**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

In the Matter of )

) CC Docket No. 99-200

ALLTEL Communications, Inc. )

Emergency Request for Waiver of MTE Rules ) NSD File No. L-01-157

)

**ORDER**

**Adopted: October 26, 2001 Released: October 29, 2001**

By the Common Carrier Bureau:

# I. INTRODUCTION

1.  On October 5, 2001, ALLTEL Communications, Inc. (ALLTEL), a
    competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), requested an emergency
    waiver of Section 52.15(g)(3) of the Federal Communications
    Commission's (Commission) rules, which sets forth the requirements
    for receiving growth numbering resources.[^1] ALLTEL requests a
    waiver to receive a new central office (CO or NXX) code in the 501
    Numbering Plan Area (NPA) in Little Rock, Arkansas to accommodate a
    specific request for a new system to serve an existing customer.[^2]
    We find that ALLTEL has demonstrated good cause for a waiver, and
    therefore we direct the North American Numbering Plan Administrator
    (NANPA) to assign ALLTEL a new NXX code in the 501 NPA.

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II. **BACKGROUND**

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2.  Section 52.15 of the Commission's rules requires that, among other
    things, carriers requesting growth numbering resources submit a
    Months to Exhaust (MTE) worksheet indicating that a carrier's
    numbering resources will be exhausted within six months for the
    carrier to be eligible to receive

    growth numbering resources in a particular rate area.[^3] Carriers
    requesting growth numbering resources must also meet the 60% minimum
    utilization level for the rate center in which growth resources are
    requested.[^4] This rule seeks to ensure that existing numbering
    resources are used efficiently and to

    prevent carriers from carrying large inventories of numbers that
    could be used more efficiently by other carriers.[^5]

3.  ALLTEL asserts that it needs a new NXX code in the 501 NPA to
    accommodate a customer's request for consecutive numbers to be
    loaded into a PBX system.[^6] The customer has acquired a new
    private branch exchange (PBX) system that requires consecutive
    numbers to be loaded into the system. According to ALLTEL, the
    customer is currently using 5,100 non-consecutive numbers and
    requires 8,000 consecutive numbers for the new system. The 5,100
    numbers the customer is currently using were ported to ALLTEL from
    the incumbent LEC, and these numbers will "snap back" to the
    incumbent LEC when relinquished by the customer. Thus, these numbers
    will not remain in ALLTEL's inventory.[^7] According to ALLTEL,
    despite the fact that it exceeds the 60% utilization threshold,[^8]
    it cannot meet the MTE requirement due to the low projected growth
    rates in the CLEC market. As a result, although ALLTEL has enough
    numbering resources to meet its projected growth for six months, it
    is unable to meet this customer's needs because it does not have the
    quantity of consecutive numbers required for the customer's system.

    **III. Discussion**

4.  The Commission has plenary jurisdiction of those portions of the
    North American Numbering Plan that pertain to the United States.[^9]
    Section 1.3 of the Commission's rules authorizes the Commission to
    suspend, revoke, amend, or waive, for good cause shown.[^10] In
    demonstrating such good cause, an applicant for a waiver "faces a
    high hurdle even at the starting gate."[^11] Moreover, the
    Commission must in its decision "explain why deviation \[from its
    rules\] better serves the public interest."[^12]

5.  We have reviewed ALLTEL's request and find that it has demonstrated
    good cause for a waiver of the MTE requirement.[^13] ALLTEL has
    established that it has received a specific customer

    request for numbering resources that it cannot meet with its
    existing inventory. ALLTEL has also shown that it is, in general,
    efficient in its use of numbering resources, as indicated by its
    high utilization rate. Furthermore, ALLTEL's utilization percentage
    will not be negatively impacted by this waiver, as 5,100 numbers
    will be released from its inventory once they are relinquished by
    the customer.

6.  We further find that it is in the public interest to grant this
    waiver because it will enable the customer to receive service from
    the carrier of its choice. Grant of this waiver will also promote
    the Commission's policy goal of using numbering resources
    efficiently. Therefore, we direct the NANPA to assign and release to
    ALLTEL a new growth NXX code in the 501 NPA to meet this specific
    customer request.

    **IV. ORDERING CLAUSE**

7.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to 4(i), 10, and 251(e) of the
    Communications act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 160,
    251(e), and sections 0.91, 0.291, and 1.3 of the Commissions
    regulations, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.91, 0.291, 1.3, that the petition filed
    by ALLTEL Communications, Inc. IS GRANTED to the extent herein
    described.

> FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
>
> Dorothy T. Attwood
>
> Chief, Common Carrier Bureau

[^1]: 47 C.F.R. § 52.15 (g)(3).

[^2]: *See* ALLTEL Communications, Inc. Emergency Request for Waiver of
    MTE Rules (filed October 2, 2001) (ALLTEL Petition).

[^3]: 47 C.F.R. § 52.15.

[^4]: Carriers must demonstrate that they have assigned at least 60% of
    their numbering resources to meet the utilization threshold.

[^5]: *See* Numbering Resource Optimization, CC Docket No. 99-200,
    Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 15 FCC
    Rcd 7574 (2000).

[^6]: *See* ALLTEL Petition at 2-4.

[^7]: *See generally* INC Report on Number Portability, INC 96-0607-013
    (July 1996).

[^8]: *See* ALLTEL Petition at 2. ALLTEL's utilization in the rate
    center is 86%.

[^9]: *See generally* 47 C.F.R. §§ 52.15 et. seq.

[^10]: 47 C.F.R. § 1.3.

[^11]: *See* WAIT Radio v. FCC, 418 F. 2d 1153, 1157 (D.C. Cir. 1969).

[^12]: *See* Northeast Cellular Telephone Company, L.P. v. FCC, 897 F.
    2d 1164, 1166 (D.C. Cir. 1990).

[^13]: Although ALLTEL will receive a 10,000 block, its net inventory
    will only be increased by less than 5,000, and approximately 3,000
    of those resources will be used to serve the new customer.
    Consequently, ALLTEL will be adding less than 2,000 numbers to its
    available inventory.