• ' s (nunllllllllllllllllll *ORIGINAL 0000 11 A 1 . l\L vb... DOCM§T {C'8 Arizona Corporation Commission March 1, 2017 DOCKETED 1 l " 4811 f'lHfl 2 59 3 3 61) Docket Control MAR 2 2017 Arizona Corporation Commission 1200 W. Washington Street DOCKBTEDBY Phoenix, AZ85007 été

Re: In the Matter of the Notice of Proposed Amendments to the Arizona Universal Service Fund: Docket No. RT-00000H-97-0137

Dear Sir or Madam:

Enclosed please find an original and thirteen (13) copies of proof of compliance with Decision No. 75919 in the above-referenced docket on behalf of Citizens Telecommunications Company of the White Mountains, Inc., Citizens Utilities Rural Company, Inc., Frontier Communications of the Southwest Inc. and Company, Inc. (collectively referred to as "Frontier"). Frontier certifies that it provided notice to its Arizona customers who are assessed a surcharge under the current Arizona Universal Service Fund program. As authorized by the Procedural Order, and in keeping with its standard method of providing customer notice in regulatory matters, Frontier posted the attached notice on its website at https://fromicr.com/corporate/policics and ran legal notices in several newspapers. Additionally, each customer will receive a bill message concurrent with the effective rate change that will direct the customer to the notice posted on the website.

If you have any questions concerning this filing, please do not hesitate to call Kirk Lee at 425-261-5855.

Very truly yours, Ciitaat. QJw-M-#M Cassandra Guinness Dir, Regulatory & Compliance Frontier Communications

6980 Pittsford Palmyra Rd. Fairport. NY 14450 I Phone: 585.777.4557 I EMAIL: [email protected]

l NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ARIZONA UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND & PROPOSED SURCHARGE INCREASE DOCKET no. RT-00000H-97-0137

On January 13, 2017, the Arizona Corporation Commission ("Commission") issued Decision No. 75919 to begin the process of amending the Arizona Universal ServiceFund ("AUSF") rules to facilitate the construction of broadband infrastructure 1 in largely rural areas in Arizona. The Commission and the Arizona Department of l Education are partnering to take advantage of a recent and limited Federal Communications Commission's ("FCC") E-rate program that would allow Arizona to obtain federal matching funds to bridge the broadband "connectivity gap" for Arizona's rural schools and libraries that do not have adequate internet capabilities. In 2015, 37 percent of Arizona school districts lacked internet capabilities consistent with the FCC's standard of 100 kilobits per second (0.1 Mbps) per student. Over 63 percent of these districts were located in rural Arizona.

Under the FCC's E-rate Modernization Orders, states are able to obtain, on a limited basis, additional benefits from the federal universal service E-rate program for schools and libraries if state matching funds for special construction broadband projects are provided. This program is of limited duration, and the Commission needs to take expedited action in order for schools and libraries in rural Arizona to start obtaining the benefits of this new program.

It is anticipated that this new program under the AUSF will provide a one-time distribution to qualifying Arizona schools and libraries of approximately $8 million in the aggregate. Currently, Arizona customers contribute to the AUSF through a monthly surcharge included in the telephone bills received from the customers' service providers. The adoption of this new program would likely increase the AUSF surcharge on each customer' s monthly bill. It is currently estimated that each customer would see an increase of approximately $0.15 per month per line for approximately one year, if the additional surcharge is collected over a one-year time frame. The actual amount of the surcharge increase could be higher or lower than this estimate.

If you have any questions concerning how amending the AUSF rules may affect your bill or have other questions about the AUSF Rulemaking, you maycontact your service provider at: Frontier Communications. 401 Merrit 71 Norwalk. CT 06851 or call 1-800-921-8101 (residential) or 1-800-921-8102 (business). You may also call the Commission's Consumer Services Section, during regular business hours, at 602-542-4251 or 1-800-222-7000.

Copies of all documents filed regarding the AUSF Rulemaking are available during regular business hours from the Commission's Docket Control Center at 1200 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona, and at any time on the Commission's website (www.azcc.gov) using the e-Docket function and DocketNo. RT-00000H- 97-0137. Written public comments regarding the AUSF Rulemaking may be submitted at any time by mailing a letter referencing Docket No. RT-00000H-97-0137 to Arizona Corporation Commission, Consumer Services Section, 1200 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007, or by submitting comments on the Commission's website (www.azcc.gov) using the "Submit a Public Comment for a Utility" function. Interested persons may also provide oral comment when the Commission considers this matter at an upcoming Open Meeting. The Commission's Open Meeting dates, schedules, and agendas are available on its website. If you require assistance, you may contact the Consumer Services Section during regular business hours at the numbers listed above.

Newspapers Dates Kingman Standard 1/25/2017 Parker Pioneer 2/8/2017 Todays News Herald 2/1/2017 White Mountain Independent (Apache) 2/3/2017 White Mountain Independent (Navajo) 2/3/20 l7