II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1084

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to protect consumers from the

unauthorized switching of their long-distance service.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 19, 1999

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. BRYAN, and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to protect consumers from the unauthorized switching of their longdistance service.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Telecommunications

5 Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999’’.
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1 TITLE I—SLAMMING

2 SEC. 101. IMPROVED PROTECTION FOR CONSUMERS.

3 (a) CONSUMER PROTECTION PRACTICES.—Section

4 258 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 258)

5 is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘SEC. 258. ILLEGAL CHANGES IN SUBSCRIBER SELECTIONS

7 OF CARRIERS.

8 ‘‘(a) ALTERNATIVE MODES OF REGULATION.—

9 ‘‘(1) INDUSTRY/COMMISSION CODE.—Within

10 180 days after the date of enactment of the Tele11 communications Competition and Consumer Protec12 tion Act of 1999, the Commission, after consulting

13 with the Federal Trade Commission and representa14 tives of telecommunications carriers providing tele15 phone toll service and telephone exchange service,

16 State commissions, and consumers, and considering

17 any proposals developed by such representatives,

18 shall prescribe, after notice and public comment and

19 in accordance with subsection (b), a Code of Sub20 scriber Protection Practices (hereinafter in this sec21 tion referred as the ‘Code’) governing changes in a

22 subscriber’s selection of a provider of telephone ex23 change service or telephone toll service.

24 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION TO COMPLY.—No tele25 communications carrier (including a reseller of tele-
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1 communications services) shall submit or execute a

2 change in a subscriber’s selection of a provider of

3 telephone exchange service or telephone toll service

4 except in accordance with—

5 ‘‘(A) the Code, if such carrier elects to

6 comply with the Code in accordance with sub7 section (b)(2); or

8 ‘‘(B) the requirements of subsection (c),

9 if—

10 ‘‘(i) the carrier does not elect to com11 ply with the Code under subsection (b)(2);

12 or

13 ‘‘(ii) such election is revoked or with14 drawn.

15 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM PROVISIONS OF THE CODE.—

16 ‘‘(1) SUBSCRIBER PROTECTION PRACTICES.—

17 The Code required by subsection (a)(1) shall include

18 guidelines addressing the following:

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A telecommunications

20 carrier (including a reseller of telecommuni21 cations services) electing to comply with the

22 Code shall submit a change in a subscriber’s se23 lection of a provider of telephone exchange serv24 ice or telephone toll service only in accordance

25 with the provisions of the Code.
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1 ‘‘(B) NEGATIVE OPTION.—A telecommuni2 cations carrier shall not use negative option

3 marketing.

4 ‘‘(C) VERIFICATION.—A submitting carrier

5 shall verify the subscriber’s selection of the car6 rier in accordance with procedures specified in

7 the Code. The executing carrier may rely on the

8 submitting carrier’s verification in executing the

9 change or may, at its discretion, confirm the

10 verification of a change in the subscriber’s se11 lection with the customer.

12 ‘‘(D) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS AND

13 PRACTICES.—No telecommunications carrier,

14 nor any person acting on behalf of any such

15 carrier, shall engage in any unfair or deceptive

16 acts or practices in connection with the solicita17 tion of a change in a subscriber’s selection of

18 a telecommunications carrier.

19 ‘‘(E) NOTIFICATION AND RIGHTS.—A tele20 communications carrier shall provide timely and

21 accurate notification to the subscriber in ac22 cordance with procedures specified in the Code.

23 ‘‘(F) SLAMMING LIABILITY AND REM24 EDIES.—
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1 ‘‘(i) REQUIRED REIMBURSEMENT AND

2 CREDIT.—A telecommunications carrier

3 that has improperly changed the sub4 scriber’s selection of a telecommunications

5 carrier without authorization, shall at a

6 minimum—

7 ‘‘(I) reimburse the subscriber for

8 the fees associated with switching the

9 subscriber back to their original car10 rier; and

11 ‘‘(II) provide a credit for any

12 telecommunications charges incurred

13 by the subscriber during the period,

14 not to exceed 30 days, while that sub15 scriber was improperly presubscribed.

