The upcoming rural call completion order got attention...

Ajit Pai, Verizon questioned the general obligation that originating providers report call completion metrics. Soliciting reports from intermediate providers would be “the most efficient way to gather potentially relevant data,” Verizon said, given that the focus of the proceeding has been on how intermediate providers’ conduct may affect call completion rates in rural areas (http://bit.ly/16UQRgQ). Verizon had a similar meeting with an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel a few days earlier (http://bit.ly/1i2dAsI). To the extent periodic reporting is required, “carriers should be able to rely on reports filed by a long-distance affiliate if the affiliate is the carrier’s only intermediate provider,” Verizon said. It makes “little sense” to force long distance providers to “expend the effort to segregate the traffic from their affiliates and file separate reports,” the telco said. Verizon also questioned the potential requirement to retain detailed records for calls to non-rural destinations for up to seven months. That would lead to a nine-fold increase in the size of Verizon’s records “with no countervailing benefit,” Verizon said. Verizon also pushed for the rules to sunset in two years -- “more than sufficient” to determine where the call completion problems lie, it said. CenturyLink also met with a Pai aide in the days before the shutdown to suggest “it is important that any reporting be done collectively for affiliates, as long-distance routing generally doesn’t distinguish between affiliates” (http://bit.ly/1i2dWzG). Call hand-offs between affiliates, or to tandem providers, shouldn’t count as exchanging traffic to intermediate providers, the telco said.