Section 63.166. Administrator criteria

The administrator shall meet the following criteria:

(1) The administrator shall be neutral, impartial and independent from telecommunications service providers operating in this Commonwealth.

(2) The administrator may not advocate specific positions before the Commission in nonuniversal service administrative proceedings related to telecommunications issues.

(3) The administrator may not be an affiliate of any provider of telecommunications services. The administrator may not be closely associated with any provider of telecommunications services in a dependent or subordinate position.

(4) If the administrator has a board of directors that includes members with direct financial interests in entities that contribute to or receive support from the Fund, no more than a third of the board members may represent any one category (for example, local exchange carriers or interexchange carriers) of contributing carriers or support recipients, and the Board’s composition shall reflect the broad base of contributors to and recipients of Fund assets. For purposes of this restriction, a direct financial interest exists when the administrator or Board member:

(i) Is an employee of a telecommunications carrier.

(ii) Owns any equity interests in bonds or equity instruments issued by any telecommunications carrier.

(iii) Owns mutual funds that invest more than 50% of its assets in telecommunications securities.

(5) If the administrator’s board composition changes during its contractual period, the administrator shall notify the Commission immediately.