[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 186 (Monday, September 27, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51910-51911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25013]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 51
[CC Docket No. 96-98; FCC 99-227]
Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; reconsideration and clarification.
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SUMMARY: This document resolves and clarifies specific issues regarding
the nondiscriminatory access obligations of local exchange carriers
(LECs). The intended effect is to further Congress' goal of preventing
unfair local exchange carrier practices and encouraging the development
of competition in directory assistance.
DATES: Effective October 27, 1999, except for Sec. 51.217(c)(3) which
contains information collection requirements that are contingent on
approval by the Office of Management and Budget. The Commission will
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective
date.
ADDRESSES: 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Cooke, Senior Attorney, Common
Carrier Bureau, Network Services Division, (202) 418-2351 or via the
Internet at gcooke@fcc.gov. Further information may also be obtained by
calling the Common Carrier Bureau's TTY number: 202-418-0484. For
additional information concerning the information collections contained
in this Order contact Judy Boley at (202) 418-0214, or via the Internet
at jboley@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This summarizes the Commission's Second
Order on Reconsideration adopted August 23, 1999, and released
September 9, 1999. The Second Order on Reconsideration clarifies rules
adopted in the Local Competition Second Report and Order and resolves
issues relating to nondiscriminatory access. The full text of this
Second Order on Reconsideration is available for inspection and copying
during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center, 445 12th
Street, S.W., Room CY-A257, Washington, D.C. The complete text also may
be obtained through the World Wide Web, at http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/
Common Carrier/Orders/fcc99227.wp, or may be purchased from the
Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription Service,
Inc., (202) 857-3800, 1231 20th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. This
Order contains information collections subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). It has been submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review under the PRA. The general
public and other federal agencies are invited to comment on the
information collections contained in this proceeding.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This Order contains modified information collections. The
Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork
burdens, invites the general public to comment on the information
collections contained in this Order, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-12. Persons wishing to comment on
the information collections should submit comments on or before October
27, 1999. Comments should address: (a) Whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Commission, including whether the information has practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on the respondents including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
OMB Approval Number: 3060-0741.
Title: Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996--CC Docket No. 96-98.
Form No.: N/A.
Type of Review: Revised collection
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Number of
Information collection respondents Estimated time per response Total annual
(approx.) burden
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Sharing of Directory Listings................... 500 36 hours (per respondent per year) 18,000
Notification Regarding Format................... 50 1 hour (per respondent per year).. 50
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Total Annual Burden: 18,050 hours.
Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit.
Estimated costs per respondent: $0.
Needs and Uses: The Commission, in compliance with section
251(b)(3) of the 1996 Act, clarifies and affirms rules in this Order to
further Congress' goals of preventing unfair LEC practices in relation
to nondiscriminatory access to telephone numbers, operator services,
directory assistance, and directory listings. Our clarification and
particularization of the obligations imposed on carriers by section
251(b)(3) is necessary to achieve Congress' goals in relation to
nondiscriminatory access. This approach should reduce confusion and
potential controversy with minimal burdens on carriers and new
entrants, many of whom are small businesses.
Synopsis
The Commission promulgated rules pursuant to section 251(b)(3) of
the Act in the Local Competition Second Report and Order. In the Second
Order on Reconsideration, first, the Commission affirms its
requirements that LECs offer access to telephone numbers, operator
services, directory assistance, and directory listings that is equal to
the access that the LEC provides to itself and that the providing LEC
shall continue to bear the burden of proof that it is offering
nondiscriminatory access. Second, the Commission affirms its
requirement that each LEC provide access to adjunct features related to
the provision of operator services and directory assistance services,
and precludes LECs from negotiating exclusive contracts with third
party vendors of such adjunct features that would prevent competing
providers from negotiating licensing agreements with the vendors for
access to their services. Third, the Commission declines to change its
branding requirements concerning LECs' obligations to rebrand the
traffic of
[[Page 51911]]
interconnecting carriers and resellers, and, further, reaffirms that
the benefits of this obligation are to be extended to all ``competing
providers of telephone exchange service and telephone toll service,''
including resellers. The Commission concludes that any failure to
rebrand the competitor's traffic is presumptively discriminatory and
that the burden will be on the providing LEC to demonstrate that it is
technically infeasible for it to arrange its network architecture to
allow it to brand competitor's traffic. Fourth, the Commission
clarifies that, upon request, a LEC shall provide access to its
directory assistance services, including directory assistance
databases, and to its directory listings in any format the competing
provider specifies, if the LEC's internal systems can accommodate that
format. In addition, LECs must supply updates to the requesting LEC in
the same manner as the original transfer and at the same time that it
provides updates to itself. Finally, the Commission deletes as
redundant its definition of ``directory listings,'' and concludes that
names and addresses of subscribers with unlisted information must be
shared among LECs.
