Telecom Industry Makes 833 Auction Procedure Recommendations
Limiting what 833 toll-free numbers might end up in secondary markets and taking a different look at the data responsible organizations (RespOrgs) are supposed to provide about those secondary markets are among suggestions the telecom industry had in FCC docket…
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95-155 postings Tuesday. Rules authorizing the auction took effect last fall (see 1811260030) and replies are due Monday. Consider rules restricting from the secondary market any toll-free numbers that were obtained for free, even if they were obtained under competitive bidding processes, ATIS Systems SMS/800 Number Administration Committee asked, saying numbers in which there was only one bidder -- and thus free -- shouldn't be eligible for the secondary market. It said defaulted bids should be treated as if they hadn't been submitted, with the second-highest bidder awarded the number for the third-highest bid amount or, if there's no other bidder, for zero, instead of subsequent auction rounds. The group called "unnecessarily severe" the proposed penalty that not submitting secondary market data to Somos within 60 days would mean discontinued access to the toll-free database. Citing "ease of administration," CenturyLink said only contested numbers should be eligible for the secondary market and that possible RespOrg reporting penalties are too severe. It said requiring a bidder participate in the same way for all numbers instead of bidding on some directly and others through a RespOrg would promote auction process integrity. The proposed information-gathering burdens on RespOrgs "go well beyond their current capabilities" and need to be narrowed, Verizon said. It said the FCC should ensure financial burdens of such information gathering and reporting aren't excessive and protect proprietary business information -- such as toll-free number sales prices. A competitive auction of a few 833 numbers is a far more modest undertaking than a spectrum auction, so don't apply such spectrum auction rules on a blanket basis to the participants of the experimental toll-free auction, 1-800 Contacts commented. It said application procedures and qualification requirements must be "much less burdensome" so as not to preclude participation. It said problems include the common control restriction, which isn't needed "given the very minimal chance" of collusion by otherwise independent companies.