69–006 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 114–805 

IMPROVING RURAL CALL QUALITY AND RELIABILITY ACT 

OF 2016 

NOVEMBER 14, 2016.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. UPTON, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2566] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred 

the bill (H.R. 2566) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to 

ensure the integrity of voice communications and to prevent unjust 

or unreasonable discrimination among areas of the United States 

in the delivery of such communications, having considered the 

same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 3 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 3 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 5 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 5 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 5 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 5 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 5 

New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures ............. 6 

Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits ............................. 6 

Committee Cost Estimate ....................................................................................... 6 

Congressional Budget Office Estimate ................................................................... 6 

Federal Mandates Statement ................................................................................. 7 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 7 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 8 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 8 

Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................................ 8 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ...................................................... 8 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 8 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
2 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act 

of 2016’’. 

SEC. 2. ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF VOICE COMMUNICATIONS. 

Part II of title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) is 

amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SEC. 262. ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF VOICE COMMUNICATIONS. 

‘‘(a) REGISTRATION AND COMPLIANCE BY INTERMEDIATE PROVIDERS.—An intermediate provider that offers or holds itself out as offering the capability to transmit 

covered voice communications from one destination to another and that charges any 

rate to any other entity (including an affiliated entity) for the transmission shall— 

‘‘(1) register with the Commission; and 

‘‘(2) comply with the service quality standards for such transmission to be established by the Commission under subsection (c)(1)(B). 

‘‘(b) REQUIRED USE OF REGISTERED INTERMEDIATE PROVIDERS.—A covered provider may not use an intermediate provider to transmit covered voice communications unless such intermediate provider is registered under subsection (a)(1). 

‘‘(c) COMMISSION RULES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

‘‘(A) REGISTRY.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

this section, the Commission shall promulgate rules to establish a registry 

to record registrations under subsection (a)(1). 

‘‘(B) SERVICE QUALITY STANDARDS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

of enactment of this section, the Commission shall promulgate rules to establish service quality standards for the transmission of covered voice communications by intermediate providers. 

‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In promulgating the rules required by paragraph (1), 

the Commission shall— 

‘‘(A) ensure the integrity of the transmission of covered voice communications to all customers in the United States; and 

‘‘(B) prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among areas of the 

United States in the delivery of covered voice communications. 

‘‘(d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF REGISTRY.—The Commission shall make the registry 

established under subsection (c)(1)(A) publicly available on the website of the Commission. 

‘‘(e) SCOPE OF APPLICATION.—The requirements of this section shall apply regardless of the format by which any communication or service is provided, the protocol 

or format by which the transmission of such communication or service is achieved, 

or the regulatory classification of such communication or service. 

‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect 

the regulatory classification of any communication or service. 

‘‘(g) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt or expand the authority of a State public utility commission or other relevant 

State agency to collect data, or investigate and enforce State law and regulations, 

regarding the completion of intrastate voice communications, regardless of the format by which any communication or service is provided, the protocol or format by 

which the transmission of such communication or service is achieved, or the regulatory classification of such communication or service. 

‘‘(h) EXCEPTION.—The requirement under subsection (a)(2) to comply with the 

service quality standards established under subsection (c)(1)(B) shall not apply to 

a covered provider that— 

‘‘(1) on or before the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

section, has certified as a Safe Harbor provider under section 64.2107(a) of title 

47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation; and 

‘‘(2) continues to meet the requirements under such section 64.2107(a). 

‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

‘‘(1) COVERED PROVIDER.—The term ‘covered provider’ has the meaning given 

the term in section 64.2101 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto. 

‘‘(2) COVERED VOICE COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘covered voice communication’ means a voice communication (including any related signaling information) 

that is generated— 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
3 

‘‘(A) from the placement of a call from a connection using a North American Numbering Plan resource or a call placed to a connection using such 

a numbering resource; and 

‘‘(B) through any service provided by a covered provider. 

‘‘(3) INTERMEDIATE PROVIDER.—The term ‘intermediate provider’ means any 

entity that— 

‘‘(A) enters into a business arrangement with a covered provider or other 

intermediate provider for the specific purpose of carrying, routing, or transmitting voice traffic that is generated from the placement of a call placed— 

‘‘(i) from an end user connection using a North American Numbering 

Plan resource; or 

‘‘(ii) to an end user connection using such a numbering resource; and 

‘‘(B) does not itself, either directly or in conjunction with an affiliate, 

serve as a covered provider in the context of originating or terminating a 

given call.’’. 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 2566 requires intermediate providers of covered voice communications to register with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and comply with service quality standards set by the 

Commission. In addition, the Act requires that covered providers 

may not use any intermediate provider that does not register and 

meet the service standards. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The process of directing a call from its origin to its destination 

is called ‘‘routing.’’ When routing a call to a destination outside of 

an originating provider’s network, the provider uses third party intermediate carriers to route the call from the calling party to the 

called party. As part of this process, long-distance providers must 

pay a local carrier to access its exchange—known as ‘‘access 

charges’’—a cost that can be high, particularly in rural and hard 

to reach endpoints. 