Regulatory Flexibility Certification
As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Order contains a
Supplemental Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis which is set forth
in an Appendix to the Order. A brief description of the analysis
follows. Pursuant to section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the
Commission performed a comprehensive analysis of the Order with regard
to small entities. This analysis includes: (1) A succinct statement of
the need for, and objectives of, the Commission's decisions in the
Order; (2) a summary of the significant issues raised by the public
comments in response to the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, a
summary of the Commission's assessment of these issues, and a statement
of any changes made in the Order as a result of the comments; (3) a
description of and an estimate of the number of small entities to which
the Order will apply; (4) a description of the projected reporting,
recordkeeping and other compliance requirements of the Order, including
an estimate of the classes of small entities which will be subject to
the requirement and the type of professional skills necessary for
compliance with the requirement; (5) a description of the steps the
Commission has taken to minimize the significant economic impact on
small entities consistent with the stated objectives of applicable
statutes, including a statement of the factual, policy, and legal
reasons for selecting the alternative adopted in the Order and why each
one of the other significant alternatives to each of the Commission's
decisions which affect small entities was rejected.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 51
Local exchange carriers, Nondiscriminatory access,
Telecommunications.
Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.
Rule Changes
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal
Communications Commission amends Part 51 of the Code of Federal
Regulations to read as follows:
PART 51--INTERCONNECTION
1. The authority citation for Part 51 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Sections 1-5, 7, 201-05, 207-09, 218, 225-27, 251-54,
271, 332, 48 Stat. 1070, as amended, 1077; 47 U.S.C. 151-155, 154,
157, 201-05, 207-09, 218, 225-27, 251-54, 271, 332, unless otherwise
noted.
2. Revise Sec. 51.217(c)(3) to read as follows:
Sec. 51.217 Nondiscriminatory access: telephone numbers, operator
services, directory assistance services, and directory listings.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(3) Directory assistance services and directory listings--(i)
Access to directory assistance. A LEC shall permit competing providers
to have access to its directory assistance services, including
directory assistance databases, so that any customer of a competing
provider can obtain directory listings, except as provided in paragraph
(c)(3)(iv) of this section, on a nondiscriminatory basis,
notwithstanding the identity of the customer's local service provider,
or the identity of the provider for the customer whose listing is
requested. A LEC must supply access to directory assistance in the
manner specified by the competing provider, including transfer of the
LECs' directory assistance databases in readily accessible magnetic
tape, electronic or other convenient format, as provided in paragraph
(c)(3)(iii) of this section. Updates to the directory assistance
database shall be made in the same format as the initial transfer
(unless the requesting LEC requests otherwise), and shall be performed
in a timely manner, taking no longer than those made to the providing
LEC's own database. A LEC shall accept the listings of those customers
served by competing providers for inclusion in its directory
assistance/operator services databases.
(ii) Access to directory listings. A LEC that compiles directory
listings shall share directory listings with competing providers in the
manner specified by the competing provider, including readily
accessible tape or electronic formats, as provided in paragraph
(c)(3)(iii) of this section. Such data shall be provided in a timely
fashion.
(iii) Format. A LEC shall provide access to its directory
assistance services, including directory assistance databases, and to
its directory listings in any format the competing provider specifies,
if the LEC's internal systems can accommodate that format.
(A) If a LEC's internal systems do not permit it provide directory
assistance or directory listings in the format the specified by the
competing provider, the LEC shall:
(1) Within thirty days of receiving the request, inform the
competing provider that the requested format cannot be accommodated and
tell the requesting provider which formats can be accommodated; and
(2) Provide the requested directory assistance or directory
listings in the format the competing provider chooses from among the
available formats.
(B) [Reserved]
(iv) Unlisted numbers. A LEC shall not provide access to unlisted
telephone numbers, or other information that its customer has asked the
LEC not to make available, with the exception of customer name and
address. The LEC shall ensure that access is permitted to the same
directory information, including customer name and address, that is
available to its own directory assistance customers.
(v) Adjuncts to services. Operator services and directory
assistance services must be made available to competing providers in
their entirety, including access to any adjunct features (e.g., rating
tables or customer information databases) necessary to allow competing
providers full use of these services.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-25013 Filed 9-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
