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[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 211 (Tuesday, October 31, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64892-64894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27904]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 69

[CC Docket No. 99-316; FCC 00-384]

Shortening Notice Period for Changes in Participation in NECA's 
Access Tariffs

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the Commission's rules to change the date 
by which carriers must notify the National Exchange Carrier 
Association, Inc. (NECA) of any changes in their participation in the 
association's access tariff filing. Previously, incumbent local 
exchange carriers were required to notify NECA of any change in their 
participation in the association's access tariff by December 31 of the 
year preceding the tariff filing. The Commission is amending its rules 
to extend that notification deadline to March 1 of the tariff year. 
This change will provide carriers with additional time in which to make 
their access tariff participation decisions.

DATES: Effective November 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer McKee, (202) 418-1520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 47 CFR 69.3, NECA is responsible for 
filing an access service tariff as agent for all telephone companies 
that participate in the association tariff. The association tariff is 
to be filed with a scheduled effective date of July 1. To provide NECA 
with sufficient notice, carriers were required to notify NECA of any 
change in their association tariff participation by December 31 of the 
year preceding the filing of the tariff.
    In 1997 the Commission streamlined its tariff filing rules, 
allowing carriers to file their annual access tariffs on 15 days notice 
for filings that include rate increases, or on 7 days notice for 
filings that include only rate decreases, rather than on 90 days 
notice. 63 FR 13132, March 18, 1998. The streamlined notice requirement 
applies to NECA's association access service tariff, allowing NECA to 
file the tariff on June 16 or June 24, rather than on April 2, for an 
effective date of July 1. In addition to the streamlined notice period, 
NECA now employs electronic data collection and processing routines 
that were not in use when 47 CFR 69.3 was adopted. These more efficient 
data collection techniques significantly reduce the time required to 
assemble and analyze data for NECA's tariff filing. According to NECA, 
the tariff streamlining rules and improvements in data collection 
management eliminate the need for carriers to provide six months 
advance notice to NECA of planned tariff participation changes. 
Therefore, NECA filed a petition for rulemaking seeking to change the 
carrier notification date from December 31 of the previous year to 
March 1 of the tariff year. We granted NECA's petition and sought 
comment on the proposal. 65 FR 51572, August 24, 2000.
    We agree with NECA that changes in tariff notification periods and 
advancements in data collection and processing methods warrant a 
shorter timeframe for carriers to provide notice of tariff 
participation changes. In addition, as NECA noted in its petition, 
shorter notice periods will not disadvantage NECA and may help smaller 
companies make better-informed decisions regarding tariff 
participation. For instance, because the deadline by which NECA must 
file proposed revisions to its average schedule formulas is December 
31, companies that rely on these formulas to compute interstate access 
compensation will have more time to analyze the proposed revisions 
before deciding whether to participate in NECA's access tariff.
    Therefore, we amend 47 CFR part 69 to allow carriers until March 1 
of each tariff year to notify NECA of any changes in tariff 
participation.

Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

    The action contained herein has been analyzed with respect to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and found not to impose new or modified 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements or burdens on the public. 
Therefore implementation of the amended rule extending the date by 
which carriers must notify NECA of changes in their association access 
tariff participation will not be subject to approval by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB).

Final Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 603, 
an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was incorporated in 
the NPRM. The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601 et. seq., has been amended by the 
Contract With America Advancement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-121, 110 
Stat. 847 (1996) (CWAAA). Title II of the CWAAA is the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). The Commission 
sought written public comment on the proposals in the NPRM, including 
comment on the IRFA. This present Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(FRFA) conforms to the RFA, as amended. See 5 U.S.C. 604.
    Need for and Objectives of This Order. As discussed above, NECA has 
asserted that changes in tariff notification periods and advancements 
in data collection and processing methods have facilitated NECA's 
ability to prepare association tariffs. Therefore, NECA can receive 
notifications from carriers changing the status of their

