The Commission today, exercising its new forbearance authority, ruled that non- dominant interexchange carriers will no longer file tariffs for their interstate domestic long distance services. After a nine-month transition period, relationships between carriers and their customers will be set by contract.
Carriers have the option immediately to cease filing tariffs.
Today's decision is the first major exercise of the new forbearance authority granted to the Commission in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This new forbearance authority requires the Commission to reduce or eliminate unnecessary regulation where certain public interest criteria are met. In the Order adopted today, the Commission found that the 1996 Act's criteria are met to forbear from requiring long distance companies to file tariffs for interstate, domestic, long distance services. Consequently, the Commission ordered that, after a 9-month transition period, long distance companies may no longer file with the Commission tariffs for interstate, domestic, interexchange services. The Order will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.