[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24634-24635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6022]



[[Page 24634]]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket No. 02-278; DA 06-808]


Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act of 1991

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; comments requested.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission seeks comment on ACA 
International's (ACA) petition for an expedited clarification and 
declaratory ruling concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act 
(TCPA) rules.

DATES: Comments are due on or before May 11, 2006, and reply comments 
are due on or before May 22, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by CG Docket No. 02-278, 
by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Federal Communications Commission's Web Site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Parties who choose to file by paper should also 
submit their comment on diskette. These diskettes should be submitted, 
along with three paper copies to Kelli Farmer, Consumer & Governmental 
Affairs Bureau, Policy Division, 445 12th Street, SW., Room 5-A866, 
Washington, DC 20554. Such a submission should be on a 3.5 inch 
diskette formatted in an IBM compatible formatted using Word 97 or 
compatible software. The diskette should be accompanied by a cover 
letter and should be submitted in ``read only'' mode. The diskette 
should be clearly labeled with the commenter's name, proceeding 
(including the lead docket number in this case CG Docket No. 02-278), 
type of pleading (comment or reply comment), date of submission, and 
the name of the electronic file on the diskette. The label should also 
include the following phrase: ``Disk Copy--Not an Original.'' Each 
diskette should contain only one party's pleadings, preferably in a 
single electronic file. In addition, commenters must send diskette 
copies to the Commission's contractor at Portals II, 445 12th Street, 
SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554.
     People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request 
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: [email protected] or phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
    For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica McMahon, Consumer Policy 
Division, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, (202) 418-0346 
(voice), [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's 
document, DA 06-808, released April 5, 2006. The full text of document 
DA 06-808, ACA International's submission, and copies of any 
subsequently filed documents in this matter will be available for 
public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC 
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room 
CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. Document DA 06-808, ACA International's 
submission, and copies of subsequently filed documents in this matter 
may also be purchased from the Commission's contractor at Portals II, 
445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may 
contact the Commission's contractor at their Web site http://www.bcpiweb.com or call 1-800-378-3160. A copy of ACA International's 
submission may also be found by searching ECFS at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs (insert CG Docket No. 02-278 into the proceeding block). To 
request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities 
(Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail 
to [email protected] or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 
202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). Document DA 06-808 can also 
be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/policy. Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.419 of the 
Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file 
comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated on the 
first page of this document. Comments may be filed using: (1) The 
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the Federal 
Government's eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies. See 
Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 
(1998).
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ 
or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Filers 
should follow the instructions provided on the Web site for submitting 
comments.
     For ECFS filers, if multiple docket or rulemaking numbers 
appear in the caption of this proceeding, filers must transmit one 
electronic copy of the comments for each docket or rulemaking number 
referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, filers 
should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, 
and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also submit 
an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions, 
filers should send an e-mail to [email protected], and include the following 
words in the body of the message, ``get form.'' A sample form and 
directions will be sent in response.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and four copies of each filing. If more than one 
docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, 
filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, 
by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. 
Postal Service mail (although the Commission continues to experience 
delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be 
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
Federal Communications Commission.
     The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or 
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236 
Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing 
hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be 
held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be 
disposed of before entering the building.
     Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton 
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
     U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority 
mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.

Synopsis

    On October 4, 2005, ACA filed a petition for expedited declaratory 
ruling seeking clarification of the rules under the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act (TCPA). See Petition for Expedited Declaratory Ruling, 
filed by ACA, October 4, 2005 (Petition). Specifically,

[[Page 24635]]

ACA asks the Commission to clarify that 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iii) of 
the Commission's rules does not apply to creditors and collectors when 
calling telephone numbers to recover payments for goods and services 
received by consumers. Section 64.1200(a)(1)(iii) of the Commission's 
rules prohibit the initiation of ``any telephone call (other than a 
call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent 
of the called party) using an automatic telephone dialing system or an 
artificial or prerecorded voice, to any telephone number assigned to * 
* * cellular telephone service * * *.'' See 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iii) 
of the Commission's rules. The Commission's rules on autodialed and 
prerecorded message calls to cell phone numbers incorporated the 
language of the TCPA virtually verbatim. See also 47 U.S.C. 
227(b)(1)(iii) of the Communications Act. (``It shall be unlawful for 
any person within the United States or any person outside the United 
States if the recipient is within the United States--to make any call 
(other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior 
express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone 
dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice--to any telephone 
number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, 
specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier 
service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the 
call[]''.)
    ACA maintains that autodialed telephone calls are the most 
efficient way to contact customers. ACA indicates that creditors use 
autodialers not for telemarketing purposes, but to recover payments for 
obligations owed to creditors. According to ACA, the calls do not 
involve advertising or soliciting the sale of products or services; 
instead, they are placed to ``complete a transaction'' in which the 
customer has received a product or service. ACA also suggests that many 
customers today use wireless phones as their primary or preferred 
method of contact, and that wireless telephone numbers are typically 
provided by the customers--as part of a credit application, for 
example--for purposes of receiving calls. In addition, ACA argues that 
Congress did not intend the TCPA's autodialer restriction to cover 
calls by or on behalf of creditors when attempting to recover payments. 
According to ACA, in a 2003 Report and Order revising the TCPA rules, 
the Commission concluded that a predictive dialer is within the meaning 
and statutory definition of automatic telephone dialing equipment. 
(Published at 68 FR 44144, July 25, 2003). ACA believes this conclusion 
has created uncertainty for creditors that use predictive dialers to 
call wireless phone numbers. Without clarification that creditors' 
calls are not subject to the restrictions on autodialed calls to 
wireless numbers, ACA maintains the credit and collections industry 
will suffer severe economic harm based on the inability to use 
autodialers to make such calls. Accordingly, the Commission seeks 
comment on ACA's petition.

Federal Communications Commission.
Jay Keithley,
Deputy Bureau Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. E6-6022 Filed 4-25-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P