§ 52.16 - Billing and Collection Agent.

§ 52.16 Billing and Collection Agent.

The B&C Agent shall:

(a) Calculate, assess, bill and collect payments for all numbering administration functions and distribute funds to the NANPA, or other agent designated by the Common Carrier Bureau that performs functions related to numbering administration, on a monthly basis;

(b) Distribute to carriers the “Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet,” described in § 52.17(b).

(c) Keep confidential all data obtained from carriers and not disclose such data in company-specific form unless authorized by the Commission. Subject to any restrictions imposed by the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, the B & C Agent may share data obtained from carriers with the administrators of the universal service support mechanism (See 47 CFR 54.701 of this chapter), the TRS Fund (See 47 CFR 64.604(c)(4)(iii)(H) of this chapter), and the local number portability cost recovery (See 47 CFR 52.32). The B & C Agent shall keep confidential all data obtained from other administrators. The B & C Agent shall use such data, from carriers or administrators, only for calculating, collecting and verifying payments. The Commission shall have access to all data reported to the Administrator. Contributors may make requests for Commission nondisclosure of company-specific revenue information under § 0.459 of this chapter by so indicating on the Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet at the time that the subject data are submitted. The Commission shall make all decisions regarding nondisclosure of company-specific information.

(d) Develop procedures to monitor industry compliance with reporting requirements and propose specific procedures to address reporting failures and late payments;

(e) File annual reports with the appropriate regulatory authorities of the NANP member countries as requested; and

(f) Obtain an audit from an independent auditor after the first year of operations and annually thereafter, which shall evaluate the validity of calculated payments. The B&C Agent shall submit the audit report to the Commission for appropriate review and action.

[62 FR 55183, Oct. 23, 1997, as amended at 64 FR 41330, July 30, 1999; 66 FR 9532, Feb. 8, 2001; 67 FR 13226, Mar. 21, 2002; 73 FR 9481, Feb. 21, 2008; 80 FR 66479, Oct. 29, 2015]