Lawyer Article

Earlier this fall, the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced that it was extending the time for obtaining 90 percent compliance with the Commission’s notification requirements.

Based on its review of status report submissions, the Bureau released a Public Notice on November 1, 2005 advising that it will continue to refrain from exercising its enforcement authority against those providers who have yet to obtain acknowledgements from 90 percent or more of their subscribers, provided that these providers file an additional status report with the Commission on November 28, 2005.

This status report should:

• detail the efforts that providers have undertaken to obtain acknowledgments from the remainder of their subscriber base;
• explain why they have been unable to achieve an acknowledgment percentage closer to 100 percent;
• and provide the current percentage of acknowledgments received as of the date of filing.

The advisory states that “thereafter, we expect these providers to seek the remaining acknowledgements and notify the Commission once they have achieved 100 percent compliance.”

Interconnected VoIP providers may file the above-referenced report in this proceeding on or before November 28, 2005. Reports must reference WC Docket No. 05-196 and should be labeled clearly on the first page as “Subscriber Acknowledgement Report (date of filing).”

The report may be filed using: (1) the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), or (2) by filing paper copies, as follows:

• Electronic Filers: Compliance letters may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the website for submitting comments. In completing the transmittal screen, filers should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket number (WC Docket No. 05-196).
• Paper Filers: Parties that choose to file by paper must file an original and four copies of each filing. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. If you choose to submit the report by mail, be sure to send it sufficiently in advance of the November 28 deadline so that it is timely received.  

Copies of filings (paper and electronic) should be sent to:

• Byron McCoy, Telecommunications Consumers Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room 4-A234, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554, or by email to Bryan McCoy;
• Kathy Berthot, Deputy Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room 7-C802, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554, or by email to Kathy Berthot; and
• Janice Myles, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room 5-C140, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554, or by e-mail to Janice Myles
• The Commission’s copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554, (202) 488-5300, or via e-mail to BestCopyandPrinting  

If you have any questions or need assistance developing or filing your reports, please contact Mark Palchick (email; (202) 857-4411) or Howard Barr.