1. (a)

   1. (1) Grants are available to an ETC for the extension of facilities to persons unserved by its wireline services.
   2. (2) ETCs shall make a request on behalf of their applicants for fund allocation when required by 23 CAR § 466-902(a)(2)(B)(vii) or 23 CAR § 466-902(b)(2)(F).
   3. (3) The fund trustee will determine the allocation of available funds to the requests received from ETCs.

2. (b) ETC’s initial request for grant program funds.

   1. (1) Each ETC’s fund request shall be on a form the trustee prescribes.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) Each ETC shall request funds from the trustee within thirty (30) business days of an application for service at a location within its service territory.
      2. (B) Exception. When an engineering study is required, the ETC shall request funds from the trustee within sixty (60) business days of an application for service at a location within its service territory.

   3. (3)

      1. (A) Each ETC shall request funds from the trustee within sixty (60) business days of an application for service at a location within adjacent unallocated territory.
      2. (B) The request shall include a copy of the letters from other ETCs indicating their interest in serving the territory as required by subsection (g) of this section.
   4. (4) The initial request may be based on the ETC’s estimated cost less two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per applicant.
   5. (5) Each initial request shall contain the name and address of all members of the General Assembly who have constituents who would benefit from the requested grant.
   6. (6) Requests the trustee denies for lack of funds may be renewed by the ETC in the following calendar year.

3. (c) ETC’s true-up request for grant program funds.

   1. (1) If the ETC’s actual costs are greater than the amount of the grant, the ETC may request a true-up within sixty (60) days of the applicant’s service date.

   2. (2) If the ETC’s actual costs are less than the amount of the grant, the ETC shall request a true-up within sixty (60) days of the applicant’s:

      1. (A) Service date;
      2. (B) Refusal to use the grant; or
      3. (C) Cancellation of service request.
   3. (3) Each ETC’s true-up request shall be on a form the trustee prescribes.
   4. (4) The true-up request shall be based on the ETC’s actual costs less two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per applicant served.

4. (d) Trustee processing of requests.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) For each request, the trustee shall determine if funds will be awarded and advise an ETC in writing within thirty (30) days of receiving the request.
      2. (B) This notice shall include:

5. (i) The estimated date funds will be available; or

   1. (ii) An explanation of the reason or reasons a request is denied.

      1. (C) The trustee shall advise the ETC in writing of any revisions to the estimated date.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) For each grant other than true-up grants awarded, the trustee shall individually notify in writing the members of the General Assembly who have constituents benefitting from the award.
      2. (B) The notice shall be sent to the General Assembly members and a copy filed in Docket No. 02-080-A at the same time as the ETC notice required by subdivision (d)(1) of this section.

   3. (3)

      1. (A) The trustee shall deny a request due to lack of funds only if funds equal to the proposed grant cannot be disbursed within twelve (12) months.
      2. (B) Exception. The trustee shall be allowed to accumulate funds over a period greater than twelve (12) months for a proposed grant that exceeds the available funds from an annual allocation of funds from the AICCLP.

   4. (4)

      1. (A) If an initial request is denied, the trustee is not required to retain the request for future consideration.
      2. (B) An ETC may renew its request at the appropriate time.
   5. (5) The trustee will pay administrative costs from the annual fund allocation.

   6. (6)

      1. (A) The trustee shall disburse funds by the tenth of the month following the month during which funds become available to cover the entire grant.
      2. (B) The trustee shall generally first disburse funds for true-up grants awarded.
   7. (7) The trustee shall provide to the Arkansas Public Service Commission monthly reports of initial and true-up grants awarded by ETC by exchange including at least the amount awarded and the number of additional customers to be served or served.

   8. (8) The monthly reports shall also include for each ETC by exchange the:

      1. (A) Grants that the trustee denied;
      2. (B) Amount requested;
      3. (C) Number of additional customers proposed to be served; and
      4. (D) Reason the request was denied.