16 ‘‘(ii) PROCEDURES.—The Code shall

17 prescribe procedures by which—

18 ‘‘(I) a subscriber may make an

19 allegation of a violation under clause

20 (i);

21 ‘‘(II) the telecommunications car22 rier may rebut such allegation;

23 ‘‘(III) the subscriber may, with24 out undue delay, burden, or expense,

25 challenge the rebuttal; and
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1 ‘‘(IV) resolve any administrative

2 review of such an allegation within 75

3 days after receipt of an appeal.

4 ‘‘(G) RECORDKEEPING.—A telecommuni5 cations carrier shall make and maintain a

6 record of the verification process and shall pro7 vide a copy to the subscriber immediately upon

8 request.

9 ‘‘(H) QUALITY CONTROL.—A telecommuni10 cations carrier shall institute a quality control

11 program to prevent inadvertent changes in a

12 subscriber’s selection of a carrier.

13 ‘‘(I) INDEPENDENT AUDITS.—A tele14 communications carrier shall provide the Com15 mission with an independent audit regarding its

16 compliance with the Code at intervals pre17 scribed by the Code. The Commission may re18 quire a telecommunications carrier to provide

19 an independent audit on a more frequent basis

20 if there is evidence that such telecommuni21 cations carrier is violating the Code.

22 ‘‘(2) ELECTION BY CARRIERS.—Each tele23 communications carrier electing to comply with the

24 Code shall file with the Commission within 20 days

25 after the adoption of the Code, or within 20 days
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1 after commencing operations as a telecommuni2 cations carrier, a statement electing the Code to gov3 ern such carrier’s submission or execution of a

4 change in a customer’s selection of a provider of

5 telephone exchange service or telephone toll service.

6 Such election by a carrier may not be revoked or

7 withdrawn unless the Commission finds that there is

8 good cause therefor, including a determination that

9 the carrier has failed to adhere in good faith to the

10 applicable provisions of the Code, and that the rev11 ocation or withdrawal is in the public interest. Any

12 telecommunications carrier that fails to elect to com13 ply with the Code shall be deemed to have elected

14 to be governed by the subsection (c) and the Com15 mission’s regulations thereunder.

16 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES AVAILABLE.—Nothing in this

17 subsection or in any regulations thereunder shall be

18 construed as limiting the application of section 503

19 to violations of the Code.

20 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS OF CARRIERS NOT ELECTING TO

21 COMPLY WITH CODE.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A telecommunications car23 rier (including a reseller of telecommunications serv24 ices) that has not elected to comply with the Code

25 under subsection (b), or as to which the election has
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1 been withdrawn or revoked, shall not submit or exe2 cute a change in a subscriber’s selection of a pro3 vider of telephone exchange service or telephone toll

4 service except in accordance with this subsection and

5 such verification procedures as the Commission shall

6 prescribe.

7 ‘‘(2) VERIFICATION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to verify a

9 subscriber’s selection of a telephone exchange

10 service or telephone toll service provider under

11 this subsection, the telecommunications carrier

12 submitting the change to an executing carrier

13 shall, at a minimum, require the subscriber—

14 ‘‘(i) to affirm that the subscriber is

15 authorized to select the provider of that

16 service for the telephone number in ques17 tion;

18 ‘‘(ii) to acknowledge the type of serv19 ice to be changed as a result of the selec20 tion;

21 ‘‘(iii) to affirm the subscriber’s intent

22 to select the provider as the provider of

23 that service;
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1 ‘‘(iv) to acknowledge that the selection

2 of the provider will result in a change in

3 providers of that service; and

4 ‘‘(v) to provide such other information

5 as the Commission considers appropriate

6 for the protection of the subscriber.

