Costs will not befrozen at the 1995 levels, as originally proposed by the joint board. Instead, they will reflect the investments you make to bring advanced services to your subscribers. That could be when everything changes. No longer will your embedded, or historical costs determine that support. This cost concept could leave you with stranded investment.
Economic theory looks nice on paper.
Suppose a competitivecarrier gets average support but has below-average costs because it has no infrastructure. The FCC has authorized the joint board to establish a rural task force to look at determining costs for small telcos. We'll do everything we can to ensure that the commission is sensitive to your situation. But that's only a part of our concern. Regarding the difference between these forward-looking costs and a national cost benchmark, the FCC says that support at the federal level will account for only 25 percent of that difference.