20250522Final_Order_No_36616.pdf

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
May 22,2025
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF INLAND ) CASE NO. INC-T-24-01
CELLULAR'S APPLICATION FOR THE )
APPROVAL OF ITS IDAHO BROADBAND )
EQUIPMENT TAX CREDIT FOR THE YEAR ) ORDER NO. 36646
2023 )
On August 14, 2024, Inland Cellular LLC ("Company") applied to the Idaho Public
Utilities Commission ("Commission") for an order confirming that equipment the Company
installed in 2023 is "qualified broadband equipment" under Idaho Code § 63-3029I (Income tax
credit for investment in broadband equipment) ("Application"). On April 25, 2025, the Company
submitted an addendum to its Application, updating its Idaho broadband equipment list
("Addendum"). With this Order, we confirm that the installed equipment is "qualified broadband
equipment"under Idaho Code § 63-30291.
THE BROADBAND EQUIPMENT TAX CREDIT
In 2001,the Idaho Legislature enacted House Bill 377 authorizing an income tax credit for
the installation of qualifying broadband infrastructure in Idaho. Idaho Code § 63-3029B. Section
63-30291 allows a taxpayer to receive an income tax credit for eligible broadband equipment
installed during a calendar year. Qualified broadband equipment is defined as those network
facilities "capable of transmitting signals at a rate of at least two hundred thousand(200,000)bits
per second to a subscriber and at least one hundred twenty-five thousand(125,000)bits per second
from a subscriber." Idaho Code § 63-30291(3)(b). If the equipment is installed by a
telecommunications carrier, it must also be "necessary to the provision of broadband services 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.'
That order specifies the information the taxpayer must include in the broadband tax credit
application. In Case No. GNR-T-21-10,the Commission modified the informational requirements
set forth by Order No. 28784. See Order No. 35297.
' The Commission issued Order No.28784 pursuant to Idaho Code§ 63-3029I(4),which empowers the Commission
to"issue procedural orders necessary to implement"the statute.
ORDER NO. 36616 1

When the taxpayer applies, Commission Staff ("Staff') reviews the application 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 application, then the Commission forwards it and the order to the Idaho
State Tax Commission.
THE APPLICATION
The Company represented that it offers the following broadband services to its customers:
Evolution Data Optimized("EVDO")mobile data, fixed, and fiber Long Term Evolution("LTE")
mobile data. Application at 1. These services are offered using networks such as Mobile EVDO
and LTE data,fixed wireless,fiber to the premises("FTTP"),fiber backhaul,microwave backhaul,
and millimeter wave ("mmWave").Id.
The Company disclosed that the transmission rates it offers to its customers depend on the
type of network used by the customer. Id. The EVDO mobile data provides a transmission speed
rate of 3 megabits per second ("Mbps") download and 1 Mbps upload; the LTE mobile data
provides 10 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload;the FTTP provides a transmission speed rate that
ranges from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps; the fixed wireless network provides the transmission speed rate
that ranges from 3 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload to 100 Mbps download/20 Mbps upload; and
finally, the microwave backhaul network provides a transmission rate that ranges from 50 Mbps
to 3 gigabits per second("Gbps").Id. The mmWave provides a transmission rate that ranges from
250 Mbps to 1 Gbps.Id. The Company represented that all of these transmission speed rates exceed
the minimum statutory speed requirements under Idaho Code § 63-3029I.
The Company stated that it served 22,717 subscribers, or 12.76 percent, of the potential
available 178,047 customers. Id. The Company reported that it invested a total of$424,942.42 in
2023 in qualifying broadband equipment. Addendum at 1. The Company represented that all of
the purchased equipment listed is necessary for the provision of broadband service and is an
integral part of its broadband network. Application at 1.
STAFF REVIEW
Commission Staff("Staff') reviewed the Company's Application under Idaho Code § 63-
3029I. Based on its review, Staff believed that the listed equipment met the statutory criteria and
was qualified broadband equipment that was eligible for the tax credit. Staff recommended the
Commission: (1) issue an order confirming that the Company's equipment is qualified broadband
ORDER NO. 36616 2

equipment, and (2) forward copies of the Application and the order to the Idaho State Tax
Commission.
COMMISSION FINDINGS
Having reviewed the Company's Application and Staff s recommendations, we find that
the Company's equipment identified in Case No. INC-T-24-01 is qualified broadband equipment
eligible for the tax credit under Idaho Code § 63-30291. The Commission makes no findings
regarding the costs of the installed broadband equipment or other expenses.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Company's Application for an order confirming that
equipment it installed in 2023 is qualified broadband equipment is granted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order and a copy of the Application be
served on the Idaho State Tax Commission.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one(21) days of the service date of this Order regarding any matter
decided herein.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 22nd day of
May 2025.
G
EDWARD LODGE, C r MISSIONER
9, 9!��
J R. HAMMOND JR., COMMISSIONER
DAYN HAR,61E, 60MMISSIONER
ATTEST:
Mo arr' s-
Commission Secreta
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ORDER NO. 36616 3