******************************************************** NOTICE ******************************************************** This document was converted from WordPerfect to ASCII Text format. Content from the original version of the document such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers will not show up in this text version. All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the original document will not show up in this text version. Features of the original document layout such as columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins will not be preserved in the text version. If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** DA 98-2465 December 2, 1998 Mr. James J. McNulty Secretary Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission P.O. Box 3265 Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265 Re: Request for Written Response CC Docket No. 96-98, NSD File No. L-97-42 Dear Secretary McNulty: Thank you for your letter of November 25, 1998, with your questions regarding the Pennsylvania Commission's authority to allocate NXX codes in the 215, 610, and 717 Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) in Pennsylvania. We understand that the situation in Pennsylvania is critical: two North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) planning letters indicate that both the 215 and 610 NPAs have been completely exhausted since July 31, 1998, and an order of the Pennsylvania Commission indicates that the 717 NPA has been exhausted since May 1998. Two overlays, one for the 610 NPA and one for the 215 NPA are both scheduled to be activated on May 1, 1999. The split of the 717 NPA is scheduled to be completed by April 8, 1999. In all of the NPAs at issue, permissive 10-digit dialing in 215 and 610, and permissive dialing in 717, are scheduled to begin on Saturday, December 5, 1998. In paragraph 49 of the Pennsylvania Order, the FCC delegated additional authority to the Pennsylvania Commission "to hear and address claims of carriers claiming that they do not, or in the near future will not, have any line numbers remaining in their NXX codes, and will be unable to serve customers if they cannot obtain an NXX code, or that they are using or will have to use extraordinary and unreasonably costly measures to provide service." The FCC stated further that, "[if] those carriers cannot serve customers because they do not have numbers, or if they are having to use extraordinary and unreasonably costly measures to obtain numbers in order to provide service before implementation of the new area codes, the Pennsylvania Commission should work with the code administrator to ensure that those carriers have access to NXX codes outside of the rationing plan." Also in the Pennsylvania Order, the FCC sought the North American Numbering Council's (NANC) recommendation as to whether, in the future, the state commissions or the North American Numbering Plan Administrator should perform the function of evaluating whether a carrier that is subject to an NXX code rationing plan should receive an NXX code or multiple NXX codes outside of the parameters of the rationing plan if it demonstrates that it has no numbers and cannot provide service to customers, or is having to rely on extraordinary and costly measures in order to provide service. The Pennsylvania Commission appears concerned that, because of the referral to the NANC, the FCC may have limited the Pennsylvania Commission's authority to allocate NXX codes in the 215, 610, and 717 areas to carriers that make a showing of extraordinary need, as outlined above. As explained further below, this was not the case. The FCC recognized that the Pennsylvania Commission would need to address carrier requests in an expedited fashion, and therefore granted additional authority to the Pennsylvania Commission to do so. You requested clarification of the authority granted it in paragraph 49 of the Pennsylvania Order in light of a petition from a carrier, which relies on the proposition that the Pennsylvania Commission has authority to allocate NXX codes during the implementation phase of previously ordered area code relief in the 215, 610, and 717 NPAs. In this letter, we clarify that, to the extent there is a disagreement between the Pennsylvania Commission and the NANPA or the telecommunications industry in Pennsylvania, with regard to carriers' claims that they do not, or in the near future will not, have any line numbers remaining to serve customers, the Pennsylvania Commission shall be the arbiter of the dispute. Below, we address specific questions identified to us by the Pennsylvania Commission. 