   9. (9) The monthly reports shall also include a statement of fiscal status for the Extension of Telecommunications Facilities Fund including at least the:

      1. (A) Funds received;
      2. (B) Funds disbursed; and
      3. (C) Fund balance.
   10. (10) The trustee shall file these reports in Docket No. 02-080-A.

6. (e) Grant award criteria.

   1. (1) In determining whether to approve a request, the trustee shall use the criteria in Arkansas Code § 23-17-404(e)(5)(B)(i).

   2. (2)

      1. (A) The amount of any grant shall not exceed the applicant’s required contribution to construction costs as required by 23 CAR § 466-902 and 23 CAR § 462-703(e) of the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, 23 CAR pt. 462.
      2. (B) Until July 1, 2005, the applicant’s required contribution to construction costs shall be determined by using the ETC’s extension of facilities tariff in effect as of April 18, 2001.
   3. (3) Until July 1, 2005, grants shall not be awarded to extend wireline facilities to replace basic exchange telecommunications radio service.
   4. (4) Grants shall not be awarded for the extension of facilities to serve temporary or seasonal service requirements.
   5. (5) Grants shall only be awarded for future extensions of facilities.

7. (f) Administration of Extension of Telecommunications Facilities Fund funds.

   1. (1) The AICCLP administrator shall assess telecommunications providers pursuant to Arkansas Code § 23-17-404(e)(4)(D) to accumulate funds for the Extension of Telecommunications Facilities Fund.
   2. (2) Such funds accumulated by the AICCLP shall be transferred to the trustee by the last business day of each month.
   3. (3) The trustee shall make a reasonable effort to keep the funds in an interest-bearing account.

   4. (4)

      1. (A) The trustee shall prepare an annual estimate of funds required and provide the estimate to the Arkansas Public Service Commission and a copy to the AICCLP administrator by January 5 of the year being estimated.
      2. (B) The estimate shall be reduced by the Extension of Telecommunications Facilities Fund balance, if any, not awarded by the end of the previous year.
      3. (C) The estimate shall be filed in Docket No. 02-080-A.
8. (g) Unallocated territory. When an ETC makes an initial request as required by subdivision (b)(3) of this section, it shall at the same time request that the Arkansas Public Service Commission allocate the geographic area not previously allocated to that ETC as required by 23 CAR § 462-705(a) of the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, 23 CAR pt. 462.

9. (h) Appointment of trustee.

   1. (1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall appoint a trustee who:

      1. (A) Shall be neutral and impartial; and
      2. (B) Shall not have a direct financial interest in the funding mechanisms established by the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

   2. (2) The trustee shall serve at the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s discretion.

      1. (i) Duties of the trustee.

   3. (1) The trustee’s general duties shall include:

      1. (A) Determining the sufficiency of the fund;
      2. (B) Receiving moneys from the AICCLP;
      3. (C) Disbursing grants from the fund;
      4. (D) Managing the daily operations and affairs of the grant program;
      5. (E) Cooperating in any periodic audits that the Arkansas Public Service Commission deems necessary;
      6. (F) Resolving disputes;
      7. (G) Reviewing and determining the accuracy and appropriateness of all requests for grants;
      8. (H) Performing any other duties the Arkansas Public Service Commission orders; and
      9. (I) Developing any forms necessary for grant requests.
   4. (2) The trustee is expressly authorized to bring actions before the Arkansas Public Service Commission to enforce the provisions of the grant program.
10. (j) Audits. The Extension of Telecommunications Facilities Fund is subject to an annual audit by an independent certified public accountant selected by the Arkansas Public Service Commission.
11. (k) Appeals from trustee decisions. A party aggrieved by the trustee’s decision may appeal that decision within thirty (30) days to the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

Codification Notes: This section was promulgated as Rule 9.03 of the Telecommunications Providers Rules prior to codification in the Code of Arkansas Rules. "AICCLP" means Arkansas Intrastate Carrier Common Line Pool.