[[Page 64893]]

association tariff participation closer to the tariff filing deadline. 
At NECA's request, the Commission is amending its rules to extend the 
deadline by which carriers must notify NECA of changes in association 
tariff participation. Specifically, the notification deadline is 
changed from December 31 of the preceding year to March 1 of the tariff 
year. This extension of the notification deadline will provide carriers 
additional time to determine their tariff participation status, thus 
allowing them to make more informed tariff participation decisions.
    Summary of Significant Issues Raised by the Public Comments in 
Response to the IRFA. The Commission received no comments addressing 
the IRFA. However, the comments received in response to the NPRM were 
supportive of the change in tariff participation notification date. 
NTCA's comments specifically noted that changing the election deadline 
to March 1 would benefit NTCA's members, which are small carriers that 
are ``rural telephone companies'' as defined in the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996.
    Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which 
the Proposed Rules Will Apply. The RFA directs agencies to provide a 
description of, and, where feasible, an estimate of the number of small 
entities to which the rules will apply. 5 U.S.C. 604(a)(3). The RFA 
defines the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the 
terms ``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small business 
concern'' under Section 3 of the Small Business Act. 5 U.S.C. 601(3). A 
small business concern is one which: (1) Is independently owned and 
operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) 
satisfies any additional criteria established by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA). Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632.
    In this FRFA, we consider the potential impact of the Order on all 
local exchange carriers (LECs) that could consider participating in 
NECA's association tariffs. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has 
developed a definition for small LECs. The closest applicable 
definition under the SBA rules is for Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC) category 4,813, telephone communications companies 
other than radiotelephone (wireless) companies. 13 CFR 121.201. For 
this category, the SBA has defined a small business to be a small 
entity having no more than 1,500 employees. Id.
    We have included small incumbent LECs in the present RFA analysis. 
As noted, a ``small business'' under the RFA is one that, inter alia, 
meets the pertinent small business size standard (e.g., a telephone 
communications business having 1,500 or fewer employees), and ``is not 
dominant in its field of operation.'' 5 U.S.C. 601(3). The SBA's Office 
of Advocacy contends that, for RFA purposes, small incumbent LECs are 
not dominant in their field of operation because any such dominance is 
not ``national'' in scope. Letter from Jere W. Glover, Chief Counsel 
for Advocacy, SBA, to William E. Kennard, Chairman, FCC (May 27, 1999). 
The Small Business Act contains a definition of ``small business 
concern'' which the RFA incorporates into its own definition of ``small 
business.'' See 15 U.S.C. 632(a) (Small Business Act); 5 U.S.C. 601(3) 
(RFA). SBA regulations interpret ``small business concern'' to include 
the concept of dominance on a national basis. 13 CFR 121.102(b). Since 
1996, out of an abundance of caution, the Commission has included small 
incumbent LECs in its regulatory flexibility analyses. See, e.g., 
Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996, 61 FR 45476, August 29, 1996. We have 
therefore included small incumbent LECs in this RFA analysis, although 
we emphasize that this RFA action has no effect on the Commission's 
analyses and determinations in other, non-RFA contexts.
    The most reliable source of information regarding the total numbers 
of certain common carrier and related providers nationwide, as well as 
the numbers of commercial wireless entities, appears to be data the 
Commission publishes annually in its Carrier Locator: Interstate 
Service Providers Report (Locator). This report was compiled using 
information from Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) fund worksheets 
filed by carriers, including, inter alia, LECs, competitive local 
exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, competitive access 
providers, satellite service providers, wireless telephony providers, 
operator service providers, pay telephone operators, providers of 
telephone toll service, providers of telephone exchange service, and 
resellers.
    There are two principle providers of local telephone service; 
incumbent LECs and competing local service providers. However, under 47 
CFR part 69, participation in NECA's access service tariffs is limited 
to incumbent LECs, therefore the rule changes will not affect competing 
local service providers. 47 CFR 69.2(hh). According to the most recent 
Locator data, 1,348 filers identified themselves as incumbent LECs. 
Data set forth in the Commission's Statistics of Communications Common 
Carriers (SOCC) lists 32 incumbent LECs that have more than 1,500 
employees. We do not have data specifying the number of incumbent LECs 
that are either dominant in their field of operations or are not 
independently owned and operated, and thus are unable at this time to 
estimate with greater precision the number of incumbent LECs that would 
qualify as small business concerns under the SBA's definition. 
Consequently, we estimate that fewer than 1,316 incumbent LECs are 
small entities that may be affected by the rules.
    Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements. This Order adopts a proposed extension of the 
date by which carriers must notify NECA of changes in participation in 
association tariffs. Under the current rules this notification must be 
provided six months prior to the effective date of the tariff, by 
December 31 of the preceding year. The Commission amends its rules to 
allow carriers until March 1 of the tariff year to provide the required 
notification to NECA. The amended rules will not require carriers to 
conduct any new reporting or recordkeeping obligations. Instead, 
carriers will continue to report to NECA any changes in their 
association tariff participation, but this notification will be 
submitted at a later date.
    Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small 
Entities and Significant Alternatives Considered. The rule amendments 
adopted in this Order are designed to assist all carriers in making 
their association tariff participation elections. The extension of the 
notification date from December 31 to March 1 may particularly benefit 
smaller carriers that rely on average schedule formulas to compute 
interstate access compensation, because NECA is required to file 
proposed revisions to these schedules by December 31. The extension of 
the tariff election deadline will provide carriers more time to analyze 
NECA's proposed revisions before making tariff participation decisions.
    Report to Congress. The Commission will send a copy of the Order, 
including this FRFA, in a report to be sent to Congress pursuant to the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. See 5 
U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). In addition, the Commission will send a copy of 
the Order, including this FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration. A copy of the Order and FRFA (or 
summaries thereof) will also be published in the Federal Register. See 
5 U.S.C. 604(b).

