[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65014-65017]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25570]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 61

[WC Docket Nos. 18-276, 17-308; FCC No. 19-107; FR ID 16252]


Reform of Certain Tariff Rules

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Commission amends its tariff publication rules to allow 
carriers to cross-reference their own tariffs and the tariffs of their 
affiliates, and to eliminate the short form tariff review plan filed by 
price cap incumbent local exchange carriers 90 days before the 
effective date of their annual access tariff filings. These changes 
will bring the Commission's tariff publication rules in line with the 
reality of the increased ease of access to tariff filings, and will 
reduce the regulatory burdens on filers and the Commission's own tariff 
review staff.

DATES: The amendments set forth in this Report and Order will become 
effective December 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robin Cohn, Wireline Competition 
Bureau, Pricing Policy Division at 202-418-1540 or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report 
and Order released October 30, 2019. A full-text copy can be obtained 
at the following internet Address: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-107A1.pdf.

Background

    1. Many of the Commission's rules governing tariff filings were 
adopted when paper tariffs were filed at the Commission and interested 
parties had to visit the Commission to review physical copies of those 
filings. Not surprisingly, technological advances that allow carriers 
and interested parties to submit and view information electronically 
have obviated the need for certain longstanding tariff rules that were 
predicated on the need for paper filings and protracted review periods. 
Last year, the Commission proposed to amend two such sets of rules--
those that prohibit a carrier from cross-referencing its tariffs and 
those of its affiliates, and the rule that requires price cap local 
exchange carriers (LECs) to file short form tariff review plans well in 
advance of their annual tariff filings.
    2. Cross-referencing. When the Commission's cross-referencing rules 
were adopted more than 75 years ago, tariffs were often quite 
voluminous and were filed in hard copy, making it cumbersome to obtain 
and follow a cross-reference from one tariff to another tariff. To 
ensure that someone reviewing a paper copy of a tariff would have ready 
access to all of the terms of the tariff, the Commission adopted Sec.  
61.74, which, with certain exceptions, prohibits one tariff from cross-
referencing another tariff, and Sec.  61.54, which also has been 
interpreted as prohibiting cross-referencing between tariffs.
    3. Today, by contrast, carriers are required to file tariffs 
electronically using the Electronic Tariff Filing System (ETFS), and it 
only takes ``a few seconds and a few clicks'' to find a cross-
referenced tariff. As a result, interested parties can now access 
tariffs through the ETFS via an internet connection anywhere and 
electronically review and search the tariffs they are looking for.
    4. The Commission's current rules allow carriers to seek special 
permission to cross-reference their own tariffs and those of their 
affiliates, and carriers do so when, for example, they offer discount 
plans that cross different operating territories. The Wireline 
Competition Bureau (Bureau) has routinely granted requests for special 
permission to allow a carrier to cross-reference its own tariffs and 
those of its affiliates. In the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 
(83 FR 58510, Nov. 20, 2018), the Commission proposed to amend the 
rules to allow a carrier's tariffs to refer to its own tariffs and 
those of its affiliates, and provided an interim waiver of Sec.  
61.74(a) to all carriers to allow carriers' tariffs to reference their 
other tariffs, and those of their affiliates, pending resolution of the 
issues addressed in the NPRM.
    5. Short form tariff review plans. Prior to 1997, annual interstate 
access tariffs were filed 90 days before the effective date of such 
tariffs, thereby allowing a significant amount of time for the 
Commission and interested parties to review the filings and associated 
cost support. In 1997, when the Commission modified its rules to permit 
price cap carriers to file tariffs on either 7 days' notice (for rate 
reductions) or 15 days' notice (for rate increases), it also adopted a 
requirement that price cap carriers submit supporting information, 
without rate data, 90 days prior to the annual access tariff filing 
effective date. This filing, known as the ``short form tariff review 
plan,'' consists of a standardized spreadsheet showing data regarding 
exogenous cost adjustments that price cap carriers seek to make to 
their price cap indices. Exogenous cost adjustments are made, for 
example, to the following cost input categories: (1) Regulatory fees; 
(2) Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) expenses; (3) excess 
deferred taxes; and (4) North American Numbering Plan Administration 
(NANPA) expenses.
    6. In the years following adoption of the short form tariff review 
plan filing requirement, the Bureau often granted waivers of the filing 
deadline and of the requirement to provide certain data in advance of 
the annual access tariff filing. In 2014, at USTelecom's request, the 
Bureau granted a waiver that reduced the 90-day filing deadline for the 
short form tariff review plan to approximately 45 days before the 
annual access tariff effective date.
    7. In 2017, the Bureau waived the short form tariff review plan 
filing requirement in its entirety, finding that

