**DA 05-2085**

**Released: July 26, 2005**

**Enforcement Bureau Provides Guidance to Interconnected Voice Over
Internet**

**Protocol Service Providers Concerning the July 29, 2005 Subscriber
Notification Deadlines**

**WC Docket No. 04-36**

**WC Docket No. 05-196**

In this Public Notice, the Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) provides guidance
to providers of interconnected voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)
service concerning enforcement of the subscriber notification provisions
of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC or Commission) rules
governing enhanced 911 (E911) capability. Specifically, the Bureau
announces that it will not seek enforcement, for a 30-day period, of the
requirement that providers obtain affirmative acknowledgements, by July
29, 2005, from 100% of their subscribers that they have read and
understood an advisory concerning the limitations of their E911 service.
To be eligible for this extension, providers must meet the reporting
requirements outlined below. The Bureau will evaluate the sufficiency of
the reports filed by interconnected VoIP providers and take subsequent
action as necessary.

[Background]{.underline}

On June 3, 2005, the FCC released an Order[^1] requiring interconnected
VoIP service providers[^2] to provide E911 capabilities to their
subscribers no later than 120 days from the effective date of the Order.
The effective date of the Order is July 29, 2005, 30 days from the date
of publication in the Federal Register.[^3]

Additionally, as set forth in the *VoIP E911 Order*, by July 29, 2005,
all providers of interconnected VoIP service must:

-   Specifically advise every new and existing subscriber, prominently
    and in plain language, of the circumstances under which E911 service
    may not be available through the interconnected VoIP service or may
    be in some way limited by comparison to traditional E911 service;

-   Obtain and keep a record of affirmative acknowledgement by every
    subscriber, both new and existing, of having received and understood
    the advisory described in the paragraph above; and

-   Distribute to its existing subscribers warning stickers or other
    appropriate labels warning subscribers if E911 service may be
    limited or not available and instructing the subscriber to place
    them on or near the equipment used in conjunction with the
    interconnected VoIP service. Each interconnected VoIP provider
    should distribute such warning stickers or other appropriate labels
    to each new subscriber prior to the initiation of that subscriber's
    service.[^4]

As referenced above, the Bureau has determined that it will not initiate
enforcement action, until August 30, 2005, against any provider of
interconnected VoIP service regarding the requirement that it obtain
affirmative acknowledgement by every existing subscriber on the
condition that the provider file a detailed report with the Commission
by August 10, 2005, containing the information described below. During
this brief extension, interconnected VoIP providers will have the
ability to continue obtaining affirmative acknowledgements from the
entirety of their customer base. Further, we expect that if an
interconnected VoIP provider has not received subscriber
acknowledgements from 100% of its existing subscribers by August 29,
2005, then the interconnected VoIP provider will disconnect, no later
than August 30, 2005, all subscribers from whom it has not received such
acknowledgements. As such, providers may wish to inform subscribers that
their VoIP service will be disconnected if they do not provide their
acknowledgements by August 29, 2005.

[Subscriber Notification and Acknowledgement Status and Compliance
Reports]{.underline}

The report to the Commission should include:

-   A detailed description of all actions the provider has taken to
    specifically advise every subscriber, prominently and in plain
    language, of the circumstances under which E911 service may not be
    available through the interconnected VoIP service and/or may be in
    some way limited by comparison to traditional E911 service. This
    information should include, but is not limited to, relevant dates
    and methods of contact with subscribers (*i.e.*, e-mail, U. S.
    mail);

-   A quantification of how many of the provider's subscribers, on a
    percentage basis, have submitted an affirmative acknowledgement, as
    of the date of the report, and an estimation of the percentage of
    subscribers from whom they do not expect to receive an
    acknowledgement by August 29, 2005;

-   A detailed description of whether and how the provider has
    distributed to all subscribers warning stickers or other appropriate
    labels warning subscribers if E911 service may be limited or not
    available and instructing the subscriber to place them on and/or
    near the customer premises equipment used in connection with the
    interconnected VoIP service. This information should include, but is
    not limited to, relevant dates and methods of contact with
    subscribers (*i.e.*, e-mail, U. S. mail);

-   A quantification of how many subscribers, on a percentage basis, to
    whom the provider did not send the advisory described in the first
    bullet above and/or to whom the provider did not send warning
    stickers or other appropriate label as identified in the bullet
    immediately above;

-   A detailed description of any and all actions the provider plans on
    taking towards any of its subscribers that do not affirmatively
    acknowledge having received and understood the advisory, including,
    but not limited to, disconnecting the subscriber's VoIP service with
    the Company no later than August 30, 2005;

-   A detailed description of how the provider is currently maintaining
    any acknowledgements received from its subscribers; and

-   The name, title, address, phone number, and e-mail address of the
    person(s) responsible for the Company's compliance efforts with the
    *VoIP E911 Order.*

[Filing Procedures]{.underline}

Interconnected VoIP providers may file the above-referenced reports in
this proceeding on or before August 10, 2005. All reports must reference
WC Docket No. 05-196 and should be labeled clearly on the first page as
"Subscriber Notification Report." The report may be filed using: (1) the
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), or (2) by filing
paper copies. *See* Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking
Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24,121 (May 1, 1998).

-   Electronic Filers: Compliance letters may be filed electronically
    using the Internet by accessing the ECFS:
    <http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/>. Filers should follow the
    instructions provided on the website for submitting comments. For
    ECFS filers, 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).

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-   Paper Filers: Parties who 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 (although we
    continue to experience delays in receiving 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.

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-   The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
    messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at
    236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The
    filing hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand
    deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any
    envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building.

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-   Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express
    Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive,
    Capitol Heights, MD 20743.

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-   U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail should
    be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington DC 20554.

Parties should also send a copy of their filings to:

-   Byron McCoy, Telecommunications Consumers Division, Enforcement
    Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room 4-A234, 445 12th
    Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, or by email to
    <byron.mccoy@fcc.gov>;

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-   Kathy Berthot, Deputy Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division,
    Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room 7-C802,
    445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, or by email to
    <kathy.berthot@fcc.gov>; and

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-   Janice Myles, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition
    Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room 5-C140, 445 12th
    Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, or by e-mail to
    <janice.myles@fcc.gov>.

Parties must also serve one copy with the Commission's copy contractor,
Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW,
Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554, (202) 488-5300, or via e-mail to
<fcc@bcpiweb.com>.

For further information regarding this proceeding, contact David Hunt,
Telecommunications Consumers Division, Enforcement Bureau, (202)
418-1522, or Cynthia Bryant, Telecommunications Consumers Division,
Enforcement Bureau, (202) 418-8164.

-FCC-

[^1]: *IP-Enabled Services and E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service
    Providers*, First Report and Order and Notice of Proposed
    Rulemaking, 2005 WL 1323217, FCC, (rel. Jun 3, 2005) (*VoIP E911
    Order*).

[^2]: "Interconnected VoIP service" means an interconnected Voice over
    Internet Protocol (VoIP) service that: (1) enables real-time,
    two-way voice communications; (2) requires a broadband connection
    from the user's location; (3) requires Internet protocol-compatible
    customer premises equipment; and (4) permits users generally to
    receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone
    network and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone
    network.

[^3]: 70 Fed. Reg. 37,273 (June 29, 2005).

[^4]: *VoIP E911 Order* at ¶¶ 48, 73; *see also* 47 C.F.R. §9.5(e).