**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, DC 20554**

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| In the Matter of                 | *  | CC Docket No. 96-45          |
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| Federal-State Joint Board on )   | ** |                              |
| CC Docket No. 96-45              |    |                              |
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| Universal Service                | *) |                              |
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| Request for Review of the )      |    |                              |
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| Decision of the )                | *) |                              |
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| Universal Service Administrator  |    |                              |
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| Thumb Cellular Limited           | ** |                              |
| Partnership                      |    |                              |
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**order**

**Adopted: November 21, 2006 Released: November 22, 2006**

By the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau:

# Introduction {#introduction .Style-Heading-1-+-Left}

1.  On June 2, 2004, Thumb Cellular Limited Partnership (Thumb Cellular)
    filed an appeal of the Universal Service Administrative Company's
    (USAC or Administrator) decision to deny it Interstate Common Line
    Support (ICLS) for the third quarter of 2003 because USAC determined
    that it had received Thumb Cellular's FCC Form 507, which includes
    line count data, after USAC's calculated filing date.[^1] For the
    reasons set forth below, we grant Thumb Cellular's appeal and direct
    USAC to implement the findings set forth in this Order.

# Background

2.  Thumb Cellular receives high-cost support from USAC pursuant to
    sections 54.901 through 54.904 of the Commission's rules, which
    establish the ICLS mechanism.[^2] In order to receive ICLS support,
    carriers must file FCC Form 507 with USAC.[^3] Thumb Cellular began
    receiving ICLS in July 2003, and continued to receive support
    payments through October of that year.[^4] In October 2003, USAC
    determined that Thumb Cellular's FCC Form 507, which USAC received
    on March 31, 2003, was filed late pursuant to section 54.307(c)(4)
    of the Commission's rules, which states that line count information
    for the third quarter must be submitted "\[n\]o later than March 30
    of each year."[^5] Because March 30, 2003, fell on a Sunday, USAC
    directed carriers like Thumb Cellular to file their 507 forms by
    March 28 in order to meet the Commission's deadline.[^6]

3.  Over the course of several conversations from October through
    December 2003, USAC advised Thumb Cellular that its FCC Form 507 had
    not been received in a timely fashion, should not have been
    processed, and Thumb Cellular should not have received ICLS for the
    third quarter of 2003.[^7] To recover ICLS amounts it believed were
    mistakenly disbursed to Thumb Cellular in the third quarter of 2003,
    USAC withheld ICLS in November and December of 2003, and January
    2004.[^8] Pursuant to section 54.719(a), Thumb Cellular filed with
    USAC a Request for Review of the denial of ICLS funding on December
    24, 2003.[^9] USAC denied the appeal on May 7, 2004, and Thumb
    Cellular subsequently filed the above-captioned appeal with the
    Commission.

4.  In support of its appeal, Thumb Cellular argues that its FCC Form
    507 was timely filed for the third quarter of 2003 despite being
    received by USAC on March 31, 2003, a day after the deadline
    established by USAC under the Commission's rules.[^10] It contends
    that because March 30 fell on a holiday in 2003,[^11] section 1.4(j)
    of the Commission's rules applies.[^12] Under this rule, filings
    that fall on a holiday may be timely filed on the next business
    day---in this case, Monday, March 31, 2003.

5.  In denying Thumb Cellular's appeal for ICLS funding, USAC determined
    that section 1.4(j) applies only in situations where computations of
    time are involved.[^13] Because section 54.307(c)(4) establishes a
    specific filing date, it argues that no computation of time is
    necessary and, therefore, the plain language of the rule requires
    carriers to file their forms no later than March 30 of each year.
    Since March 30, 2003 was a Sunday, USAC determined that carriers
    must have submitted their 507 forms by Friday, March 28, 2003.[^14]
    USAC also concluded that Thumb Cellular was supplied with actual
    notice when it sent each carrier a letter mentioning that March 28,
    2003 was the FCC Form 507 filing deadline under USAC's application
    of section 54.307(c)(4).[^15] USAC also posted a reminder of the
    deadline on its web site on March 7, 2003.[^16]

# Discussion

6.  We grant Thumb Cellular's appeal. Under section 54.307(c)(4) of the
    Commission's rules, third quarter line count information is due
    every year no later than March 30. In 2003, the March 30 deadline
    fell on a Sunday. This date is considered a holiday under the
    Commission's rules. Section 1.4(j) of the Commission's rules
    provides that if the filing date falls on a holiday, the document
    shall be filed on the next business day. In this case, the next
    business day was Monday, March 31, 2003. USAC should have deemed 507
    forms filed on this day to be timely filed.