7 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The

8 procedures prescribed by the Commission to

9 verify a subscriber’s selection of a provider

10 shall—

11 ‘‘(i) preclude the use of negative op12 tion marketing;

13 ‘‘(ii) provide for a complete copy of

14 verification of a change in telephone ex15 change service or telephone toll service pro16 vider in oral, written, or electronic form;

17 ‘‘(iii) require the retention of such

18 verification in such manner and form and

19 for such time as the Commission considers

20 appropriate;

21 ‘‘(iv) mandate that verification occur

22 in the same language as that in which the

23 change was solicited; and

24 ‘‘(v) provide for verification to be

25 made available to a subscriber on request.
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1 ‘‘(C) NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBER.—Whenever

2 a telecommunication carrier submits a change

3 in a subscriber’s selection of a provider of tele4 phone exchange service or telephone toll service,

5 such telecommunications carrier shall clearly

6 notify the subscriber in writing, not more than

7 15 days after the change is submitted to the

8 executing carrier—

9 ‘‘(i) of the subscriber’s new carrier;

10 and

11 ‘‘(ii) that the subscriber may request

12 information regarding the date on which

13 the change was agreed to and the name of

14 the individual who authorized the change.

15 ‘‘(3) LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS.—

16 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE.—The

17 first bill issued after the effective date of a

18 change in a subscriber’s provider of telephone

19 exchange service or telephone toll service by the

20 executing carrier for such change shall—

21 ‘‘(i) prominently disclose the change

22 in provider and the effective date of such

23 change;
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1 ‘‘(ii) contain the name and toll-free

2 number of any telecommunications carrier

3 for such new service; and

4 ‘‘(iii) direct the subscriber to contact

5 the executing carrier if the subscriber be6 lieves that such change was not authorized

7 and that the change was made in violation

8 of this subsection, and contain the toll-free

9 number by which to make such contact.

10 ‘‘(B) AUTOMATIC SWITCH-BACK OF SERV11 ICE AND CREDIT TO CONSUMER OF CHARGES.—

12 ‘‘(i) OBLIGATIONS OF EXECUTING

13 CARRIER.—If a subscriber of telephone ex14 change service or telephone toll service

15 makes an allegation, orally or in writing, to

16 the executing carrier that a violation of

17 this subsection has occurred with respect

18 to such subscriber—

19 ‘‘(I) the executing carrier shall,

20 without charge to the subscriber, exe21 cute an immediate change in the pro22 vider of the telephone service that is

23 the subject of the allegation to restore

24 the previous provider of such service
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1 for the subscriber, as reflected in the

2 records of the executing carrier;

3 ‘‘(II) the executing carrier shall

4 provide an immediate credit to the

5 subscriber’s account for any charges

6 for executing the original change of

7 service provider;

8 ‘‘(III) if the executing carrier

9 conducts billing for the carrier that is

10 the subject of the allegation, the exe11 cuting carrier shall provide an imme12 diate credit to the subscriber’s ac13 count for such service, in an amount

14 equal to any charges for the telephone

15 service that is the subject of the alle16 gation incurred during the period—

17 ‘‘(aa) beginning upon the

18 date of the change of service that

19 is the subject of the allegation;

20 and

21 ‘‘(bb) ending on the earlier

22 of the date that the subscriber is

23 restored to the previous provider,

24 or 30 days after the date the bill
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1 described in subparagraph (A) is

2 issued; and

3 ‘‘(IV) the executing carrier shall

4 recover the costs of executing the

5 change in provider to restore the pre6 vious provider, and any credits pro7 vided under subclauses (II) and (III),

8 by recourse to the provider that is the

9 subject of the allegation.

10 ‘‘(ii) OBLIGATIONS OF CARRIERS NOT

11 BILLING THROUGH EXECUTING CAR12 RIERS.—If a subscriber of telephone ex13 change service or telephone toll service

14 transmits, orally or in writing, to any car15 rier that does not use an executing carrier

16 to conduct billing an allegation that a vio17 lation of this subsection has occurred with

18 respect to such subscriber, the carrier shall

19 provide an immediate credit to the sub20 scriber’s account for such service, and the

21 subscriber shall, except as provided in sub22 paragraph (C)(iii), be discharged from li23 ability, for an amount equal to any charges

24 for the telephone service that is the subject
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1 of the allegation incurred during the

2 period—

3 ‘‘(I) beginning upon the date of

4 the change of service that is the sub5 ject of the allegation; and

6 ‘‘(II) ending on the earlier of the

7 date that the subscriber is restored to

8 the previous provider, or 30 days after

9 the date the bill described in subpara10 graph (A) is issued.

