(a) Business data services. The dedicated point-to-point transmission of data at certain guaranteed speeds and service levels using high-capacity connections.

(b) Competitive market test. The competitive market test is defined in § 69.803.

(c) County. A county or county equivalent as defined in § 10.10 of this chapter. County-equivalents include parishes, boroughs, independent cities, census areas, the District of Columbia, and various entities in the territories.

(d) End user channel termination. A dedicated channel connecting a local exchange carrier end office and a customer premises, offered for purposes of carrying special access traffic.

(e) Grandfathered market. A county that does not satisfy the competitive market test set forth in § 69.803 for which a price cap local exchange carrier obtained Phase II relief pursuant to § 69.711(c).

(f) Market deemed competitive. A county that satisfies the competitive market test set forth in § 69.803.

(g) Market deemed non-competitive. A county that does not satisfy the competitive market test set forth in § 69.803.

(h) Non-disclosure agreement. A non-disclosure agreement is a contract, contractual provision, or tariff provision wherein a party agrees not to disclose certain information shared by the other party.

(i) Special access data collection. The special access data collection refers to the data and other information the Commission collected from business data services providers and purchasers pursuant to its December 18, 2012 Report and Order in WC Docket 05-25.

(j) Transport includes interoffice facilities, channel terminations between the serving wire center and point of presence, and all special access services that are described in § 69.114 other than end user channel terminations.

(a) The competitive market test is used to determine which counties served by a price cap local exchange carrier, as defined in § 61.3(bb) of this chapter, are deemed competitive and therefore warrant relief from price cap regulation and detariffing of DS1 and DS3 end user channel terminations, and certain other business data services, sold by such carriers.

(b) Initial test. A county is deemed competitive in the initial competitive market test if:

(1) Either 50 percent of the locations with business data services demand within the county are within one half mile of a location served by a competitive provider based on data from the special access data collection, or 75 percent of the census blocks within the county are reported to have broadband connection availability by a cable operator based on Form 477 data as of December 2016. Lists of counties deemed competitive, non-competitive or grandfathered by the initial competitive market test are published on the Commission's Web site.

(2) The DS1 and DS3 end user channel terminations sold by price cap local exchange carriers in counties deemed competitive are no longer subject to price cap regulation and are detariffed according to § 61.201.

(c) Subsequent tests. The results of the initial competitive market test will be updated every three years following the effective date of the initial test.

(1) A county will be deemed competitive in a subsequent competitive market test if 75 percent of the census blocks within the county are reported to have broadband connection availability by a cable operator based on Form 477 data as of the date of the most recent collection.

(2) No later than three years following the effective date of the previous test, the Wireline Competition Bureau will conclude a subsequent test and will publish a revised list of counties deemed competitive at the conclusion of the test.

(3) A county deemed competitive in the competitive market test will retain its status in subsequent tests.

(a) In markets deemed non-competitive, buyers and sellers of business data services shall not enter into a tariff, contract-based tariff, or commercial agreement, including but not limited to master service agreement, that contains a non-disclosure agreement as defined in § 69.801(g), that restricts or prohibits disclosure of information to the Commission, or requires a prior request or legal compulsion by the Commission to effect such disclosure.

(b) Confidential information subject to a protective order as defined in § 0.461 of this chapter in effect as of the effective date of a tariff, contract-based tariff, or commercial agreement must be submitted pursuant to the terms of that protective order or otherwise pursuant to the Commission's rules regarding submission of confidential data in §§ 0.457(d) and 0.459.

(a) Price cap local exchange carrier TDM transport, end user channel terminations in markets deemed competitive, and end user channel terminations in grandfathered markets for a price cap local exchange carrier that was granted Phase II pricing flexibility prior to June 2017, are granted the following regulatory relief:

(1) Elimination of the rate structure requirements contained in subpart B of this part;

(2) Elimination of price cap regulation; and

(3) Elimination of tariffing requirements as specified in § 61.201 of this chapter.

(b) Price cap local exchange carrier end user channel terminations in markets deemed non-competitive are granted the following regulatory relief:

(1) Ability to offer volume and term discounts;

(2) Ability to enter into contract-based tariffs, provided that:

(i) Contract-based tariff services are made generally available to all similarly situated customers;

(ii) The price cap local exchange carrier excludes all contract-based tariff offerings from price cap regulation pursuant to § 61.42(f) of this chapter;

(3) Ability to file tariff revisions on at least one day's notice, notwithstanding the notice requirements for tariff filings specified in § 61.58 of this chapter.

(c) A price cap local exchange carrier that was granted Phase II pricing flexibility prior to June 2017 in a grandfathered market must retain its business data services rates at levels no higher than those in effect as of April 20, 2017, pending the detariffing of those services pursuant to § 61.201 of this chapter.

[82 FR 25711, June 2, 2017, as amended at 84 FR 38579, Aug. 7, 2019]

(a) Any price cap local exchange carrier or any affiliate of any price cap local exchange carrier that had obtained Phase II pricing flexibility under § 69.709 or § 69.711 for any service in any MSA in its service region, or for the non-MSA portion of any study area in its service region, shall be prohibited from making any low-end adjustment pursuant to § 61.45(d)(1)(vii) of this chapter in all or part of its service region.

(b) Any price cap local exchange carrier or any affiliate of any price cap local exchange carrier that exercises the regulatory relief pursuant to § 69.807 in any part of its service region shall be prohibited from making any low-end adjustment pursuant to § 61.45(d)(1)(vii) of this chapter in all or part of its service region.

(c) Any price cap local exchange carrier or any affiliate of any price cap local exchange carrier that exercises the option to use generally accepted accounting principles rather than the uniform system of accounts pursuant to § 32.11(g) of this chapter shall be prohibited from making any low-end adjustment pursuant to § 61.45(d)(1)(vii) of this chapter in all or part of its service region.