[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1423-1424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-529]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 61

[CC Docket No. 93-55; FCC 96-108]


Metric Conversion of Tariff Publications and Supporting 
Information

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Termination of proposed rulemaking proceeding.

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SUMMARY: In a 1993 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission sought 
comment on a proposal to amend Part 61 of its rules to mandate metric 
conversion of common carrier tariff publications and supporting 
information (``tariff materials''). The Commission made this proposal 
to facilitate use of these materials in light of the increased 
employment of metric units of measurement in this country and 
Congressional policy that the metric system of measurement be employed 
wherever possible. Based upon the comments received and its own 
analysis, the Commission concluded, in this Report and Order, that it 
would not be in the public interest to require common carriers to 
convert to the metric system those units of measure appearing in their 
tariff materials. Specifically, the Commission found that the benefits 
to carriers and their customers of such mandatory metric conversion--or 
of requiring that conversion tables be included in such materials--were 
not clear enough to justify the carrier burdens involved. Accordingly, 
the Commission declined to adopt any of the proposed conversion options 
and, instead, terminated this proceeding.

DATES: The proposed rulemaking proceeding is terminated February 10, 
1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allen A. Barna, Competitive Pricing 
Division, Common Carrier Bureau, (202) 418-1530.


[[Page 1424]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission opened this docket with the 
release of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Amendment to Part 61 of the 
Commission's Rules Requiring Metric Conversion of Tariff Materials and 
Supporting Information, CC Docket No. 93-55, 10 FCC Rcd 6483 (1993) 
(1993 NPRM), 58 FR 26087, April 30, 1993. The 1993 NPRM was one of 
several actions that the Commission took in response to the Metric 
Conversion Act of 1975, Public Law 94-168, 89 Stat. 1007 (1975), as 
amended by Public Law 100-418, 102 Stat. 1107 (1988) (codified at 17 
U.S.C. Sec. 205 et seq.) (Metric Conversion Act). This is a summary of 
the Commission's later Report and Order in this docket adopted March 
12, 1996, and released March 29, 1996, 11 FCC Rcd 3617 (1996) (Report 
and Order). The full text of this Report and Order is available for 
inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Public 
Reference Room (Room 239), 1919 M St., NW., Washington, DC. The 
complete text of this Report and Order may also be purchased from the 
Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription Service, 
Suite 140, 2100 M Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Because the Commission did not impose any of the proposed metric 
conversion options on common carriers and, instead, simply terminated 
this proceeding, the Commission has determined that Section 605(b) of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), does not apply 
to the adoption of this Report and Order because termination of this 
proceeding does not have any significant economic impact on small 
entities.

Summary of Report and Order

    In the 1993 NPRM, the Commission expressed its belief that 
distance-sensitive units in tariff filings under Part 61 of its rules 
should be expressed in metric units. Accordingly, that NPRM proposed 
three options for conversion of common carrier tariff materials to the 
metric system. Under Option 1, the Conversion Table Option, carriers 
would be required to include, in the general rules section of their 
tariff materials, a table for converting non-metric units of 
measurement to metric units. Under Option 2, carriers would be required 
to include--in the applicable rate sections of their tariff materials--
the metric unit and corresponding rate in parenthesis beside the non-
metric unit and related rate (e.g., $4.00 per mile ($2.50 per 
kilometer)). Under Option 3, carriers would be required to include only 
the metric unit and related rate in the applicable rate sections of 
their tariff materials. To aid tariff users not familiar with the 
metric system, Option 3 would also require carriers to include 
appropriate conversion tables in their tariff materials.
    Most commenting parties urged the Commission not to adopt any rule 
requiring metric conversion of common carrier tariff materials. Some 
parties noted that the Metric Conversion Act does not obligate the 
Commission to require metric conversion of such materials. A number of 
parties argued that the anticipated costs for carriers to convert these 
materials and the related administrative burdens on each carrier to 
revise tariff materials far outweigh any benefits to those who use 
these materials.
    The National Institute of Standards and Technology at the U.S. 
Department of Commerce (NIST) recommended that these tariff materials 
include either (a) the metric unit and corresponding rate followed in 
parenthesis by the non-metric unit and rate, or (b) the non-metric unit 
and corresponding rate followed by the metric unit and rate. Thus, NIST 
would allow carriers to choose which measurement system would be 
dominant in their tariff materials and which would be included in 
parenthesis. Should the Commission not adopt that approach, NIST urged 
that common carriers be required to comply with Option 2 in the 1993 
NPRM because, in the view of NIST, that option most closely met the 
goals of the Metric Conversion Act. In addition, the Chairman of the 
Standards and Metric Practices Subcommittee of the Metrification 
Operating Committee of the Interagency Council on Metric Policy urged 
the Commission to allow carriers to use only metric units in their 
tariff materials because use of any other option would require carriers 
to continue to use two sets of units in these materials.
    The Commission found that the carrier burdens associated with both 
Option 2 and Option 3 clearly outweigh the benefits to the public that 
each offers. Although Option 1, the Conversion Table Option, would be 
less burdensome than either of the other two options, the Commission 
found that it, too, would impose additional burdens on carriers. While 
the Commission recognized that inclusion of such conversion tables in 
tariff materials would promote its metric conversion program and would 
potentially benefit some tariff users, the Commission, nevertheless, 
found that the benefits associated with such a requirement would be 
outweighed by the estimated burdens on carriers.
    Thus, in light of the record established in response to the 1993 
NPRM, the Commission no longer found that the benefits of having metric 
units or metric conversion tables in tariff materials exceeded the 
related burdens on those carriers that filed these materials. Instead, 
the Commission found that the benefits to carriers and their customers 
of converting tariff materials to the metric system--or of including 
conversion tables in such materials--were not sufficiently clear to 
justify the burdens involved. Accordingly, the Commission declined to 
adopt any of the conversion options proposed in the 1993 NPRM and 
terminated this proceeding.

Ordering Clause

    Accordingly, It is ordered, that the proceeding initiated in CC 
Docket No. 93-55 Is terminated.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 61

    Communications common carriers, Metric system, Telecommunications.

Federal Communications Commission.
LaVera F. Marshall,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-529 Filed 1-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P