11 ‘‘(iii) TIME LIMITATION.—This sub12 paragraph shall apply only to allegations

13 made by subscribers before the expiration

14 of the 1-year period that begins on the

15 issuance of the bill described in subpara16 graph (A).

17 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURE FOR CARRIER REM18 EDY.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission

20 shall, by rule, establish a procedure for

21 rendering determinations with respect to

22 violations of this subsection. Such proce23 dure shall permit such determinations to

24 be made upon the filing of (I) a complaint

25 by a telecommunications carrier that was
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1 providing telephone exchange service or

2 telephone toll service to a subscriber before

3 the occurrence of an alleged violation, and

4 seeking damages under clause (ii), or (II)

5 a complaint by a telecommunications car6 rier that was providing services after the

7 alleged violation, and seeking a reinstate8 ment of charges under clause (iii). Either

9 such complaint shall be filed not later than

10 6 months after the date on which any sub11 scriber whose allegation is included in the

12 complaint submitted an allegation of the

13 violation to the executing carrier under

14 subparagraph (B)(i). Either such com15 plaint may seek determinations under this

16 paragraph with respect to multiple alleged

17 violations in accordance with such proce18 dures as the Commission shall establish in

19 the rules prescribed under this subpara20 graph.

21 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATION

22 AND REMEDIES.—In a proceeding under

23 this subparagraph, if the Commission de24 termines that a violation of this subsection

25 has occurred, other than an inadvertent or
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1 unintentional violation, the Commission

2 shall award damages—

3 ‘‘(I) to the telecommunications

4 carrier filing the complaint, in an

5 amount equal to the sum of (aa) the

6 gross amount of charges that the car7 rier would have received from the sub8 scriber during the violation, and (bb)

9 $500 per violation; and

10 ‘‘(II) to the subscriber that was

11 subjected to the violation, in the

12 amount of $500.

13 ‘‘(iii) DETERMINATION OF NO VIOLA14 TION.—If the Commission determines that

15 a violation of this subsection has not oc16 curred, the Commission shall order that

17 any credit provided to the subscriber under

18 subparagraph (B)(ii) be reversed, or that

19 the carrier may resubmit a bill for the

20 amount of the credit to the subscriber not21 withstanding any discharge under subpara22 graph (B)(ii).

23 ‘‘(iv) SPEEDY RESOLUTION OF COM24 PLAINTS.—The procedure established

25 under this subparagraph shall provide for
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1 a determination of each complaint filed

2 under the procedure not later than 6

3 months after filing.

4 ‘‘(D) MAINTENANCE OF INFORMATION.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission

6 shall, by rule, require each executing car7 rier to maintain information regarding

8 each alleged violation of this subsection of

9 which the carrier has been notified.

10 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—The information

11 required to be maintained pursuant to this

12 paragraph shall include, for each alleged

13 violation of this subsection, the effective

14 date of the change of service involved in

15 the alleged violation, the name of the pro16 vider of the service to which the change

17 was made, the name, address, and tele18 phone number of the subscriber who was

19 subject to the alleged violation, and the

20 amount of any credit provided under sub21 paragraph (B)(ii).

22 ‘‘(iii) FORM.—The Commission shall

23 prescribe one or more computer data for24 mats for the maintenance of information

25 under this paragraph, which shall be de-
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1 signed to facilitate submission and com2 pilation pursuant to this subparagraph.

3 ‘‘(iv) MONTHLY REPORTS.—Each exe4 cuting carrier shall, on not less than a

5 monthly basis, submit the information

6 maintained pursuant to this subparagraph

7 to the Commission.

