20220808Final_Order_No_35491.pdf

ORDER NO. 35491 1
Office of the Secretary
Service Date
August 8, 2022
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF QWEST
CORPORATION’S 2020 APPLICATION FOR
AN INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT FOR
INSTALLING QUALIFYING BROADBAND
EQUIPMENT
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CASE NO. QWE-T-22-01

ORDER NO. 35491

On January 24, 2022, Qwest Corporation d/b/a CenturyLink QC (“Company”) applied
to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”) for an order confirming that equipment
it installed in 2020 is “qualified broadband equipment” under Idaho Code § 63-3029I (Income tax
credit for investment in broadband equipment). On June 21, 2022, the Company filed an amended
application (“Amended Application”) to include the new requirements of Order No. 35297. With
this Order, we confirm that the installed equipment is “qualified broadband equipment” under
Idaho Code § 63-3029I.
THE APPLICATION
In its Amended Application, the Company says it invested $54,369,281 in qualifying
broadband equipment in 2020. The Company says it installed “[v]arious forms of DSL-based
equipment” with transmission rates of 500,000 bits per second (“bps”) from a subscriber and
250,000 bps to a subscriber. Id. at 1-2. The Company indicated it installed the broadband
equipment in central office buildings, remote buildings, and in cabinets on concrete pads each
serving a neighborhood, and that the broadband network can serve 215,939 of its Idaho customers.
Id.
THE BROADBAND EQUIPMENT TAX CREDIT
Idaho Code § 63-3029I allows a taxpayer to receive an income tax credit for having
installed qualified broadband equipment during a calendar year. Before the taxpayer is eligible
for the tax credit, the taxpayer must first apply to the Commission for an order confirming that the
installed equipment is “qualified broadband equipment” as defined in the statute. Idaho Code §
63-3029I(4). The statute defines “qualified broadband equipment” as equipment that qualifies for
the Idaho Code § 63-3029B capital investment credit that “is capable of transmitting signals at a
rate of at least [200,000 bps] to a subscriber and at least [125,000 bps] from a subscriber.” Idaho
Code § 63-3029I(3)(b)); and (2) is primarily used to provide services in Idaho to public subscribers.
See Idaho Code § 63-3029I(3)(b)(vii). Further, in “the case of a telecommunications carrier, such
ORDER NO. 35491 2
qualifying equipment shall be necessary to the provision of broadband service and an integral part
of a broadband network.” Idaho Code § 63-3029I(3)(b)(i).
In furtherance of its statutory responsibility, the Commission issued Order No. 28784.1
That Order specified the information the taxpayer must include in the broadband tax credit
application. In 2022, in Case No. GNR-T-21-10, Order No. 35297, the Commission modified the
informational requirements set forth by Order No. 28784. When the taxpayer files the application,
the Commission Staff (“Staff”) reviews it to determine whether the listed equipment meets the
statutory definition of “qualified broadband equipment.” Staff then submits a recommendation to
the Commission. If the Commission ultimately approves the Amended Application, then the
Commission forwards it and the order to the Idaho State Tax Commission.
STAFF REVIEW
Staff reviewed the Company’s Amended Application under Idaho Code § 63-3029I.
Based on its review, Staff believes that the Company is a telecommunications carrier and that the
listed equipment meets the statutory criteria and is “qualified broadband equipment” that is eligible
for the tax credit. Staff thus recommended the Commission: (1) issue an order confirming that the
Company’s equipment is “qualified broadband equipment,” and (2) forward copies of the
Amended Application and order to the Idaho State Tax Commission.
COMMISSION FINDINGS
Having reviewed the Company’s Amended Application and Staff’s recommendation,
we find that the Company’s equipment identified in Case No. QWE-T-22-01 is “qualified
broadband equipment” eligible for the tax credit under Idaho Code § 63-3029I. Accordingly, it is
appropriate for the Commission to issue an order confirming that the Company’s equipment is
“qualified broadband equipment.” The Commission makes no findings regarding the costs of the
installed broadband equipment or other expenses.
O R D E R
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Company’s Amended Application for an order,
confirming that equipment it installed in 2020 is “qualified broadband equipment,” is granted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order and a copy of the Amended
Application be served on the Idaho State Tax Commission.

1 The Commission issued Order No. 28784 pursuant to Idaho Code § 63-3029I(4), which empowers the Commission
to “issue procedural orders necessary to implement” Idaho Code § 63-3029(4).
ORDER NO. 35491 3
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this order (or in issues finally
decided by this order) may petition for reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service
date of this order with regard to any matter decided in this order. Within seven (7) days after any
person has petitioned for reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration.
See Idaho Code §§ 61-626 and 62-619.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 8th day
of August 2022.

__________________________________________
ERIC ANDERSON, PRESIDENT

__________________________________________
JOHN CHATBURN, COMMISSIONER

__________________________________________
JOHN R. HAMMOND, JR., COMMISSIONER

ATTEST:

Jan Noriyuki
Commission Secretary

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