During the meeting, RUS staff reiterated concerns related to the model and the implementation of a model-based support system. These concerns have been expressed previously in written comments. The statistics are route mile of plant and total access lines , by exchange. The RUS understands that the Commission is concentrating on developing a support method for non-rural LECs and has made no decision about using a cost model for rural LECs. However, since the model designs plant for the entire nation, RUS financed rural LEC statistics can be a useful starting place for evaluating and verifying the model, particularly since they are available on an exchange basis which allows for more precise comparisons than those based on study areas.
Service areas are service areas, regardless of the size of the provider.
The model s performance in areas served by rural LECs will predict its overall performance. The RUS has provided this information only for the purpose of model verification.