8 ‘‘(v) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The

9 Commission shall make the information

10 submitted pursuant to clause (iv) available

11 upon request to any telecommunications

12 carrier. Any telecommunications carrier ob13 taining access to such information shall

14 use such information exclusively for the

15 purposes of investigating, filing, or resolv16 ing complaints under this section.

17 ‘‘(4) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Unless the Commis18 sion determines that there are mitigating cir19 cumstances, violation of this subsection is punishable

20 by a forfeiture penalty under section 503 of not less

21 than $40,000 for the first offense, and not less than

22 $150,000 for each subsequent offense.

23 ‘‘(5) RECOVERY OF FORFEITURES.—The Com24 mission may take such action as may be necessary—
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1 ‘‘(A) to collect any forfeitures it imposes

2 under this subsection; and

3 ‘‘(B) on behalf of any subscriber, to collect

4 any damages awarded the subscriber under this

5 subsection.

6 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION TO WIRELESS.—This section does

7 not apply to a provider of commercial mobile service.

8 ‘‘(e) COMMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—Every 6 months,

10 the Commission shall compile and publish a report

11 ranking telecommunications carriers by the percent12 age of verified complaints, excluding those generated

13 by the carrier’s unaffiliated resellers, compared to

14 the number of the carrier’s changes in a subscriber’s

15 selection of a provider of telephone exchange service

16 and telephone toll service.

17 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION.—If a telecommunications

18 carrier is listed among the 5 worst performers based

19 upon the percentage of verified complaints, excluding

20 those generated by the carrier’s unaffiliated re21 sellers, compared to its number of carrier selection

22 changes in the semiannual reports 3 times in succes23 sion, the Commission shall investigate the carrier’s

24 practices regarding subscribers’ selections of pro25 viders of telephone exchange service and telephone
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1 toll service. If the Commission finds that the carrier

2 is misrepresenting adherence to the Code or is will3 fully and repeatedly changing subscribers’ selections

4 of providers, the Commission shall find such carrier

5 to be in violation of this section and shall impose a

6 civil penalty on the carrier under section 503 of up

7 to $1,000,000.

8 ‘‘(3) CODE REVIEW.—Every 2 years, the Com9 mission shall review the Code to ensure its require10 ments adequately protect subscribers from improper

11 changes in a subscriber’s selection of a provider of

12 telephone exchange service and telephone toll service.

13 ‘‘(f) ACTIONS BY STATES.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever an attorney gen15 eral of any State has reason to believe that the in16 terests of the residents of that State have been or

17 are being threatened or adversely affected because

18 any person has violated the Code or subsection (c),

19 or any rule or regulation prescribed by the Commis20 sion under subsection (c), the State may bring a

21 civil action on behalf of its residents in an appro22 priate district court of the United States to enjoin

23 such violation, to enforce compliance with such

24 Code, subsection, rule, or regulation, to obtain dam25 ages on behalf of their residents, or to obtain such
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1 further and other relief as the court may deem ap2 propriate.

3 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—The State shall serve prior writ4 ten notice of any civil action under paragraph (1)

5 upon the Commission and provide the Commission

6 with a copy of its complaint, except that if it is not

7 feasible for the State to provide such prior notice,

8 the State shall serve such notice immediately upon

9 instituting such action. Upon receiving a notice re10 specting a civil action, the Commission shall have

11 the right (A) to intervene in such action, (B) upon

12 so intervening, to be heard on all matters arising

13 therein, and (C) to file petitions for appeal.

14 ‘‘(3) VENUE.—Any civil action brought under

15 this section in a district court of the United States

16 may be brought in the district wherein the defendant

17 is found or is an inhabitant or transacts business or

18 wherein the violation occurred or is occurring, and

19 process in such cases may be served in any district

20 in which the defendant is an inhabitant or wherever

21 the defendant may be found.