[[Page 65015]]

the ``factors needed to calculate three of the most common exogenous 
cost adjustments--regulatory fees, TRS fees, and NANPA expenses--will 
not be available prior to the short form filing deadline,'' so the 
short form tariff review plan would be of little value to the 
Commission. The Bureau found multiple reasons to waive the short form 
tariff review plan requirement again in 2018 and 2019, including that: 
(1) It was unlikely that the necessary information would be available 
by the required filing date; and (2) exogenous cost data contained in 
the short form tariff review plan would be included with the 
information filed directly prior to the annual filing effective date 
(assuming the availability of such data), at which time the information 
could be reviewed by the Commission and interested parties.
    8. In the NPRM, the Commission recognized that the value of the 
short form tariff review plan has declined because the complexity and 
number of interstate access tariff filings has decreased over the last 
decade as the scope of services subject to price cap regulation has 
narrowed. In light of the Commission's experience that waiving the 
short form tariff review plan requirement had not negatively affected 
the ability of interested parties and staff to review tariffs in a 
timely fashion, the Commission proposed to eliminate it as unnecessary 
and unduly burdensome.

I. Discussion

    9. The Commission received no opposition to the proposals set forth 
in the NPRM. Instead, commenters all agree that, in their experience, 
the ease of making and reviewing electronic tariff filings obviates the 
need for the prohibition on carriers' cross-referencing their own or 
their affiliates' tariffs and the need for the short form tariff review 
plan. The Commission therefore amends its rules to reduce unnecessary 
filing burdens and to allow stakeholders to benefit from current 
technology. (AT&T filed a Motion for Acceptance of Late-Filed Comments. 
The Commission treats AT&T's filing as Ex Parte Comments, and dismisses 
AT&T's Motion as moot.)

A. Updating and Amending Tariff Cross-Referencing Rules

    10. First, the Commission amends its tariffing rules to allow 
carriers to cross-reference their own and their affiliates' tariffs. 
Comments in the record unanimously support amending Sec.  61.74 of the 
Commission's rules to permit carriers to cross-reference their own and 
their affiliates' tariff filings. The Commission agrees with the 
commenters that this modification is justified because the prohibition 
on a carrier's tariff cross-referencing that carrier's tariffs and 
those of its affiliates no longer serves a functional purpose, in light 
of the ease with which the public can now access and search tariffs.
    11. Moreover, as commenters explain, the current obligation to seek 
and receive special permission to cross-reference a carrier's own 
tariffs imposes unnecessary costs on the carriers that file those 
requests and on the Commission staff that consider and act on those 
requests. The need to request special permission also harms competition 
by ``impinging the carriers' ability to quickly respond to customers' 
demands,'' and by forcing carriers to ``telegraph a planned tariff 
filing.'' Furthermore, there is no record of any negative consequences 
arising from previous grants of special permission.
    12. The Commission therefore amends Sec.  61.74 as proposed in the 
NPRM to expressly allow a carrier to reference other tariffs issued by 
the carrier or any of its affiliates. The new Sec.  61.74(b) states: 
``Tariff publications filed by a carrier may reference other tariff 
publications filed by that carrier or its affiliates.'' To further 
effectuate the Commission's decision to allow carriers to cross-
reference their own and their affiliates' tariffs, the Commission also 
amends Sec.  61.54 of its rules, which applies to the composition of 
tariffs, and has been interpreted as prohibiting a carrier's tariff 
from referring to rates in other tariffs. To effectuate this decision 
to allow carriers to cross-reference their own and their affiliates' 
tariffs, the Commission also amends Sec.  61.54, which applies to the 
composition of tariffs and has been interpreted as prohibiting a 
carrier's tariff from referring to rates in other tariffs. Paragraph 
(k) is added, which specifies that ``[n]otwithstanding any other 
provisions in [that] section, tariff publications filed by a carrier 
may reference other tariff publications filed by that carrier or its 
affiliates.''
    13. The rationale for amending Sec.  61.54 is identical to the 
rationale for amending Sec.  61.74: There are clear benefits, and no 
drawbacks, to allowing a carrier's tariff to refer to other tariffs 
filed by that carrier and its affiliates. The Commission's amendment to 
Sec.  61.54 is necessary to ensure consistency between the rules that 
govern tariff filings. Given that all parties to this proceeding that 
commented on the cross-referencing issue support the Commission's 
decision to allow carriers to cross-reference their own and their 
affiliates' tariffs, it follows that the record supports the 
Commission's decision to amend Sec.  61.54 to achieve the desired 
result.

