Uniform System of Accounts for Class A and Class B Telephone Companies To Raise the Expense Limit for Certain Items of Equipment From $500 to $750

In this Report and Order (Order), the Commission raises the expense limit specified in its rules regarding Instructions for telecommunications plant accounts from $500 to $2,000, with one exception related to personal computers recorded in Account 2124, General purpose computers. The purpose of the expense limit is to reduce the cost of maintaining property records for the acquisition, depreciation, and retirement of a multitude of low-cost, high-volume assets. The Commission also adopts a five-year amortization period during which incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) may recover the undepreciated portion of embedded assets affected by this rule change. We will allow carriers to implement these changes effective January 1, 1998.