Montana Code 69-3-844. Contributions to fund
69-3-844. Contributions to fund. (1) The fiscal agent shall collect contributions from all telecommunications carriers on a quarterly basis, based on a January 1 to December 31 calendar year. Those contributions must be determined on a percentage of total intrastate retail revenue for all telecommunications carriers registered in the state. If the high-cost mechanisms of the federal universal service program are eliminated, contributions must be determined on a percentage of total intrastate and interstate retail revenue for all telecommunications carriers registered in the state.
Terms Used In Montana Code 69-3-844
- carrier: means any provider of telecommunications services. See Montana Code 69-3-803
- Commission: means the public service commission. See Montana Code 69-3-803
- Eligible telecommunications carrier: means a telecommunications provider designated by the commission under 69-3-840. See Montana Code 69-3-803
- Fund: means the universal service fund established in 69-3-842. See Montana Code 69-3-803
- Retail revenue: means the gross Montana revenue from telecommunications services that originate or terminate in Montana and are billed for a service address in Montana, excluding revenue from the resale of telecommunications services to another telecommunications services provider that uses the telecommunications services to provide telecommunications services to the ultimate retail consumer who originates or terminates the transmission. See Montana Code 69-3-803
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Telecommunications: means the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing without a change in the form or content of the information upon receipt. See Montana Code 69-3-803
(2)The commission shall adopt rules to govern collection of the contributions required by this section, as well as rules allowing the fiscal agent and daily administrator to assess late fees and interest on delinquent payments from telecommunications carriers. The fiscal agent is specifically authorized to enforce the contribution requirements of this section through suit in the district courts of Montana, and the prevailing party in an action is entitled to the recovery of costs and attorney fees incurred in that action.
(3)Any funds received by an eligible telecommunications carrier from the state high-cost fund must be used for the provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and services for which the support is intended.
(4)Any reduction in telecommunications carrier access expenses because of the removal of implicit subsidies inherent in telecommunications carrier access rates must be passed through to Montana end-user customer retail rates.