B. Eliminating Advanced Filing of Materials That Support Interstate 
Access Tariffs for Price Cap LECs

    14. As proposed in the NPRM, and supported by the record, the 
Commission also eliminates the requirement that price cap LECs file 
short form tariff review plans 90 days before their annual interstate 
access tariff filings are effective. Consistent with the view of all 
parties that commented on this issue, the Commission finds that the 
filing of short form tariff review plans is no longer necessary and is 
unduly burdensome.
    15. As Verizon explains, the decreased complexity of the annual 
filings obviates the need for early notice of the information contained 
in the short form tariff review plan. AT&T also points out that, even 
when the required data are available by the filing deadline, some of 
the information may later change, forcing carriers to redo their 
calculations before they submit their annual access tariff filings. 
Both AT&T and Frontier argue that the lack of data and/or use of 
temporary or preliminary factors render the short form tariff review 
plan of little practical value.
    16. Notably, commenters agree that there have been no adverse 
consequences from the suspension of the requirement in recent years to 
prepare and file a short form tariff review plan. As Verizon, for 
example, explains, the waivers of the entire filing requirement ``did 
not impede parties' ability to review the annual filings.'' Frontier 
agrees that there is no evidence that the Bureau's previous waivers of 
the filing requirement caused any harm.
    17. Although the short form tariff review plan filing serves 
little, if any, useful purpose, it requires effort from the filing 
carriers. Parties estimate that the time required to prepare and file 
the short form tariff review plan can range from 40 to 160 hours. Also, 
as CenturyLink explains, the timing of the short form tariff review 
plan is inconvenient, requiring that carriers and the Commission expend 
resources completing and reviewing the short form tariff review plan at 
a time ``when the larger [a]nnual [f]iling needs the greater 
attention.'' Thus, the current rule requiring price cap carriers to 
file short form tariff review plans is burdensome and provides little 
benefit, if any, especially given that the remaining annual filing 
notice requirements ``will provide adequate time for the Commission and 
the industry to review carrier tariff filings.'' As Frontier aptly

[[Page 65016]]

explains, eliminating the short form tariff review plan ``will free up 
valuable carrier resources with no discernable downside for Commission 
staff.''

C. Effective Date and Sunsetting of Interim Waiver of the Prohibition 
on Referencing Other Tariffs

    18. Because both the prohibition on a carrier cross-referencing its 
own tariffs and those of its affiliates and the short form tariff 
review plan requirement no longer serve any useful purpose, the 
Commission sees no reason to delay the effective date of the rule 
changes. In the NPRM, the Commission proposed that the rule changes 
would take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication of a 
summary of this Report and Order. No commenters opposed this proposal, 
which the Commission now adopts.
    19. Finally, the interim waiver the Commission granted to all 
carriers of the prohibition on cross-referencing their own tariffs and 
those of their affiliates will end 30 days after Federal Register 
publication of a summary of this Report and Order, when the revised 
rules become effective.

