Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 Public Law 115–129 Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 129 115–129 Statute Compilation United States House of Representatives Office of the Legislative Counsel text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. GPO Statute Compilations USLM converter, version 20210527.1 2021-10-15 Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 14175 115 2018-02-26 Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 [(Public Law 115–129)] [This law has not been amended] [Currency: This publication is a compilation of the text of Public Law 115–129. It was last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and below at the bottom of each page of the pdf version and reflects current law through the date of the enactment of the public law listed at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/comps/] [Note: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents. The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).]
AN ACTTo amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure the integrity of voice communications and to prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among areas of the United States in the delivery of such communications.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. [47 U.S.C. 609 note] SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017”.
SEC. 2. ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF VOICE COMMUNICATIONS. Part II of title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“SEC. 262. [47 U.S.C. 262] ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF VOICE COMMUNICATIONS “(a) Registration and Compliance by Intermediate Providers An intermediate provider that offers or holds itself out as offering the capability to transmit covered voice communications from one destination to another and that charges any rate to any other entity (including an affiliated entity) for the transmission shall— “(1) register with the Commission; and “(2) comply with the service quality standards for such transmission to be established by the Commission under subsection (c)(1)(B). “(b) Required Use of Registered Intermediate Providers A covered provider may not use an intermediate provider to transmit covered voice communications unless such intermediate provider is registered under subsection (a)(1). “(c) Commission Rules “(1) In general “(A) Registry Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall promulgate rules to establish a registry to record registrations under subsection (a)(1). “(B) Service quality standards Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall promulgate rules to establish service quality standards for the transmission of covered voice communications by intermediate providers. “(2) Requirements In promulgating the rules required by paragraph (1), the Commission shall— “(A) ensure the integrity of the transmission of covered voice communications to all customers in the United States; and “(B) prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among areas of the United States in the delivery of covered voice communications. “(d) Public Availability of Registry The Commission shall make the registry established under subsection (c)(1)(A) publicly available on the website of the Commission. “(e) Scope of Application The requirements of this section shall apply regardless of the format by which any communication or service is provided, the protocol or format by which the transmission of such communication or service is achieved, or the regulatory classification of such communication or service. “(f) Rule of Construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the regulatory classification of any communication or service. “(g) Effect on Other Laws Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt or expand the authority of a State public utility commission or other relevant State agency to collect data, or investigate and enforce State law and regulations, regarding the completion of intrastate voice communications, regardless of the format by which any communication or service is provided, the protocol or format by which the transmission of such communication or service is achieved, or the regulatory classification of such communication or service. “(h) Exception The requirement under subsection (a)(2) to comply with the service quality standards established under subsection (c)(1)(B) shall not apply to a covered provider that— “(1) on or before the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, has certified as a Safe Harbor provider under section 64.2107(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation; and “(2) continues to meet the requirements under such section 64.2107(a). “(i) Definitions In this section: “(1) Covered provider The term ‘covered provider’ has the meaning given the term in section 64.2101 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto. “(2) Covered voice communication The term ‘covered voice communication’ means a voice communication (including any related signaling information) that is generated— “(A) from the placement of a call from a connection using a North American Numbering Plan resource or a call placed to a connection using such a numbering resource; and “(B) through any service provided by a covered provider. “(3) Intermediate provider The term ‘intermediate provider’ means any entity that— “(A) enters into a business arrangement with a covered provider or other intermediate provider for the specific purpose of carrying, routing, or transmitting voice traffic that is generated from the placement of a call placed— “(i) from an end user connection using a North American Numbering Plan resource; or “(ii) to an end user connection using such a numbering resource; and “(B) does not itself, either directly or in conjunction with an affiliate, serve as a covered provider in the context of originating or terminating a given call.”
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