[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 28, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 26466-26467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13300]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Chapter I

[CC Docket No. 91-35; FCC 96-131]


Operator Service Access and Pay Telephone Compensation

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Where technically feasible and economically reasonable, the 
Commission's Third Report and Order requires local exchange carriers 
(LECs) to make international call blocking services available to non-
aggregator business customers as well as to those businesses that 
qualify as aggregators under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended 
by The Telephone Operator Consumer Services Improvement Act of 1990. 
The Commission extended the availability of these services to non-
aggregator business customers to assist these customers in reducing 
losses attributable to international toll fraud.
    The Commission Order states, however, that LECs will not be 
required to provide similar international blocking to residential 
customers, whether to prevent international toll fraud or to control 
access to international dial-a-porn. Although LECs may elect to offer 
these services to their residential customers, the Commission declined 
to require that these services be made available to residences because 
it was not clear that such a new residential service would be 
technically feasible and economically reasonable. It was also unclear 
to what extent such a residential blocking service would be effective 
in limiting toll fraud and access to dial-a-porn.
    In addition, the Commission Order requires LECs to file federal 
tariffs for both billed number screening (BNS) and originating line 
screening (OLS) ``confirmation screening services'' that allow 
aggregators to ensure that the proper screening codes are associated 
with their telephone lines. The Order specifies that the OLS service 
must deliver a code that discretely identifies private payphones and 
such other codes as are necessary to identify other categories of 
aggregator locations. The Order also stresses that it is important for 
LECs to use uniform codes for their OLS services. The Order further 
requires LECs to unbundle their OLS ``confirmation services,'' unless 
they can show either that bundling would not place aggregators at a 
competitive disadvantage or that it would not be technically feasible 
or would be economically unreasonable to unbundle these ``confirmation 
services.'' It also requires LECs to unbundle the BNS ``confirmation 
services'' that they provide to aggregators under federal tariff and to 
make those services available to both aggregators and non-aggregators. 
Finally, it specifies a rate structure for features of OLS and BNS 
service provided to aggregators.
    The Commission Order requires that LECs include these screening 
services in their federal tariffs and specifies a rate structure for 
service to aggregators because the Commission found these services were 
not uniformly available to aggregators under existing LEC state tariffs 
and because these services were not always adequate when made available 
under those tariffs.
    As a result of the Commission Order, non-aggregator, as well as 
aggregator, business customers of LECs gain access to international 
call blocking services offered under federal tariffs. In addition, 
aggregator business customers will have greater access to uniform and 
discrete OLS screening codes and to unbundled OLS ``confirmation 
services.'' Also, the Commission Order results in both aggregators and 
non-aggregators having access to unbundled BNS ``confirmation 
services'' under federal tariffs.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 27, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas David, Accounting and Audits 
Division, Common Carrier Bureau, (202) 418-0800, or Allen A. Barna, 
Competitive Pricing Division, Common Carrier Bureau, (202) 418-1530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Third 
Report and Order adopted March 25, 1996, and released April 5, 1996. 
The full text of this Commission decision is available for inspection 
and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Public Reference 
Room (Room 230), 1919 M St., N.W., Washington,

[[Page 26467]]

D.C. The complete text of this decision may also be purchased from the 
Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription Service, 
Suite 140, 2100 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:

    The Commission has determined that Section 605(b) of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), does not apply to these rules 
because they do not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. The definition of a ``small entity'' in 
Section 3 of the Small Business Act excludes any business that is 
dominant in its field of operation. Although some of the LECs that will 
be affected are very small, such LECs do not qualify as ``small 
entities'' because each has a monopoly on ubiquitous access to the 
subscribers in their service area. The Commission has also found all 
exchange carriers to be dominant in its competitive carrier proceeding. 
See Policy and Rules Concerning Rates for Competitive Common Carrier 
Services and Facilities Authorization Therefore, CC Docket No. 79-252, 
First Report and Order, 85 FCC 2d 1, 23-24 (1980), 45 FR 76148, 
November 18, 1980. To the extent that small telephone companies will be 
affected by these rules, the Commission certified that these rules 
would not have a significant effect on a substantial number of ``small 
entities.''

