I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6410 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit a provider of telephone 
exchange service, exchange access, or commercial mobile service from 
imposing a charge for number portability (other than a one-time, separate 
charge to port a number), and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 7, 2006 
Mr. ACKERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit a 
provider of telephone exchange service, exchange access, 
or commercial mobile service from imposing a charge 
for number portability (other than a one-time, separate 
charge to port a number), and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Profit Honesty in Of-
fering Number Emancipation Act of 2006’’. 
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SEC. 2. CHARGES FOR NUMBER PORTABILITY. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—Section 251 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as 
subsections (i) and (j), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(h) CHARGES FOR NUMBER PORTABILITY.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), a provider of telephone exchange 
service, exchange access, or commercial mobile serv-
ice (as defined in section 332(d)) shall not impose 
any charge on a customer (whether imposed sepa-
rately or incorporated into the customer’s monthly 
rates) to recover the costs of providing number port-
ability in accordance with this section and Commis-
sion requirements thereunder. 
‘‘(2) ONE-TIME, SEPARATE CHARGE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A provider described 
in paragraph (1) may impose a one-time, sepa-
rate charge on a customer in connection with 
porting a number to or from another provider 
at the request of the customer. 
‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The Commission shall set 
the maximum amount of a charge allowed 
under subparagraph (A). Such amount— 
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‘‘(i) shall be the same in any case; 
and 
‘‘(ii) shall be equal to the approximate 
cost incurred by a provider in porting a 
number. 
‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In setting the 
maximum amount under subparagraph (B), the 
Commission— 
‘‘(i) may consider the ongoing costs of 
maintaining and operating a number port-
ability system; and 
‘‘(ii) may not consider costs recovered 
pursuant to regulations under this section 
(as in effect on the date of the enactment 
of the Profit Honesty in Offering Number 
Emancipation Act of 2006) for the imple-
mentation of number portability.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) apply only with respect to charges imposed 
on or after the date that is 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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