Pared-Back Call Completion Reporting Rules Unanimously Approved by FCC
The FCC unanimously passed call completion rules Monday in an order that affects all providers that make the initial choice of how to route a call and have at least 100,000 lines. Rural associations have long complained that calls to rural areas frequently fail to connect. Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn said fixing rural completion has been a “personal priority.” The reported data will help isolate problems, drive improvements by providers, and “arm the FCC with powerful tools for enforcement,” she said.
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The rules have been pared back from what was originally proposed, FCC officials said. The circulating order would have required call completion logs be kept for calls to both rural and non-rural destinations, said agency and industry officials. The rules as adopted limit data retention obligations to calls destined only to rural ILECs, said Wireline Bureau Chief Julie Veach. For calls destined to non-rural areas, no one has to retain that data, she said. “That should reduce the burden significantly."
Although companies don’t have to retain call data for non-rural areas, they still have to report their call completion ratios for non-rural areas, said a bureau spokesman. That’s OK with the Western Telecommunications Association, said Derrick Owens, vice president-government affairs. “It is my understanding that, from the data that was collected, that there wasn’t a lot of data indicating calls to non-rural areas weren’t being completed,” he told us by email. “WTA believes the actions by the Commission earlier today are positive and will be helpful in addressing the problem."
Providers will have to collect and retain data for six months, and file quarterly reports, commission officials said. Providers that limit the number of intermediate long-distance providers to two will have reduced data retention and reporting obligations. A waiver process will further lighten reporting requirements if a provider can show that it complies with industry best practices, such as those determined by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions. The order also bans false ringing tones, which sound for a caller before the call is connected.
Although least-cost routers are often blamed as the parties most directly responsible for poor call completion rates (CD May 18 p5), they won’t face any reporting obligations, said bureau officials at the meeting. “It is within the power of the originating providers to determine the call path, and it’s ultimately their responsibility to make sure that the calls are getting through, so the reporting provisions go directly to those providers,” Veach said.
Commissioner Ajit Pai took credit for several improvements to the order. “By aligning the safe harbor with established best practices and reducing the burden of compliance, we create stronger incentives for carriers to be good actors,” he said. “By giving affiliated providers flexibility in recording and reporting their data, we reduce the administrative hassle our rules might otherwise cause. By targeting our recordkeeping on rural calls, we cut the cost of compliance by 90 percent. And by promising to reexamine our rules within three years, we ensure that the data isn’t collected only to itself collect digital dust on a Commission hard drive.” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the data will help combat what has been a “serious threat to public safety and consumer welfare in rural America.”
Organizations representing long-distance providers, rural interests and state regulators issued statements applauding the order. USTelecom said the order “takes positive steps” to address the call completion problem. The NTCA said it’s “grateful” to Clyburn for making the issue a priority. NARUC commended the commission for calling for increased state collaboration and enforcement.
Several senators applauded the order. Sens. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., released a joint statement calling the order “good news for rural economies.” They passed a resolution through the Senate Commerce Committee this summer urging the FCC to take action to solve call completion problems. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said on Twitter that his state’s residents and businesses are hurt when calls don’t go through. “We must fix this problem,” he said. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., called it a “welcome action for rural consumers and rural economies.” Thune said he has “stressed repeatedly with FCC nominees Tom Wheeler and Michael O'Rielly the importance of tackling rural call completion, and both have made it clear that they will ensure the rules in this area are enforced.”