[[Page 64894]]

Ordering Clauses

    Pursuant to the authority contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 201-
205, and 303 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
151, 154(i), 154(j), 201-205, and 303, that this Order Is Hereby 
Adopted as described.
    The provisions of this Order Shall Be Effective November 30, 2000.
    The Commission's Consumer Information Bureau, Reference Information 
Center, Shall Send a copy of this Order, including the Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 69

    Communications common carriers, Tariffs.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.

Regulatory Text

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Federal Communications 
Commission amends 47 CFR part 69 as follows:

PART 69--ACCESS CHARGES

    1. The authority citation for part 69 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 201, 202, 203, 205, 218, 220, 254, 
403.

    2. Amend Sec. 69.3 by revising paragraphs (e)(6), (e)(9), and 
(i)(1) to read as follows:

Sec. 69.3  Filing of access service tariffs.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (6) A telephone company or companies that elect to file such a 
tariff shall notify the association not later than March 1 of the year 
the tariff becomes effective, if such company or companies did not file 
such a tariff in the preceding biennial period or cross-reference 
association charges in such preceding period that will be cross-
referenced in the new tariff. A telephone company or companies that 
elect to file such a tariff not in the biennial period shall file its 
tariff to become effective July 1 for a period of one year. Thereafter, 
such telephone company or companies must file its tariff pursuant to 
paragraphs (f)(1) or (f)(2) of this section.
* * * * *
    (9) A telephone company or group of affiliated telephone companies 
that elects to file its own Carrier Common Line tariff pursuant to 
paragraph (a) of this section shall notify the association not later 
than March 1 of the year the tariff becomes effective that it will no 
longer participate in the association tariff. A telephone company or 
group of affiliated telephone companies that elects to file its own 
Carrier Common Line tariff for one of its study areas shall file its 
own Carrier Common Line tariff(s) for all of its study areas.
* * * * *
    (i) * * *
    (1) In addition to the withdrawal provisions of paragraphs (e)(6) 
and (e)(9) of this section, a telephone company or group of affiliated 
companies that participates in one or more association tariffs during 
the current tariff year and that elects to file price cap tariffs or 
optional incentive regulation tariffs effective July 1 of the following 
tariff year shall notify the association by March 1 of the following 
tariff year that it is withdrawing from association tariffs, subject to 
the terms of this section, to participate in price cap regulation or 
optional incentive regulation.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 00-27904 Filed 10-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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