1. What limitations on the Pennsylvania Commission's authority did the FCC impose in the Pennsylvania Order regarding the allocation of NXXs during the implementation phase for previously-ordered area code relief in the 215, 610 and 717 areas of Pennsylvania? Because of the exigent circumstances in 215, 610, and 717, the FCC permitted Pennsylvania's current rationing plan to continue. In addition, as stated above, the FCC granted additional authority to the Pennsylvania Commission to hear and address carriers' claims that they do not, or the near future will not, have any line numbers remaining in their NXX codes, and will be unable to serve customers if they cannot obtain an NXX code, or that they are using or will have to use extraordinary and unreasonably costly measures to provide service. In addressing those claims, the FCC gave the Pennsylvania Commission guidance on what type of showing carriers should be required to make to support their need for additional NXX codes. The FCC did not intend to limit the Pennsylvania Commission's options with regard to carriers' required showings. Rather, the FCC's delegation of authority to the Pennsylvania Commission in this context was broad. It did not require industry consensus prior to the Pennsylvania's Commission's decision on carrier applications for extraordinary relief. The only limitation that the FCC put on the Pennsylvania Commission was that any order for relief by the Pennsylvania Commission should not disfavor particular carriers, should not impede carriers' ability to enter the market, and should not put carriers in the position of violating the FCC's rules. 2. What, if any, legal impact/restrictions does the NANC's recommendation have on the Pennsylvania Commission's authority to allocate NXXs during the implementation phase for previously-ordered area code relief in the 215, 610, and 717 areas in Pennsylvania? None. The FCC must act upon the NANC's recommendation to give the recommendation legal effect. In addition, the Commission's request for NANC's recommendation on carriers' receiving NXX codes outside of a code rationing plan was not meant to apply to the Commission's delegation in paragraph 49 to the Pennsylvania Commission. The FCC's delegation to the Pennsylvania Commission was separate and apart from its request to the NANC. Thus, the Pennsylvania Commission may request whatever information it deems necessary to review a carrier's request for NXX codes outside of the current rationing plan. 3. Is absence of industry consensus a necessary predicate to the exercise of the Pennsylvania Commission's authority during the implementation phase for the previously-ordered area code relief in the 215, 610, and 717 areas in Pennsylvania? The absence of industry consensus is not a necessary predicate to the Pennsylvania Commission's authority to address requests for extraordinary relief in the 215, 610, and 717 NPAs. The Commission recognized the exigent circumstances that Pennsylvania is facing in those areas, and expressly delegated authority to the Pennsylvania Commission to ensure that carriers lacking adequate numbering resources have access to NXX codes outside the Pennsylvania Commission's rationing plan. Although we favor solutions that receive industry consensus, in recognizing the exigent circumstances in Pennsylvania, the FCC granted the Pennsylvania Commission the authority to "hear and address" claims of carriers that do not, or will not, have adequate line numbers to serve customers. In this limited situation, the Pennsylvania Commission shall make the determination that a carrier may receive an NXX code outside of the rationing plan, and work with the NANPA to ensure that that carrier is provided an NXX code outside of the rationing plan. 4. Does the Pennsylvania Order authorize the Pennsylvania Commission to exercise the regulatory authority needed to address NXX allocations for all NXXs during the implementation phase for previously-ordered area code relief in the 215, 610, and 717 areas in Pennsylvania? The Pennsylvania Order permits the current NXX code rationing plan to continue; under paragraph 49, the Pennsylvania Commission, working with the code administrator, may allocate NXX codes outside of the rationing plan if such codes are not otherwise set aside. FCC rules, however, require that, if an area code overlay is implemented, every telecommunications carrier authorized to provide service 90 days before the introduction of the new area code must be assigned at least one central office code in the existing area code. This rule limits the Pennsylvania Commission's authority to adjust the current allocation of NXX codes reserved for new-entrant competitive local exchange carriers, or to use these reserved NXX codes for extraordinary purposes. If the Pennsylvania Commission determines that such NXX codes are needed, it may file a waiver request of this rule. Given the current situation in Pennsylvania, the Common Carrier Bureau will address such a request in an expedited manner. We thank you for your letter, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue initiated by the Pennsylvania Commission relating to the allocation of central office codes within the 215, 610, and 717 NPAs. Sincerely yours, Yog R. Varma Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau