[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 28, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 26516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13248]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


FCC Amends Charter of Network Reliability and Interoperability 
Council

April 18, 1996.
    The Federal Communications Commission has renewed and amended the 
charter of its advisory committee, the ``Network Reliability Council'' 
and renamed it the ``Network Reliability and Interoperability Council'' 
(the ``Council''). Under its amended charter, the Council will develop 
recommendations to the Commission as to how it might best accomplish 
responsibilities placed on it by Section 256 of the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996.
    These include developing procedures to oversee coordinated network 
planning by providers of telecommunications service and participating 
in the development, by standards-setting organizations, of public 
telecommunications network interconnectivity standards. The purposes of 
Section 256 are, first, to promote nondiscriminatory accessibility by 
the broadest number of users and vendors of telecommunications products 
and services to public telecommunications networks through (a) 
coordinated network planning and design and (b) interconnectivity of 
public networks and devices to those networks, and, second, to ensure 
the ability of users and information providers to seamlessly and 
transparently transmit and receive information between and across 
telecommunications networks.
    The Council will also continue to provide recommendations to the 
Commission and to the industry that will help assure optimal 
reliability of the public telecommunications networks.
    Building on the accomplishments of the committee to date and in 
view of the wider purposes of the committee under the amended charter, 
the Commission has selected members of the Council on the basis of 
their technical knowledge, the impact of their activities on network 
reliability and the impact of network availability on the 
constituencies the members represent. Any new members will be chosen so 
that the largest possible diversity of interests, given the function to 
be performed, will be represented.
    The continuation of the Council is necessary and in the public 
interest to prepare recommendations of the FCC as to how it might best 
accomplish responsibilities placed on it by Section 256 of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996. Continuation is also necessary to 
prepare recommendations to the industry and to the FCC for avoiding, 
and minimizing the impact of, future network outages. Continuation of 
the Council is also necessary so that the telecommunications industry 
and the Commission can effectively monitor and encourage the 
implementation of the Council's prior recommendations by the industry, 
and assess the effectiveness of the implemented recommendations on 
network access during outages and help assure maximum availability of 
crucial telecommunications services.
    For additional information, contact Robert Kimball 202/418-2339.

Federal Communciations Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-13248 Filed 5-24-96; 8:45 am]
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