22 ‘‘(4) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.—For purposes

23 of bringing any civil action under paragraph (1),

24 nothing in this Act shall prevent the attorney gen25 eral from exercising the powers conferred on the at-
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1 torney general by the laws of such State to conduct

2 investigations or to administer oaths or affirmations

3 or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the pro4 duction of documentary and other evidence.

5 ‘‘(5) EFFECT ON STATE COURT PRO6 CEEDINGS.—Nothing contained in this subsection

7 shall prohibit an authorized State official from pro8 ceeding in State court on the basis of an alleged vio9 lation of any general civil or criminal statute of such

10 State.

11 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—Whenever the Commission

12 has instituted a civil action for violation of this sec13 tion or any rule or regulation thereunder, no State

14 may, during the pendency of such action instituted

15 by the Commission, institute a civil action against

16 any defendant named in the Commission’s complaint

17 for violation of any rule as alleged in the Commis18 sion’s complaint.

19 ‘‘(7) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.—In

20 addition to actions brought by an attorney general

21 of a State under paragraph (1), such an action may

22 be brought by officers of such State who are author23 ized by the State to bring actions in such State for

24 protection of consumers.

25 ‘‘(g) STATE LAW NOT PREEMPTED.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section or

2 in the regulations prescribed under this section shall

3 preempt any State law that imposes more restrictive

4 requirements, regulations (including an option pro5 tecting a subscriber’s choice of a provider of tele6 phone exchange service or telephone toll service from

7 being switched without the subscriber’s express con8 sent), damages, costs, or penalties on changes in a

9 subscriber’s service or selection of a provider of tele10 phone exchange service or telephone toll services

11 than are imposed under this section.

12 ‘‘(2) PRESERVATION OF COMMISSION AUTHOR13 ITY WITH RESPECT TO UNFAIR MARKETING OF SUB14 SCRIBER SELECTION FREEZES.—Notwithstanding

15 paragraph (1), the Commission shall prescribe rules

16 to prevent the marketing or provision in an unfair

17 or deceptive manner of an option protecting a sub18 scriber’s choice of a provider of telephone exchange

19 service or telephone toll service from being switched

20 without the subscriber’s express consent.

21 ‘‘(h) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—

22 ‘‘(1) CHANGE INCLUDES INITIAL SELECTION.—

23 For purposes of this section, the initiation of tele24 phone toll service to a subscriber by a telecommuni-
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1 cations carrier shall be treated as a change in selec2 tion of a provider of telephone toll service.

3 ‘‘(2) ACTION BY UNAFFILIATED RESELLER NOT

4 IMPUTED TO CARRIER.—No telecommunications car5 rier may be found in violation of this section solely

6 on the basis of a violation of this section by an unaf7 filiated reseller of that carrier’s services or facilities.

8 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

9 ‘‘(1) SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘subscriber’

10 means the person named on the billing statement or

11 account, or any other person authorized to make

12 changes in the providers of telephone exchange serv13 ice or telephone toll service.

14 ‘‘(2) EXECUTING CARRIER.—The term ‘exe15 cuting carrier’ means, with respect to any change in

16 the provider of local exchange service or telephone

17 toll service, the local exchange carrier that executed

18 such change.

19 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘attorney

20 general’ means the chief legal officer of a State.’’.

21 (b) NTIA STUDY OF THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRA22 TION.—Within 180 days of enactment of this Act, the Na23 tional Telecommunications and Information Administra24 tion shall report to the Committee on Commerce of the

25 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the

2 feasibility and desirability of establishing a neutral third3 party administration system to prevent illegal changes in

4 telephone subscriber carrier selections. The study shall

5 include—

6 (1) an analysis of the cost of establishing a sin7 gle national or several independent databases or

8 clearinghouses to verify and submit changes in car9 rier selections;

10 (2) the additional cost to carriers, per change

11 in carrier selection, to fund the ongoing operation of

12 any or all such independent databases or clearing13 houses; and

14 (3) the advantages and disadvantages of uti15 lizing independent databases or clearinghouses for

16 verifying and submitting carrier selection changes.

Æ