II. Procedural Issues

    20. Paperwork Reduction Act. This document eliminates certain 
information collection requirements but does not contain any new or 
modified information collection requirements within the meaning of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. In addition, 
therefore, it does not contain any new or modified information 
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 
Public Law 107-198.
    21. Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification. The Regulatory 
Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), requires that a regulatory 
flexibility analysis be prepared for notice-and-comment rulemaking 
proceedings, unless the agency certifies that ``the rule will not, if 
promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities.'' The RFA generally defines the term ``small 
entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small business,'' 
``small organization,'' and ``small governmental jurisdiction.'' In 
addition, the term ``small business'' has the same meaning as the term 
``small business concern'' under the Small Business Act. A ``small 
business concern'' is one which: (1) Is independently owned and 
operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) 
satisfies any additional criteria established by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA).
    22. The Commission included an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Certification in the NPRM, and received no comments addressing this 
issue.
    23. In this Report and Order, the Commission amends two of the its 
tariff rules by adding Sec. Sec.  61.54(k) and 61.74(b), and eliminates 
one tariff rule, Sec.  61.49(k), to minimize burdens associated with 
filing tariffs, as part of the Commission's efforts to reduce 
unnecessary regulations that no longer serve the public interest. The 
addition of Sec. Sec.  61.54(k) and 61.74(b) is procedural in nature, 
and the impact is minor. These revisions impact large and small 
telephone companies. The elimination of Sec.  61.49(k) impacts only 
price cap LECs for services that continue to be subject to price cap 
regulation, and any impact of this rule change is minor. Price cap LECs 
are some of the largest telephone companies. Therefore, the Commission 
certifies that the rule amendments will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    24. The Commission will send a copy of the Report and Order, 
including a copy of this Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification, in 
a report to Congress pursuant to the Congressional Review Act. In 
addition, the Report and Order and this final certification will be 
sent to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA, and will be 
published in the Federal Register.
    25. Congressional Review Act. The Commission has determined, and 
the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, concurs that these rules are ``non-
major'' under the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The 
Commission will send a copy of this Report and Order to Congress and 
the Government Accountability Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

III. Ordering Clauses

    26. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority 
contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i)-(j), and 201-203 of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i)-(j), 201-203, this 
Report and Order is adopted.
    27. It is further ordered that this Report and Order shall be 
effective thirty (30) days after publication of a summary in the 
Federal Register.
    28. It is further ordered that part 61 of the Commission's rules, 
47 CFR part 61, is amended as set forth in the Final Rules, and such 
rule amendments shall be effective thirty (30) days after publication 
of a summary of the Report and Order in the Federal Register.
    29. It is further ordered that the interim waiver of the 
prohibition on a carrier's tariff referencing the carrier's other 
tariff publications and tariffs of its affiliates, as adopted in the 
NPRM, will end thirty (30) days after a summary of this Report and 
Order is published in the Federal Register.
    30. It is further ordered that the Motion for Acceptance of Late-
Filed Comments filed by AT&T is dismissed as moot.
    31. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this Report and Order, including the Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Certification, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration.

    Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 61

    Communications common carriers, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Telephones.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 61 as follows:

PART 61--TARIFFS

0
1. The authority citation for part 61 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 201-205, 403, unless 
otherwise noted.


Sec.  61.49  [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  61.49 by removing and reserving paragraph (k).

0
3. Amend Sec.  61.54 by adding paragraph (k) to read as follows:


Sec.  61.54  Composition of tariffs.

* * * * *
    (k) References to other tariffs. Notwithstanding any other 
provisions in this section, tariff publications filed by a carrier may 
reference other tariff publications filed by that carrier or its 
affiliates.

0
4. Amend Sec.  61.74 by redesignating paragraphs (b) through (e) as 
paragraphs (c) through (f) and adding new paragraph (b) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  61.74  References to other instruments.

* * * * *
    (b) Tariff publications filed by a carrier may reference other 
tariff

[[Page 65017]]

publications filed by that carrier or its affiliates.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2019-25570 Filed 11-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P