In three public filings at the U.S. Federal Communiations Commission (FCC) in WC Docket No. 05-25, the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee submitted tables of DS1 and DS3 tariffed rates for AT&T, Qwest, and Verizon. These filings were made on 6/13/2005, 08/08/2007, and 10/23/2009. They provide rates by geographic state, regulatory type (price cap or pricing flexibility), purchasing term commitment (in months from 1 to 60), geographic zone (typically three zones), and rate elements (channel termination, channel mileage fixed and per mile, and a reference 10-mile circuit composite rate. The specific rates included in each filing varies. None of the filings include rates for Alaska, Connecticut, or Hawaii.
To make these data more readily accessible, I have compiled them into a regularly structured, machine interpretable dataset called the Ad Hoc DS1 & DS3 rate dataset (AHDS1-3). The AHDS1-3 consists of header text followed by comma-separated values, including field names as the first data line. The AHDS1-3 is a representation of the source filings. It should not be interpreted as an authoritative statement of rates. The AHDS1-3 data should be verified and validated as appropriate for your particular purpose.
The filings that provide the data offer little description of the data. The filings on 6/13/2005 and 10/23/2009 apparently do not include a general "rates as of" specification. The filing on 08/08/2007 describes the rates as being as of year-end 2006. The 10/23/2009 filing describes the AT&T (pricing flexibility) rates as being those that will be in effect "following the expiration of the relevant Merger Conditions." The relevant condition is Special Access Commitment 6 included within the FCC order approving the merger of AT&T and BellSouth. That condition expired on July 1, 2010.
The dataset includes a reference 10-mile circuit rate. This rate consists of twice the channel termination rate, plus the channel mileage fixed rate, plus ten times the channel mile per mile rate. The 10-mile circuit rate is an aggregate of rates relevant to leasing a 10-mile circuit.
I have made some minor changes to the source data for consistency and correctness. The Ameritech channel mileage fixed charge applies twice for a point-to-point circuit. I have multiplied the Ameritech channel milage fixed rates reported in the Ad Hoc filing by two to make them comparable with other channel-mile fixed rates. The Ameritech DS1 channel mileage rate in the 10/23/00 source is $158.00. That appears to be a mistake. This rate has been corrected to $15.80.
These tables involve simplifications of highly complex tariffs. Some tariffs include channel office mileage rates differentiated by distance bands. The table uses band 4 (specified in 2005 source) or the 8-25 mile band (specified in the 2007 source). The sources categorize purchase terms as month-to-month, one year, three year, and five years. Different tariffs have slightly different term categories. For example, the BellSouth special access tariff has term plans that include month-to-month, 24-48 months, 49-72 months, and 73-96 months. The source filings do not include a one-year term rate for states in the BellSouth service region.
The rates in the Ad Hoc filings are apparently non-discounted tariff list rates. FCC tariff review filings include large, aggregate discount rate elements. How these discounts are apportioned across rates isn't clear.
The Ad Hoc rate tables do not include demand weights. Special access tariffs include thousands of rates. Understanding rate element demand is important for interpreting the significance of rates. Telephone companies' price-cap rate detail files provide demand data.