Exchange Line Cable and Wire Facilities Subcategories 1.1 through 1.3 [Part 36.154(a)], or its functional equivalent.

The administrator of the Arkansas High Cost Fund.

The Arkansas High Cost Fund.

Category I Company: All ETCs with a total customer access base or total customer base of 500,000 or more access lines as to wireline ETCs and customers as to non-wireline ETCs.

Category II Company: All ETCs with a total customer access base or total customer base of 150,000 or more access lines as to wireline ETCs and customers as to non-wireline ETC, and less than 500,000 access lines as to wireline ETCs and customers as to non-wireline ETCs.

Category III Company: All ETCs with a total customer access base or total customer base of 15,000 or more access lines as to wireline ETCs and customers as to non-wireline ETC, and less than 150,000 access lines as to wireline ETCs and customers as to non-wireline ETCs.

Category IV Company: All ETCs with a total customer access base or total customer base of less than 15,000 access lines as to wireline ETCs and customers as to non-wireline ETCs.

Access lines will be the primary determinant of a carrier's categorization. Any carrier desiring to use its customer count as an alternative basis of classification must include in its submission a report by an independent third party auditor attesting to the accuracy of the customer count as of December 31 of the prior year.

A switching unit, in a telephone system which provides service to the general public, having the necessary equipment and operations arrangements for terminating and interconnecting subscriber lines and trunks or trunks only. There may be more than one central office in a building.

Cellular, Personal Communications Systems and any service regulated pursuant to Part 20 of the rules and regulations of the FCC (47 CFR Part 20) or any successor provisions.

The Arkansas Public Service Commission.

Any person, firm, partnership, cooperative corporation, corporation or lawful entity that has ordered and is receiving retail telecommunications services supplied by any telecommunications provider and is receiving a bill from the provider for services associated with one or more retail access lines.

The Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

The Federal Communications Commission.

With respect to a local exchange area, a local exchange carrier, including successors and assigns, that is certified by the Commission and was providing basic local exchange service on February 8, 1996.

Consistent with the definition adopted by the FCC in CC Docket 96-45 released on May 8, 1997, revenues derived from end users for telecommunications and telecommunications services. This includes revenues derived from other carriers when such carriers utilize telecommunications services for their own internal uses.

The geographic area, approved by the Commission, encompassing the area within which a local exchange carrier is authorized to provide basic local exchange services and switched access services. It may consist of one or more central offices together with associated plant used in furnishing telecommunications service in that area.

A telecommunications provider of basic local exchange service and switched access service. Such term does not include commercial mobile service providers.

A local exchange carrier defined as a rural telephone company in the Federal Act as of the effective date of the Telecommunications Regulatory Reform Act of 1997.

Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity that offers telecommunications services to the public for compensation.

Those rules applicable to certain telecommunications providers that have been adopted by the Commission.

The offering to the public for compensation the transmission of voice, data, or other electronic information at any frequency over any part of the electromagnetic spectrum, notwithstanding any other use of the associated facilities. Such term does not include radio and television broadcast or distribution services or the provision or publishing of yellow pages, regardless of the entity providing such services, or services to the extent that such services are used in connection with the operation of an electric utility system owned by a government entity.

The number of access lines reported by the carrier to the National Exchange Carrier Association and/or its successor in the annual USF Data Collection or the equivalent for carriers not filing annual USF data.

Those telecommunications services that are defined and listed pursuant to Section 3 (5) of the Telecommunications Regulatory Reform Act of 1997.