(a) Incumbent local exchange carriers may recover their carrier-specific costs directly related to providing long-term number portability by establishing in tariffs filed with the Federal Communications Commission a monthly number-portability charge, as specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, a number portability query-service charge, as specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, and a monthly number-portability query/administration charge, as specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this section.

(1) The monthly number-portability charge may take effect no earlier than February 1, 1999, on a date the incumbent local exchange carrier selects, and may end no later than 5 five years after the incumbent local exchange carrier's monthly number-portability charge takes effect.

(i) An incumbent local exchange carrier may assess each end user it serves in the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, and each end user it serves from a number-portability-capable switch outside the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, one monthly number-portability charge per line except that:

(A) One PBX trunk shall receive nine monthly number-portability charges.

(B) One PRI ISDN line shall receive five monthly number-portability charges.

(C) Lifeline Assistance Program customers shall not receive the monthly number-portability charge.

(ii) An incumbent local exchange carrier may assess on carriers that purchase the incumbent local exchange carrier's switching ports as unbundled network elements under section 251 of the Communications Act, and/or Feature Group A access lines, and resellers of the incumbent local exchange carrier's local service, the same charges as described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, as if the incumbent local exchange carrier were serving those carriers' end users.

(iii) An incumbent local exchange carrier may not assess a monthly number-portability charge for local loops carriers purchase as unbundled network elements under section 251.

(iv) The incumbent local exchange carrier shall levelize the monthly number-portability charge over five years by setting a rate for the charge at which the present value of the revenue recovered by the charge does not exceed the present value of the cost being recovered, using a discount rate equal to the rate of return on investment which the Commission has prescribed for interstate access services pursuant to Part 65 of the Commission's Rules.

(2) The number portability query-service charge may recover only carrier-specific costs directly related to providing long-term number portability that the incumbent local exchange carrier incurs to provide long-term number portability query service to carriers on a prearranged and default basis.

(3) An incumbent local exchange carrier serving an area outside the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas that is not number-portability capable but that participates in an extended area service calling plan with any one of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas or with an adjacent number portability-capable local exchange carrier may assess each end user it serves one monthly number-portability query/administration charge per line to recover the costs of queries, as specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, and carrier-specific costs directly related to the carrier's allocated share of the regional local number portability administrator's costs, except that per-line monthly number-portability query/administration charges shall be assigned as specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section with respect to monthly number-portability charges.

(i) Such incumbent local exchange carriers may assess a separate monthly number-portability charge as specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section but such charge may recover only the costs incurred to implement number portability functionality and shall not include costs recovered through the monthly number-portability query/administration charge.

(ii) The monthly number-portability query/administration charge may end no later than five years after the incumbent local exchange carrier's monthly number-portability query/administration charge takes effect. The monthly number-portability query/administration charge may be collected over a different five-year period than the monthly number-portability charge. These five-year periods may run either consecutively or concurrently, in whole or in part.

(b) All telecommunications carriers other than incumbent local exchange carriers may recover their number portability costs in any manner consistent with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

[63 FR 35161, June 29, 1998, as amended at 67 FR 40620, June 13, 2002; 73 FR 9481, Feb. 21, 2008; 80 FR 66479, Oct. 29, 2015]