In part because of the routing process, rural consumers experience call quality and call failure issues at a much higher rate than 

their urban counterparts. The problems seem to occur most commonly in areas of the country where long distance and wireless 

providers use ‘‘least cost routers,’’ or inexpensive third party intermediate providers, to complete calls while minimizing the cost of 

call termination charges. During the process of routing calls 

through these intermediate providers, calls are dropped, lost, or the 

quality is degraded, depriving rural consumers of reliable telephone 

service. Callers may experience silence or ‘‘dead air,’’ prolonged 

ringing with no answer, or prerecorded messages that a call cannot 

be completed. Callers and recipients may also experience poor quality, including bad sound, breaks in connection, and delays. Call 

failure can create problems for public safety, small businesses, 

school districts, and many other essential services seeking to place 

calls to rural consumers. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
4 

1 In the Matter of Rural Call Completion, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, WC No. 13–39, October 28, 2013, see e.g. footnote 2, https://transition.fcc.gov/ 

Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db1108/FCC-13-135A1.pdf. (‘‘Rural Call Completion R&O’’) 2 H. Res. 234, Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives that telephone service must 

be improved in rural areas of the United States and that no entity may unreasonably discriminate against telephone users in those areas, http://lis.gov/cgi-lis/query/z?c114:H.RES.234:. 3 In the Matter of Developing a Unified Intercarrier Compensation Regime et al, Declaratory 

Ruling, CC No. 01–92, WC No. 07–135, February 6, 2012, https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/ 

attachmatch/DA-12-154A1.pdf. 4 Rural Call Completion Workshop, October 18, 2011, video available at: https://www.fcc.gov/ 

news-events/events/2011/10/rural-call-completion-workshop. 5 Rural Call Completion R&O 

6 Id. 

7 In the Matter of Connect America Fund et al, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC No. 10–90, October 27, 2011, para. 34, https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/ 

attachmatch/FCC-11-161A1.pdf. 8 In the Matter of Rural Call Completion, Ex Parte by NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association, June 2, 2016, http://www.ntca.org/images/stories/Documents/Advocacy/ExParteLetters/ 

05.31.16%20fcc%20ex%20parte-ntca%20meeting%20with%20fcc%20staff%20re%20rural%20call% 

20completion,%20wc%2013-39.pdf. 

At the urging of rural telecommunications providers 1 and Congress,2 the FCC has taken steps to mitigate call completion and 

quality issues for rural consumers. First, the Commission took 

steps to clarify its existing rules. In 2012, the Commission issued 

a declaratory ruling making it clear that carrier practices that result in call failure could be a violation of the Communications Act’s 

prohibition on unjust and unreasonable practices.3 Beyond 

rulemakings, the agency has also taken steps to promote industryled solutions to the problem of rural call completion by hosting 

workshops to bring together stakeholders to discuss the problem 

and potential solutions.4

Finally, the FCC has taken steps to address rural call completion 

through new rules. In 2013, the agency adopted rules that required 

more detailed data collection regarding rural telephone companies’ 

ability to complete long distance calls.5 In addition, it adopted rules 

that gave carriers incentives to reduce reliance on least-cost routers 

and prohibited ‘‘phantom ringing.’’ 6 In addition, as part of reforms 

to the intercarrier compensation regime, the FCC has made 

changes to its rules that eventually eliminate terminating access 

charges,7 which will remove economic incentives for bad call routing. 

Despite these efforts by both legislators and regulators, the problem persists. A recent survey indicated that a majority of the telephone providers that responded had received consumer complaints 

in the past 12 months.8

As part of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology’s ongoing efforts to address the rural call completion issue, 

it examined H.R. 2566, the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2015. H.R. 2566, introduced by Rep. David Young (R– 

IA), Rep. Peter Welch (D–VT), and Rep. David Loebsack (D–IA), 

amends the Communications Act of 1934 by adding a new section 

to require intermediate providers who offer the capability of transmitting covered voice communications to register with the FCC. 

