Industry Seeks Some Clarification on Draft FCC Numbering Access Order

The draft order, if adopted, would "strike an appropriate balance between establishing necessary checks on interconnected VoIP direct access applicants and authorization holders and fostering an efficient direct access process that has, in part, facilitated the ongoing technological transition to advanced IP communications networks." VoIP providers would face tighter application requirements to ensure authorizations are in the public interest, such as including robocall and access stimulation certifications in their applications. VoIP providers seeking numbering access would also need to comply with ownership and foreign control disclosure requirements to assist FCC staff with determining whether further review of an application is warranted.

Some VoIP providers "have assumed they have no duty to abide by other state requirements," the draft order said. Providers that receive direct access to numbering resources would now be required to comply with any state numbering requirements in the state they operate in. The rule change "addresses this unintended consequence" of a 2015 order requiring providers to "acknowledge a duty to comply with state guidelines" and helps keep interconnected VoIP providers on a more equal footing with local exchange carriers," the draft said.

VON and Microsoft urged the FCC to limit certification requirements regarding investigations to "those concerning unlawful robocalls or unlawful spoofing, not any investigation," in meetings with Wireline Bureau staff and an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the item, said an ex parte filing in docket 13-97. VON noted such a requirement would be "unduly burdensome for any large corporation, including those that operate globally with significant numbers of products."

VON warned the draft's language on compliance with state regulations "could be interpreted to expand the scope of state regulation of interconnected VoIP." It asked the commission to clarify that state oversight on interconnected VoIP numbering "must remain consistent with federal law" and not expand any exceptions for state regulation. USTelecom backed VON's proposed edits to the draft, saying the changes would "provide helpful clarifications that are consistent with the commission’s objectives in the proceeding as well as existing law."

The draft order would also seek a report on several related issues from the North American numbering council. NANC would be tasked with examining how interconnected VoIP providers use numbering resources, steps to mitigate harmful impacts on consumers of number disuse, and direct access authorization holders' "supplying telephone numbers to customers on a trial basis" and how the practice of a "trial basis" relates to illegal robocalls. The group would also be tasked with examining the potential impacts of number reclamation when direct access authorization is revoked.

TelSwitch raised some concerns about certain issues NANC would address. The company urged the FCC to encourage providers to place phone numbers under investigation on the do not originate list "without any repercussions" and work with the FTC to reduce the cost of the agency's Do Not Call database. It also suggested an access portal be created for consumers to report illegal use of a phone number, saying it would "allow the quick identification of the providers of the [telephone numbers] that are being used to generate fraudulent traffic."

The accompanying draft FNPRM would seek comment on extending certification and disclosure requirements in the draft order to existing interconnected VoIP providers with direct access authorization. The item proposed requiring new applicants to include a list of states in their initial service areas. Indirect access recipients would also be required to provide certifications submitted by the direct access authorization holder.