7.  We disagree with USAC's conclusion that section 1.4 does not apply
    in this situation because no computation of time is necessary. The
    stated purpose of section 1.4 is broad in that it details the method
    for computing "deadlines established by the Commission."[^17]
    Moreover, while the Commission has established a specific date each
    year by which line count information filings are due, computation is
    still necessary since the date specified in section 54.307 is
    subject to change on a yearly basis as a recurring annual
    deadline.[^18] Because we find that section 1.4 is applicable to
    section 54.307, it makes no difference that Thumb Cellular had
    notice of a deadline that was different than the one established by
    the Commission's rules, which provide specific guidance on
    calculating deadlines. We direct USAC to implement the conclusions
    in this Order by disbursing third quarter 2003 ICLS funds to Thumb
    Cellular.

# ORDERING CLAUSE

8.  ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to authority delegated under
    sections 0.91, 0.291, and 54.722(a) of the Commission\'s rules, 47
    C.F.R. §§ 0.91, 0.291, and 54.722(a), that the Appeal of USAC's
    Denial of Funding filed by Thumb Cellular Limited Partnership on
    June 2, 2004 IS GRANTED.

9.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order SHALL BE EFFECTIVE upon
    release.

    FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

    Thomas J. Navin

    Chief

    Wireline Competition Bureau

[^1]: Request for Appeal of the Decision of the Universal Service
    Administrator by Thumb Cellular Limited Partnership, CC Docket
    96-45, Request for Appeal, filed June 2, 2004 (Thumb Cellular
    Appeal).

[^2]: 47 C.F.R. §§ 54.901-54.904.

[^3]: Instructions for Completing the Interstate Common Line Support
    Mechanism Line Count Report, FCC Form 507, OMB 3060-0972 (November
    2004).

[^4]: Thumb Cellular Appeal, Attach. 1 (Letter from Universal Service
    Administrative Company to Timothy Welch, Counsel for Thumb Cellular
    Limited Partnership, at 2 (dated May 7, 2004) (Administrator's
    Decision)).

[^5]: Administrator's Decision at 2; *see* 47 C.F.R. § 54.307(c).

[^6]: Administrator's Decision at 2.

[^7]: *Id*.

[^8]: *Id.*

[^9]: *See* Thumb Cellular Appeal, Attach. 2 (Request for Review by
    Thumb Cellular Limited Partnership of Decision of the Universal
    Service Administrator, Universal Service Administrative Company,
    High Cost Low Income Division, Denying a Request for Interstate
    Common Line Support and Long Term Support, to High Cost Low Income
    Committee (filed December 24, 2003)).

[^10]: Thumb Cellular Appeal at 6. *See* *also* 47 C.F.R. § 54.307(c).

[^11]: The Commission considers Sundays to be a holiday. *See* 47 C.F.R.
    § 1.4(e)(1) (noting that "\[t\]he term 'holiday' means Saturday,
    Sunday, officially recognized federal legal holidays and any other
    day on which the Commission\'s offices are closed and not reopened
    prior to 5:30 p.m.").

[^12]: 47 C.F.R. § 1.4(j) ("Unless otherwise provided . . . if, after
    making all the computations provided for in this section, the filing
    date falls on a holiday, the document shall be filed on the next
    business day.").

[^13]: Administrator's Decision at 3.

[^14]: *Id*. *See* *also* 47 C.F.R. § 54.307(c)(4).

[^15]: Administrator's Decision at 3.

[^16]: *Id.* ("Since March 30, 2003 falls on a Sunday, your line count
    filing is due no later than Friday, March 28, 2004.") (citing USAC's
    web site, What's New Archive, March 2003, available at
    http://www.universalservice.org/hc/whatsnew/032003.asp).

[^17]: 47 C.F.R. § 1.4.

[^18]: *See, e.g., Wireline Competition Bureau Reminds Licensees of
    Annual Employment Report Due Date*, Public Notice, 19 FCC Rcd. 8136,
    n.1 (2004); *FCC Announces Release of FCC Form 477 (Local
    Competition and Broadband Reporting Form) for the September 1, 2003
    Filing*, Public Notice, 18 FCC Rcd 12865, n.1 (2003); *FCC Announces
    Release of FCC Form 477 (Local Competition and Broadband Reporting
    Form) for the March 1, 2003 Filing*, Public Notice, 18 FCC Rcd 431,
    para. 2, n.1 (2003). We rely on these prior Wireline Competition
    Bureau precedents rather than on narrower decisions of the prior
    Cable Services Bureau. *See, e.g.,* *Johnson Broadcasting of Dallas
    v. DirecTV, Inc*., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 886,
    889, para. 9 (Cable Serv. Bur. 2002) (finding by Cable Services
    Bureau that section 1.4 of the Commission's rules did not apply
    since the regulation specified the exact filing date and this filing
    was a one-time occurrence).