The bill also requires the Commission to establish service quality 

standards for intermediate providers to ensure the integrity of 

voice communication and prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among areas of the United States. Considering that the investigation into the rural call completion problem has not yet revealed a clear cause, the Commission should avoid placing unnecesVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:16 Nov 19, 2016 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR805.XXX HR805

srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
5 

sary burdens on carriers that are not the source of the problem. 

The Commission should craft service quality rules that are minimally burdensome on registered providers that route traffic consistent with industry best practices. 

The bill also prohibits the use of any intermediate provider that 

is not registered with the Commission. H.R. 2566 provides some 

transparency in the provision of intermediate routing by requiring 

the Commission to establish a database of registered intermediate 

providers and to make it available on the Commission’s website. In 

addition, the bill exempts carriers from these requirements who 

have certified under the Commission’s existing Safe Harbor rules. 

To minimize the regulatory burdens on carriers that are not causing the rural call completion problem, the Commission should 

make efforts to ensure that carriers providing service in good faith 

in the marketplace be allowed to avail themselves of the Safe Harbor exemption, including by expanding the scope of the Safe Harbor 

if appropriate. 

HEARINGS

On September 8, 2016, the Subcommittee on Communications 

and Technology held a hearing on H.R. 2566 and received testimony from: 

• Eric LeBeau, General Manager, Dakin Farms; and 

• Lance Miller, President, McClure Telephone Company. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On September 12 and 13, 2016, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology met in open markup session and forwarded H.R. 2566, as amended, to the full Committee by a voice 

vote. 

On September 20 and 21, 2016, the full Committee on Energy 

and Commerce met in open markup session and ordered H.R. 2566, 

as amended, reported to the House by a voice vote. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes on the motion 

to report legislation and amendments thereto. There were no recorded votes taken in connection with ordering H.R. 2566 reported. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee held a hearing and made findings that are reflected in this report. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal and objective of H.R. 2566 is to improve the reliability 

and quality of calls, particularly those made rural endpoints. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
6 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX

EXPENDITURES

In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R. 2566 

would result in no new or increased budget authority, entitlement 

authority, or tax expenditures or revenues. 

EARMARK, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS

In compliance with clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the 

Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that 

H.R. 2566 contains no earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited 

tariff benefits. 

COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by 

the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate provided by 

the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, October 12, 2016. 

Hon. FRED UPTON, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2566, the Improving 

Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2016. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Stephen Rabent. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 2566—Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 

2016 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency that regulates various aspects of wireline (telephone, for example), wireless, cable, and satellite communications. 

H.R. 2566 would require certain providers of voice communication 

services to register with the FCC. It also would require the FCC 

to issue rules establishing service quality standards for those providers. 

Based on an analysis of information from the FCC about the effort needed to create those service standards, CBO estimates that 

implementing H.R. 2566 would cost $3 million over the 2017–2021 

period. However, under current law the FCC is authorized to colVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:16 Nov 19, 2016 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6602 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR805.XXX HR805

srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
7 

lect fees sufficient to offset the cost of its regulatory activities each 

year. Therefore, CBO estimates that the net cost to implement H.R. 

2566 would be negligible, assuming annual appropriation actions 

consistent with the agency’s authorities. 

Enacting H.R. 2566 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2566 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2027. 

H.R. 2566 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in 

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect 

the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The bill contains private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. 

Specifically, the bill would require all intermediate providers of 

voice communications services to register with the FCC and to comply with service quality standards established by the agency. (Intermediate providers contract with other telecommunication providers to transmit voice calls from one destination to another.) The 

bill also would require telecommunications providers that contract 

with intermediate providers to use only those providers that are 

registered with the FCC. Lastly, if the FCC increases annual fee 

collections to offset the costs of implementing its additional regulatory activities, the bill would increase the cost of an existing 

mandate on commercial entities required to pay those fees. On the 

basis of information about current industry and regulatory practices, CBO estimates that incremental cost to comply with the requirements of the bill would not be substantial. Further, any increase in fees would amount to no more than $3 million over the 

2017–2021 period. Therefore, CBO estimates that the aggregate 

cost of the mandates in the bill would probably fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates 

($154 million in 2016, adjusted annually for inflation). 

On September 16, 2016 CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 

827, the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2016, 

as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation on June 29, 2016. The two bills are 

similar and CBO’s estimate of their budgetary effects is the same. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Stephen Rabent (for 

federal costs) and Logan Smith (for private-sector mandates). The 

estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

No provision of H.R. 2566 establishes or reauthorizes a program 

of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the 

Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
8 

21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

H.R. 2566 directs one rule making within the meaning of 5 

U.S.C. 551. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

This section provides that the Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2016’’. 

