information about any substantial change that may be of decisional significance regarding their eligibility for transitional support and compliance with Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund requirements as an update to their report submitted to the entities listed in paragraph (c) of this section. Such notification of a substantial change, including any reduction in the network coverage area being served or any failure to comply with any of the transitional support requirements, shall be submitted within ten (10) business days after the reportable event occurs.

(e) In order for a recipient of transitional mobile support to continue to receive transitional mobile support for the second 12-month period, it must submit the reports and certification required by this section by the deadlines set forth above.

By August 31, 2023, support recipients under § 54.1516 shall file their first network security report that identifies and explains the network security controls implemented, their effectiveness in fending off cybersecurity attacks, and how those controls are commensurate with established network security best practices and standards or an established risk management framework. By March 31, 2025, support recipients under § 54.1516 shall file their second network security report, covering the time period between August 31, 2023, and March 1, 2025, that identifies and explains the network security controls implemented, their effectiveness in fending off cybersecurity attacks and how those controls are commensurate with established network security best practices and standards or an established risk management framework.

(a) Spending plan submissions for phase-down support recipients. By July 1, 2023, recipients of support under § 54.1504(b) shall submit a spending plan for its use of that support for redundancy, resiliency, and maintenance measures to the Bureau for approval. Phase-down support shall be suspended if a recipient fails to submit a spending plan by the requisite deadline or fails to receive approval from the Bureau. Recipients of support must submit an updated spending plan if the details in their spending plan change.

(b) Annual reporting requirements for phase-down support recipients. By January 31, 2024, 2025, and 2026, recipients of support under § 54.1504(b) shall file with the Commission a report of how they spent phase-down support on resiliency and redundancy measures consistent with the approved spending plan approved under paragraph (a).

(c) Recipients of support under § 54.1504(b) that fail to use all such support consistent with the approved spending plan approved under paragraph (a) by December 31, 2026 shall return an amount equal to the unused amount of support to the Administrator within 30 days of December 31, 2026.

(d) By January 31, 2027 recipients of support under § 54.1504(b) shall file with the Commission a final report of how they spent phase-down support on resiliency and redundancy measures consistent with the approved spending plan approved under paragraph (a).

(a) Each recipient of support under § 54.1504(b) or § 54.1516 shall maintain a Disaster Preparation and Response Plan document approved by the Bureau for Stage 2 of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund or Connect USVI Fund, as applicable, that describes and commits to the methods and procedures that it will use, during the period in which it receives support under § 54.1516 or § 54.1504(b), to prepare for and respond to disasters in the Territories, including detailed descriptions of methods and processes to strengthen infrastructure; to ensure network diversity; to ensure backup power; to monitor its network; and to prepare for emergencies. If an eligible recipient has not previously submitted a Disaster Preparation and Response Plan that was approved by the Bureau prior to the authorization to receive fixed or mobile support, as applicable, the eligible recipient must submit a Disaster Preparation and Response Plan for Bureau approval by July 1, 2023. Phase-down support shall be suspended if a recipient fails to submit a Disaster Preparation and Response Plan by the requisite deadline or fails to receive approval from the Bureau.

(b) Each recipient of support under § 54.1504(b) or § 54.1516 shall maintain the Disaster Preparation and Response Plan approved by the Bureau for Stage 2 of each funding mechanism that completely and thoroughly address the criteria enumerated in paragraph (a) of this section. Recipients shall materially comply with the representations in the document and shall amend their Disaster Preparation and Response Plan following any material change(s) to internal processes and responsibilities and provide the updated Disaster Preparation and Response Plan to the Bureau within 10 business days following the material change(s).

(c) Each recipient of support under § 54.1504(b) or § 54.1516 shall perform mandatory Disaster Information Reporting System reporting.

(d) A recipient's failure to comply with the requirements of this section may result in the withholding of transitional or phase-down support until the support recipient has cured deficiencies identified by the Bureau.