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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

                                )
In the Matter of                )
                                )
Implementation of the Pay Telephone)    CC Docket No. 96-128
Reclassification and Compensation Provisions)
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996)


                              ORDER
                                

Adopted:  May 14, 1997                  Released: May 14, 1997


By the Chief, Policy and Program Planning Division:

     1.   On May 5, 1997, the American Public Communications Council ("APCC") and
the Inmate Calling Service Providers Coalition ("ICSPC") filed a motion seeking leave to file
consolidated applications for review of the Common Carrier Bureau's April 15, 1997, orders
approving comparably efficient interconnection ("CEI") plans for basic payphone services filed
by Bell Atlantic Telephone Companies ("Bell Atlantic"), BellSouth Corporation ("BellSouth"),
NYNEX Telephone Companies ("NYNEX"), Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell (jointly "PacTel"),
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company ("SWBT"), and US WEST, Inc. ("US WEST").  APCC
and ICSPC also seek to extend the page limit for such consolidated applications for review to a
maximum of 50 pages.  APCC and ICSPC filed their motion pursuant to section 1.41 of the
Commission's rules.

     2.   APCC and ICSPC state that, if their motion is granted, APCC and ICSPC each
would file a single application for review addressing all seven CEI Orders.  In support of their
motion, APCC and ICSPC state that the Commission's CEI Orders share common issues of law,
and that permitting APCC and ICSPC each to file consolidated applications for review would
eliminate the need for duplicative pleadings on common issues and conserve the Commission's
limited resources.  APCC and ICSPC further state that, because there are factual variations
among the individual CEI Orders, an extension of the 25 page limit for applications for review is
appropriate to ensure that each party can adequately address the factual issues related to each of
the seven CEI plans in one consolidated application for review.  APCC and ICSPC state that
"[i]n no event will either party require more than 50 pages for its individual application for
review of the CEI Orders."

     3.   We agree with APCC and ICSPC that the CEI Orders raise common legal issues
that would most efficiently be addressed in a consolidated fashion.  Thus, granting their motion
for leave to file consolidated applications for review of the CEI Orders will eliminate the need
for duplicative pleadings, and conserve Commission resources.  Although we do not routinely
grant extensions of the page limits for pleadings filed with the Commission, we recognize that
there are certain factual variations among the seven CEI Orders, and that the parties may not be
able to address adequately the factual issues related to each of the seven CEI plans if their
consolidated applications for review are limited to 25 pages.  Accordingly, we believe it is
appropriate to grant the parties' request to extend the page limit for each parties' consolidated
application for review to a maximum of 50 pages.

     4.   Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  154(i), and Section 1.3 of the Commission's Rules, 47
C.F.R.  1.3, that the motion of the American Public Communications Council and the Inmate
Calling Services Providers Coalition to consolidate applications for review and to extend the
page limit for consolidated applications IS GRANTED.

                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                         Richard K. Welch
                         Chief, Policy and Program Planning Division
                         Common Carrier Bureau