Application of access charges.

§ 51.515 Application of access charges. (a)–(b) [Reserved] (c) Notwithstanding §§ 51.505, 51.511, and 51.513(d)(2) and paragraph (a) of this section, an incumbent LEC may assess upon telecommunications carriers that purchase unbundled local switching elements, as described in § 51.319(c)(1), for intrastate toll minutes of use traversing such unbundled local switching elements, intrastate access charges comparable to those listed in paragraph (b) and any explicit intrastate universal service mechanism based on access charges, only until the earliest of the following, and not thereafter: (1) June 30, 1997; (2) The effective date of a state commission decision that an incumbent LEC may not assess such charges; or (3) With respect to a Bell operating company only, the date on which that company is authorized to offer in-region interLATA service in the state pursuant to section 271 of the Act. The end date for Bell operating companies that are authorized to offer interLATA service shall apply only to the recovery of access charges in those states in which the Bell operating company is authorized to offer such service. (d) Interstate access charges described in part 69 shall not be assessed by incumbent LECs on each element purchased by requesting carriers providing both telephone exchange and exchange access services to such requesting carriers' end users. [61 FR 45619, Aug. 29, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 45587, Aug. 28, 1997; 71 FR 65750, Nov. 9, 2006]