Source: http://www.fcc.gov/article/da-13-371a2?contrast=
Timestamp: 2014-07-24 15:47:33
Document Index: 563724264

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 151', '§ 201', '§ 64', '§ 64', '§ 153', '§153', 'art 4', '§ 251', '§ 61', '§ 54', '§ 9', '§ 14', '§ 64', '§ 201', '§ 202']

(a) “Act” means the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151 et seq.
(c) “Benchmark Call Completion Rate” means, with respect to Enterprise Customer Calls or Wholesale Customer Calls, the Call Completion Rate to Non-rural Incumbent Locations on the Legacy Level 3 network for each such category of traffic.
(e) “Call Completion Rate” means, for Enterprise Customer Calls, a completion rate calculated by dividing the total number of calls completed by the total number of call attempts. For Wholesale Customer Calls, “Call Completion Rate” means a completion rate calculated by dividing the total number of calls completed by the total number of call attempts, after first subtracting all calls handed by Level 3 back to the entity delivering them to Level 3 for termination. For purposes of this definition, a completed call is a call that was answered by or on behalf of the called party (including calls completed 1 47 U.S.C. §§ 201(b), 202(a). 1
(f) “Commission” and “FCC” mean the Federal Communications Commission and all of its bureaus and offices.
(h) “Compliance Plan” means the compliance program, obligations, and procedures described in Paragraph 16 of this Consent Decree. (i) “Covered Employees” means all employees and agents of Level 3 who supervise, oversee, or manage the performance of duties that relate to Level 3’s compliance obligations under this Consent Decree.
(j) “Effective Date” means the date on which the Bureau releases the Adopting Order.
(k) “Enterprise Customer Calls” means interexchange calls from Level 3 customers that are not (i) Wholesale Customer Calls, or (ii) determined by Level 3 to be originating from telemarketers, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(11), or other mass-dialers.
(l) “Intermediate Provider” has the meaning provided in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1600(f), but excludes a tandem provider to which the terminating carrier subtends or a carrier to which the terminating carrier requires an indirectly interconnecting carrier to deliver traffic.
(n) “Legacy Global Crossing” means the North American voice network owned and operated by Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. before its parentcompany Global Crossing Limited’s transaction with Level 3 Communications Inc.
(o) “Legacy Level 3” means the North American voice network owned and operated by Level 3 Communications, LLC, before its parent company Level 3 Communications Inc.’s transaction with Global Crossing Limited. (p) “Level 3” or “Company” means Level 3 Communications, LLC, and any subsidiaries or affiliates, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(1), providing domestic interexchange telecommunications services or interconnected VoIP services within the United States, except for newly acquired networks excluded by Paragraph 27 of this Consent Decree. (q) “Local Exchange Carrier” has the meaning provided in 47 U.S.C. §153(32).
(r) “Network Failure” means an outage reportable under the FCC’s outage reporting requirements, 47 C.F.R. Part 4.
(s) “Non-rural Incumbent Locations” means locations that: (i) are not Rural Incumbent Locations; and (ii) are served by an Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 251(h).
(t) “Operating Procedures” means the standard, internal operating procedures and compliance policies established by Level 3 to implement the Compliance Plan. (u) “Parties” means Level 3 and the Bureau, each of which is a “Party.” (v) “Post-Dial Delay” means the period starting when the address information required for setting up a call is received by the network (recognized on the calling user's access line) and finishing when the called party busy tone,ringing tone, or answer signal is received by the calling party (i.e., recognized on the calling user's access line). (w) “Price Cap LEC” means a Price Cap Local Exchange Carrier as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 61.3(bb).
(y) “Rural Call Completion Rate” means the Call Completion Rate for calls
destined for Rural Incumbent Locations. (z) “Rural Call Quality Commitment” means the performance standard described in Paragraph 16(b) of this Consent Decree.
(aa) “Rural Incumbent Locations” means locations served by a Rural Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier, as defined at 47 C.F.R. § 54.5, that is not an affiliate of a Price Cap LEC. (bb) “Termination Date” means the date on which the compliance obligations in this Consent Decree terminate, as provided in Paragraph 19. (cc) “Wholesale” means voice telecommunications sold by Level 3 to customers that purchase the service and incorporate it into their own offerings of telecommunications services, interconnected VoIP services (as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 9.3) that are terminated on the public switched telephone network, or non-interconnected VoIP services (as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 14.10(q)) that are terminated on the public switched telephone network.
(dd) “Wholesale Customer Calls” mean interexchange calls from Level 3 Wholesale customers that are not determined by Level 3 to be originating from telemarketers, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(11), or other mass-dialers.
The Commission has emphasized that “it is vital that our Nation maintains a communications network that offers reliable and resilient service.”4 The Commission has also recognized that “permitting blocking or the refusal to deliver voice telephone traffic, whether as a means of ‘self-help’ to address perceived unreasonable intercarrier compensation charges or otherwise, risks ‘degradation of the country’s telecommunications network.’”5 To prevent that, the Commission has consistently held that telecommunications carriers, including interexchange carriers, generally may not “‘block, choke, reduce, or restrict traffic in any way.’”6
Level 3 offers a variety of telecommunications services throughout the United States, including interexchange (long distance) voice service. In September 2011, the Commission approved the transfer of control of Commission licenses and authorizations from Global Crossing Limited to Level 3 2 47 U.S.C. § 201(b).3 Id. § 202(a).4 Reliability and Continuity of Communications Networks, Including Broadband Technologies, Notice of Inquiry, 26 FCC Rcd 5614, 5616, para. 5 (2011); see also Establishing Just and Reasonable Rates for Local Exchange Carriers, Declaratory Ruling and Order, 22 FCC Rcd 11629, para. 1 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2007) (Call Blocking Declaratory Ruling) (“the ubiquity and reliability of the nation’s telecommunications network is of paramount importance to the explicit goals of the Communications Act”). 5 Connect America Fund, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 26 FCC Rcd 17663, 18029, para. 973 (2011) (quoting Access Charge Reform, Seventh Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 16 FCC Rcd 9923, 9933, para. 24 (2001) (Universal Service/Intercarrier Compensation Reform Order)). 6 Id. at 17903, para. 734 (quoting Call Blocking Declaratory Ruling, 22 FCC Rcd at 11631, para. 6). 7 Letter from Michael Romano, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, et al., to Theresa Z. Cavanaugh, Acting Chief and Margaret Dailey, Attorney Advisor, Investigations & Hearings Division, FCC <