47 CFR § 51.511 - Forward-looking economic cost per unit.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t47/s51.511"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "47 CFR § 51.511 - Forward-looking economic cost per unit."
title_number: 47
title_name: "Telecommunication"
section_number: "51.511"
section_name: "Forward-looking economic cost per unit."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "COMMON CARRIER SERVICES"
part_number: "51"
part_name: "INTERCONNECTION"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "47 U.S.C. 151-55, 201-05, 207-09, 218, 225-27, 251-52, 271, 332 unless otherwise noted."
regulatory_source: "61 FR 45619, Aug. 29, 1996, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "51"
---


# 51.511 Forward-looking economic cost per unit.

(a) The forward-looking economic cost per unit of an element equals the forward-looking economic cost of the element, as defined in § 51.505, divided by a reasonable projection of the sum of the total number of units of the element that the incumbent LEC is likely to provide to requesting telecommunications carriers and the total number of units of the element that the incumbent LEC is likely to use in offering its own services, during a reasonable measuring period.

(b)(1) With respect to elements that an incumbent LEC offers on a flat-rate basis, the number of units is defined as the discrete number of elements (e.g., local loops or local switch ports) that the incumbent LEC uses or provides.

(2) With respect to elements that an incumbent LEC offers on a usage-sensitive basis, the number of units is defined as the unit of measurement of the usage (e.g., minutes of use or call-related database queries) of the element.