[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 46793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-22434]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[CC Docket No. 96-128; DA 01-1967]


Petitions for Declaratory Ruling, Reconsideration and/or 
Clarification of the Payphone Compensation Second Order on 
Reconsideration

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Common Carrier Bureau seeks comment on 
petitions for declaratory ruling, reconsideration and/or clarification 
filed by Bulletins, WorldCom, Inc., AT&T and Global Crossing 
Telecommunications, Inc.

DATES: Comments due no later than October 9, 2001. Reply comments due 
no later than October 22, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, The Portals II, 445 12th 
Street, SW., Room 6-A207, Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tania Cho of the Common Carrier 
Bureau, Network Services Division: by phone (202) 418-2320; by fax 
(202) 418-2345; by TTY (202) 418-0484; or, by email at [email protected]. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 5, 2001, the Federal Communications 
Commission (Commission) released the Second Order on Reconsideration, 
which modified the rules governing the entity responsible for 
compensating a payphone service provider (PSP) for coinless calls 
placed from a payphone that are routed to the network of a facilities-
based interexchange carrier (IXC), and then to one or more IXC 
resellers before being transferred to a local exchange carrier (LEC) 
for call completion. The modified rules provide that the first 
facilities-based IXC to which a LEC routes a coinless payphone call 
must (1) compensate the PSP for the completed call; (2) track or 
arrange for tracking of all compensable calls; and (3) send to the PSP 
call completion information to enable the PSP to verify the accuracy of 
compensation it receives for coinless, compensable calls and/or to bill 
the underlying facilities-based carrier. The first facilities-based IXC 
may seek reimbursement from the switchless or switch-based reseller 
ultimately responsible for the compensation.
    Several parties have filed petitions for declaratory ruling, 
clarification and/or reconsideration. Bulletins seeks clarification of 
whether the modified rules relieve certain LECs from their obligation 
to compensate PSPs for coinless calls made from a payphone, and whether 
IXCs are provided a basis for exempting calls originated from payphones 
served by Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs). WorldCom, Inc. 
(WorldCom) seeks a declaratory ruling that a completed dial-around 
payphone call is defined as one that is completed on the underlying 
carrier's network, or one that is handed off to switch-based reseller 
customers that do not have prior agreements with all PSPs to pay dial 
around compensation. WorldCom also seeks clarification that carriers 
are only required to report compensable toll-free and access number 
calls. AT&T seeks clarification of whether its practice of compensating 
PSPs at the Commission-established rate for all calls that are sent to 
a switch-based reseller's switching platform, regardless of whether 
such calls are completed, is consistent with the Commission's 
requirements. AT&T also seeks clarification and/or reconsideration of 
the IXCs reporting obligations to PSPs. Global Crossing 
Telecommunications, Inc. (Global Crossing) requests that the Commission 
establish a specific timing surrogate for determining whether a 
particular call is completed, and therefore compensable. Global 
Crossing also seeks reconsideration of the reporting requirements.
    Copies of the petitions will be available during regular business 
hours at the FCC Reference Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554, (202) 418-0270. Copies of the 
petitions are also available on the Commission's Electronic Comment 
Filing System (ECFS) at 
http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html (insert CC Docket No. 96-128 into 
the Proceeding block). Copies of the petitions may also be purchased 
from the Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription 
Service, Inc. (ITS), 1231 20th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036, 
telephone (202) 857-3800, fax (202) 857-3805, TTY (202) 293-8810.

Federal Communications Commission.
Dorothy Attwood,
Chief, Common Carrier Bureau.
[FR Doc. 01-22434 Filed 9-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P