(a) The commission shall create a Universal Access Fund to assure the provision of reasonably priced access to basic local exchange services throughout Georgia. The fund shall be administered by the commission under rules to be promulgated by the commission as needed to assure that the fund operates in a competitively neutral manner between competing telecommunications providers.

(b) The commission shall require all telecommunications companies providing telecommunications services within Georgia to contribute quarterly to the fund in a proportionate amount to their gross revenues from sale to end users of such telecommunications services as determined by rules to be promulgated by the commission.

(c) The commission may also require any telecommunications company to contribute to the fund if, after notice and opportunity for hearing, the commission determines that the company is providing private local exchange services or radio based local exchange services in this state that compete with a telecommunications service provided in this state for which a contribution to the fund is required under this Code section.

(d) Contributions to the fund shall be determined by the commission based upon estimates as to the difference in the reasonable actual costs of basic local exchange services throughout Georgia and the amounts established by law or regulations of the commission as to the maximum amounts that may be charged for such services.

(e) Moneys in the fund shall be distributed quarterly to all providers of basic local exchange services upon application and demonstration that the reasonable costs as determined by the commission to provide basic local exchange services exceed the maximum fixed price permitted for such basic local exchange services. The commission may take into account the possibility that a competing local exchange company is providing or could provide lower cost basic local exchange services. Competitive providers shall be entitled to obtain a similar subsidy from the fund to the extent that they provide basic local exchange services; provided, however, that such subsidy shall not exceed 90 percent of the per line amount provided the incumbent local exchange company for existing basic local exchange service or 100 percent of new basic local exchange service.

(f) The commission shall require any local exchange company seeking reimbursement from the fund to file the information reasonably necessary to determine the actual and reasonable costs of providing basic local exchange services.

(g) The commission shall have the authority to make adjustments to the contribution or distribution levels based on yearly reconciliations and to order further contributions or distributions as needed between companies to equalize reasonably the burdens of providing basic local exchange service throughout Georgia.

(h) A local exchange company or other company shall not establish a surcharge on customers' bills to collect from customers' contributions required under this Code section.