Summary of Report and Order

    In its Docket 91-35 Reconsideration Order, the Commission ordered 
LECs to offer, pursuant to interstate tariffs, services that would 
block international direct-dialed sequences (011+ and 10XXX-011+), but 
did not require LECs to make that service available to customers other 
than aggregators. See Policies and Rules Concerning Operator Service 
Access and Pay Telephone Compensation, CC Docket No. 91-35, Order on 
Reconsideration, 7 FCC Rcd 4355 (1992) (Docket 91-35 Reconsideration 
Order), 57 FR 34253, August 4, 1992. The Commission also required the 
LECs to offer two tariffed screening services, originating line 
screening (OLS) and billed number screening (BNS). These services 
enable operator service providers (OSPs) to determine whether there are 
billing restrictions on lines to which a caller may seek to bill a 
call. The Commission, however, did not expressly require that those 
screening services be federally tariffed. In its Order on Further 
Reconsideration and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this 
docket, 8 FCC Rcd 2863 (1993) (Further Reconsideration/Further NPRM), 
58 FR 21435, April 21, 1993, the Commission subsequently affirmed the 
requirement that LECs offer OLS and BNS services and tentatively found 
that Bell Atlantic's federally tariffed line information data base 
(LIDB) service fulfills its obligation to provide a BNS service. The 
Further Reconsideration/Further NPRM requested further comment on three 
major issues: (1) whether the Commission should require the LECs to 
extend their international blocking services to non-aggregator business 
subscribers and to residential subscribers; (2) whether the Commission 
should affirm its tentative conclusion that BNS and OLS services should 
be tariffed at the federal level; and (3) whether proposed standards 
regarding availability to all customers, unbundling, and rate levels 
should be applied to OLS and BNS services provided by the LECs. In 
light of the rapid growth in the availability of, and complaints about, 
international information services since comments were last filed in 
this proceeding, the Commission's Common Carrier Bureau (Bureau) issued 
a Public Notice in March 1995 requesting further comment on whether 
international blocking for residential consumers would be useful in 
preventing losses to international pay-per-call services, particularly 
dial-a-porn services. Public Notice, Request for Additional Comments on 
the Costs and Benefits of International Blocking for Residential 
Customers, CC Docket No. 91-35, 10 FCC Rcd 4549 (Com.Car.Bur. 1995) 
(Public Notice), 60 FR 16651, March 31, 1995. Specifically, the Bureau 
asked LECs to comment on the costs they would incur to provide 
international call blocking service to residential customers and to 
show the extent to which those costs could be reduced by not providing 
blocking in areas in which it would not be technically feasible or 
economically reasonable to do so.
    In this Order, the Commission required LECs to provide 
international blocking services to business customers, where 
technically feasible and economically reasonable. The Commission did 
not, however, require LECs to provide such blocking for residential 
consumers at this time. Also, the Commission required LECs to tariff, 
at the federal level, BNS and OLS screening services that allow 
aggregators to ensure that the proper screening codes are associated 
with their telephone lines. The OLS service must deliver a code that 
discretely identifies private payphones and such other codes as are 
necessary to identify other categories of aggregator locations. The 
Commission emphasized again that it is important for LECs to use 
uniform codes for the OLS services that they provide. The Commission 
required the LECs to unbundle their OLS ``confirmation services,'' 
unless they can show that bundling would not place aggregators at a 
competitive disadvantage or that it is not technically feasible or 
would be economically unreasonable to unbundle OLS service. The 
Commission also required that LECs unbundle the BNS service they 
provide to aggregators under federal tariff and make that service 
available to both aggregators and non-aggregators. Finally, the 
Commission specified a rate structure for OLS and BNS services provided 
to aggregators.

Ordering Clauses

    Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to authority contained in 
Sections 1, 4, 201-205, 218, 220, and 226 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154, 201-205, 218, 220, and 226, that 
the policies and requirements set forth herein ARE adopted.
    It is further ordered That this Order will be effective June 27, 
1996.
    It is further ordered That, pursuant to Section 203 of the 
Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 203, each of the LECs SHALL FILE 
revisions to their federal tariffs, reflecting the requirements of this 
Order to provide international blocking service for non-aggregator 
business customers and Billed Number Screening (BNS) service within 60 
days after the effective date of this Order.
    It is further ordered That, pursuant to Section 203 of the 
Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. Sec. 203, each of the LECs shall file 
tariff revisions, reflecting the requirements of this Order to 
federally tariff Originating Line Screening (OLS) service, no later 
than December 1, 1996.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-13300 Filed 5-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P