Before the

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

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| In the Matter of                 | * | File No. IC-098-53310        |
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| Indiana Paging Network, Inc.     | ) |                              |
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| Complainant,                     | * |                              |
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| Indiana Bell Telephone Company,  | ) |                              |
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| Ameritech Operating Company,     |   |                              |
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| GTE of Indiana,                  | * |                              |
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| BellSouth of Indiana,            | * |                              |
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| Sprint Corporation and           |   |                              |
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| Rochester Telephone Company      | * |                              |
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**ORDER**

**Adopted: June 1, 2000 Released: June 2, 2000**

Before the Chief, Market Disputes Resolution Division, Enforcement
Bureau:

# 

1.  On October 18, 1999, Indiana Paging Network, Inc. (Indiana Paging)
    filed a petition for waiver of section 1.718 of the Commission's
    rules with regard to an informal complaint that Indiana Paging had
    previously filed against GTE of Indiana (GTE).[^1] On November 2,
    1999, Indiana Paging and GTE filed a joint letter in which GTE
    consented to Indiana Paging's petition. Specifically, Indiana Paging
    has sought a waiver of section 1.718(a) which requires the filing of
    a formal complaint within six months of a carrier response to an
    informal complaint. For the reasons stated below, we grant the
    petition.

2.  Indiana Paging alleges in its informal complaint that GTE has
    violated the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("the Act") and
    the Commission's rules regarding interconnection between local
    exchange carriers ("LECs") and commercial mobile radio service

    ("CMRS") providers. Indiana Paging's claims are similar to those
    asserted by other paging carriers in formal complaints against
    incumbent LECs ("Prior Proceedings").[^2] Because some of the issues
    raised by Indiana Paging in its informal complaint are the same as
    the issues being considered by the Commission in Prior Proceedings,
    the Prior Proceedings will bear directly on the resolution of
    Indiana Paging's informal complaint. Thus, the parties request a
    waiver of section 1.718(a) of the Commission's Rules to the extent
    that it obligated Indiana Paging to file a formal complaint with the
    Commission within six months from the date of GTE's response in
    order for the filing of any subsequent formal complaint against GTE
    to be deemed to relate back to the filing dates of Indiana Paging's
    informal complaint against GTE. Furthermore, the petition requests
    that the waiver be effective from October 21, 1999 to include formal
    complaints that should have been filed by that date.

3.  We are satisfied that granting the petition for waiver, effective
    October 21, 1999, will serve the public interest by eliminating the
    need for further litigation and expenditure of time and resources by
    the parties and the Commission. The time for filing a formal
    complaint is hereby waived until 90 days after a final nonappealable
    order has been entered in at least one of the of the Prior
    Proceedings resolving the issue of whether a LEC may charge a paging
    carrier that has not entered into an interconnection agreement
    pursuant to sections 251 and 252 of the Act for facilities used to
    deliver local traffic originating on the LEC's network to the paging
    carrier. Absent a subsequent order of the Commission extending the
    requested waiver, Indiana Paging's failure to file a formal
    complaint within the prescribed period will foreclose application of
    the relation-back provision of section 1.718 of the Commission's
    rules.

4.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 4(i), 4(j), and 208
    of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 154(j),
    and 208 and the authority delegated by sections 0.111 and 0.311 of
    the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111 and 0.311, that the
    petition for waiver of section 1.718(a) of the Commission's rules,
    47 C.F.R. § 1.718(a), IS GRANTED. This waiver is effective as of
    October 21, 1999.

    Federal Communications Commission

    Glenn T. Reynolds

    Chief, Market Disputes Resolution Division

[^1]: 47 C.F.R. § 1.718. On December 17, 1998, Indiana Paging filed an
    informal complaint against Ameritech. On April 21, 1999, GTE filed a
    response to Indiana Paging's informal complaint. Absent a waiver,
    Indiana Paging would have been obligated to file a formal complaint
    by October 21, 1999 in order to avail itself of the "relation back"
    provision contained in section 1.718.

[^2]: *See* Airtouch v. Pacbell, E-97-048; Message Center v. SNET,
    E-98-045; TSR Paging v. U S West, E-98-013; Metrocall v. BellSouth,
    E-98-014; Metrocall v. GTE Telephone, E-98-015; Metrocall v. Pacific
    Bell, E-98-016, Metrocall v. Southwestern Bell, E-98-017; Metrocall
    v. U S West, E-98-018; Paging Network v. BellSouth, E-98-021; USA
    Mobile v. Century Tel., E-98-38; MAP Mobile v. U S West, E-99-11;
    Arch v. U S West, E-99-05; Arch v. BellSouth, E-99-06.