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Eligible Carriers

    Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs)

    Grants & Funding

    Various telecommunications grant opportunities including ARRA broadband stimulus funding. 

    Blandin Foundation
    Information on broadband programs and grant opportunities for rural Minnesota communities.

    Rural Utilities Service
    Information on the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's loans for broadband deployment, the Community Connect program, and the Distance Learning and Telemedicine program. 

    Universal Service Administrative Company
    Information on reduced rates for rural healthcare providers for telecommunications and Internet services and discounts on eligible service to schools, school districts, libraries, and consortiums of these entities.

    Initial ETC Designation

    Telecommunications carriers must be designated as Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) to qualify for support from the Federal Universal Service Fund. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) grants ETC designations to qualified applicants. 

    Petitions for ETC status should include, at a minimum, a demonstration that the applicant meets the requirements of Federal Communications Commission Rule 47 C.F.R §54.201and include a demonstration that the requested designation is in the public interest. Petitions must also comply with previous PUC orders.

    Annual ETC Reporting Requirements

    ETCs that Receive High Cost Support

    Each year, for each compliant ETC, the PUC files a certification with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the Federal Communications Commission stating that the federal high-cost support provided to that ETC was used in the preceding calendar year and will be used in the coming calendar year only for the provision, maintenance and upgrading of facilities and services for which the support is intended.

    All ETCs that receive high cost support must annually file the reports and certifications required by Rule 47 C.F.R. §54.313 .

    High cost reports and certifications must be filed with the FCC and the PUC by July 1, of each year.

    ETCs that Receive Low Income Support Only

    ETCs that receive low income support only must file the reports and certifications required by Rule 47 C.F.R. §54.422 annually. 

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