[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37943-37944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17499]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[CC Docket No. 96-262; FCC 01-166]


Access Charge Reform

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) considered whether it should terminate its inquiry into 
the assessment of a presubscribed interexchange carrier charge (PICC) 
on the special access lines provided by price cap local exchange 
carriers (LECs) to interexchange carriers and others. Since the 
Commission began this inquiry, several developments caused the 
Commission to conclude that it was no longer necessary to consider 
permitting these LECs to assess PICCs on their special access lines. 
Accordingly, in this document the Commission terminated its inquiry 
into the assessment of such charges but it declared that this docket 
shall remain open for other purposes.

DATES: The inquiry instituted in the proposed rule published June 6, 
1997, at 62 FR 31040 is terminated as of July 20, 2001 with respect to 
the Commission's proposal to permit price cap LECs to assess a PICC on 
their special access lines.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Lerner, Deputy Chief, 
Competitive Pricing Division, at (202) 418-1520, or Allen A. Barna, 
General Attorney, Competitive Pricing Division, at (202) 418-1536. The 
address is Competitive Pricing Division, Common Carrier Bureau, Federal 
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order 
in CC Docket No. 96-262, FCC 01-166, Access Charge Reform, adopted May 
17, 2001, and released on May 21, 2001. The full text of this document 
is available for public inspection Monday

[[Page 37944]]

through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. 
to 11:30 a.m. in the FCC Reference Center, Room CY-A257, 445 12th 
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. The complete text of the document may 
be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, ITS, Inc., 
at 1231 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202-857-3800). This Order 
contains no new or modified information collections subject to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13.

Synopsis of the Order

    In the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking \1\ included in Access 
Charge Reform, Price Cap Performance Review for Local Exchange 
Carriers, Transport Rate Structure and Pricing, End User Common Line 
Charges, First Report and Order, in CC Docket Nos. 96-262, 94-1, 91-
213, 95-72, 12 FCC Rcd 15982, 16155 (1997), 62 FR 31868 (June 11, 1997) 
(First Report and Order), aff'd, Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. 
FCC, 153 F.3d 523 (8th Cir. 1998), the Commission tentatively concluded 
that it should permit price cap LECs to assess a PICC on their special 
access lines to enable them to recover some of the common line costs 
assigned to the federal jurisdiction that they incur in providing 
switched access service to residential and single line business lines. 
Commenters unanimously opposed that proposal. In this Order, the 
Commission declined to permit the assessment of such special access 
PICCs and terminated its inquiry into such an assessment.
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    \1\ See proposed rule published at 62 FR 31040 (June 6, 1997).
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Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 603, 
the First Report and Order included an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (IRFA) with reference to the Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking found therein. First Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd at 16170-
16172. In the IRFA, the Commission noted that there were thirteen 
incumbent price cap LECs at that time, that it had limited to those 
LECs the scope of its proposal to permit the assessment of PICCs on 
special access lines, and that it had tentatively concluded that each 
of those LECs had more than 1500 employees and, therefore, that none 
was a small entity. First Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd at 16171-16172. 
The Commission sought public comment on its special access PICC 
proposal, its tentative conclusions, and the related IRFA. No comments 
were received concerning the conclusion that those price cap carriers 
were not small entities, the limitation of the special access PICC 
proposal to such carriers, or the related provisions of the IRFA.
    As of April 30 of this year, four Regional Bell Operating Companies 
and eight other LECs were subject to price cap regulation. See Material 
to be Filed in Support of 2001 Annual Access Tariff Filings, Tariff 
Review Plans, DA 01-1105 (Com.Car.Bur., Comp. Pricing Div., Apr. 30, 
2001), para. 3. While one or more of these eight other LECs may have 
less than 1500 employees, the Order will not have a significant 
economic impact on those LECs or any other small entities for the 
reasons set forth in the following paragraph. This Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis conforms to the RFA, as amended by the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1966 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 
801(a)(1)(A).
    Under the RFA, there will not be a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities resulting from this Order. As 
explained above, this Order simply terminates the Commission's inquiry 
into whether it should permit price cap LECs to assess PICCs on their 
special access lines to enable them to recover some of their common 
line costs. Because this Order does not require or otherwise authorize 
any change in the provision of access services or the recovery of 
common line costs by these carriers, there will not be any significant 
economic impact on these carriers or on any of their customers 
including small entities. The Commission will send a copy of this 
Order, including this final certification, to Congress pursuant to the 
SBREFA, see 5 U.S.C. 801 (a)(1)(A), and another copy to the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, see 5 U.S.C. 
605(b).

Ordering Clause

    Pursuant to the authority contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 201-
209, and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
151, 154(i), 154(j), 201-209, and 403, that the inquiry initiated in CC 
Docket No. 96-262 into the assessment by price cap carriers of a 
presubscribed interexchange carrier charge on their special access 
lines is hereby TERMINATED but that this docket shall REMAIN OPEN for 
other purposes.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1

    Communications common carriers, Telecommunications.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-17499 Filed 7-19-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P