FCC Sets 6-Month Rural Call Monitoring Rule Transition, May Reporting Relief, June Comments
A new FCC rural call completion monitoring rule won't take effect for at least six months, reporting relief will start in May and comments in a new rulemaking are due in June, said the text of an order and Further…
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NPRM released Tuesday in docket 13-39. It was adopted unanimously by commissioners at their monthly meeting (see 1804170025). The agency seeks to improve rural call completion by holding originating long-distance providers responsible for intermediate carrier performance, with a "reasonable transition period," Commissioner Brendan Carr said at the meeting. "We are persuaded that covered providers will need some time to evaluate and renegotiate contracts with intermediate providers in order to comply with the monitoring requirement," said the order. It rejected NTCA's proposal for a 12-month transition and said the monitoring rule "will go into effect six months from the date that this Order is released ... or 30 days after" Federal Register publication, "whichever is later." The FCC eliminated covered provider data reporting duties it found ineffective. "Removal of the reporting requirements will provide prompt relief to covered providers, obviating the need to spend time and resources compiling and filing reports that would otherwise be due on May 1," the order said. The FNPRM seeks comment on whether to phase out the remaining recording and retention obligations as it implements new rules under a recently enacted rural calling law. The notice also asked whether those obligations should sunset "at a different point in time, such as three years from today’s Order" to give "sufficient time for the Commission to undertake further intercarrier compensation reform" and for the new monitoring rule and coming rules to promote rural call completion. Comments are due June 4, replies June 19.