Section 2. Ensuring the integrity of voice communications 

This section amends the Communications Act to require that all 

intermediate providers of covered voice communications register 

with the FCC and comply with the service standards set by the 

Commission. This section also prohibits covered providers from 

using any intermediate provider who is not in compliance with this 

Act. This section requires the FCC to promulgate rules to establish 

a registry within 180 days, and rules establishing minimum service 

standards within one year of enactment. 

This section clarifies that this Act does not preempt, expand, or 

change the authority of State agencies or commissions. In addition, 

it clarifies that this Act does not affect the regulatory classification 

of any service. 

This section creates an exception for providers who have been 

certified as Safe Harbor providers under the agency’s rules and 

continue to meet the requirements of the Safe Harbor exemption. 

This section also defines several terms used in this Act. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italic 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934 

* * * * * * * 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
9 

TITLE II—COMMON CARRIERS 

* * * * * * * 

PART II—DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETITIVE 

MARKETS 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 262. ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF VOICE COMMUNICATIONS. 

(a) REGISTRATION AND COMPLIANCE BY INTERMEDIATE PRO- VIDERS.—An intermediate provider that offers or holds itself out as 

offering the capability to transmit covered voice communications 

from one destination to another and that charges any rate to any 

other entity (including an affiliated entity) for the transmission 

shall— 

(1) register with the Commission; and 

(2) comply with the service quality standards for such transmission to be established by the Commission under subsection 

(c)(1)(B). 

(b) REQUIRED USE OF REGISTERED INTERMEDIATE PROVIDERS.— A covered provider may not use an intermediate provider to transmit covered voice communications unless such intermediate provider 

is registered under subsection (a)(1). 

(c) COMMISSION RULES.— (1) IN GENERAL.— (A) REGISTRY.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

enactment of this section, the Commission shall promulgate 

rules to establish a registry to record registrations under 

subsection (a)(1). 

(B) SERVICE QUALITY STANDARDS.—Not later than 1 year 

after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission 

shall promulgate rules to establish service quality standards for the transmission of covered voice communications 

by intermediate providers. 

(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In promulgating the rules required by 

paragraph (1), the Commission shall— 

(A) ensure the integrity of the transmission of covered 

voice communications to all customers in the United States; 

and 

(B) prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among 

areas of the United States in the delivery of covered voice 

communications. 

(d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF REGISTRY.—The Commission shall 

make the registry established under subsection (c)(1)(A) publicly 

available on the website of the Commission. 

(e) SCOPE OF APPLICATION.—The requirements of this section 

shall apply regardless of the format by which any communication 

or service is provided, the protocol or format by which the transmission of such communication or service is achieved, or the regulatory classification of such communication or service. 

(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the regulatory classification of any communication 

or service. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
10 

(g) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall be 

construed to preempt or expand the authority of a State public utility commission or other relevant State agency to collect data, or investigate and enforce State law and regulations, regarding the completion of intrastate voice communications, regardless of the format 

by which any communication or service is provided, the protocol or 

format by which the transmission of such communication or service 

is achieved, or the regulatory classification of such communication 

or service. 

(h) EXCEPTION.—The requirement under subsection (a)(2) to comply with the service quality standards established under subsection 

(c)(1)(B) shall not apply to a covered provider that— 

(1) on or before the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, has certified as a Safe Harbor provider 

under section 64.2107(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation; and 

(2) continues to meet the requirements under such section 

64.2107(a). 

(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) COVERED PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘covered provider’’ has the 

meaning given the term in section 64.2101 of title 47, Code of 

Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto. 

(2) COVERED VOICE COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘‘covered 

voice communication’’ means a voice communication (including 

any related signaling information) that is generated— 

(A) from the placement of a call from a connection using 

a North American Numbering Plan resource or a call 

placed to a connection using such a numbering resource; 

and 

(B) through any service provided by a covered provider. 

(3) INTERMEDIATE PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘intermediate provider’’ means any entity that— 

(A) enters into a business arrangement with a covered 

provider or other intermediate provider for the specific purpose of carrying, routing, or transmitting voice traffic that 

is generated from the placement of a call placed— 

(i) from an end user connection using a North American Numbering Plan resource; or 

(ii) to an end user connection using such a numbering resource; and 

(B) does not itself, either directly or in conjunction with 

an affiliate, serve as a covered provider in the context of 

originating or terminating a given call. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with HEARING