Ms. Cathleen A. Massey AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. 1150 Connecticut Ave., N.W. 4th Floor Washington, D.C. 20036	Ms. Kathleen Q. Abernathy AirTouch Communications, Inc. 1818 N St., N.W. 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20036
Mr. Mark Stachiw AirTouch Paging 12221 Merit Drive Suite 800 Dallas, TX 75251	Ms. Judith St. Ledger-Roty Kelley Drye & Warren 1200 19th St., N.W. Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20016

Dear Ms. Massey, Ms. Abernathy, Mr. Stachiw, and Ms. St. Ledger-Roty:

This letter responds to your letter, dated January 30, 1997, that sets forth your concerns regarding disagreements among several local exchange carriers (LECs) and the paging companies that you represent. Among other things, you urge the Bureau to affirm that section 51.703(b) of the Commission's rules⁽¹⁾ prohibits LECs from charging Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) providers, including paging companies, for the traffic that originates on the LECs' networks, or from threatening to terminate their interconnection agreements with paging companies that refuse to pay such charges.

The record in the Implementation of Local Competition Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 proceeding contains evidence that some LECs have historically charged CMRS carriers, including paging companies, for local telecommunications traffic that originates on the LECs' networks.⁽²⁾ The Commission held that section 251(b)(5) of the 1934 Act, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996,⁽³⁾ prohibits LECs from charging CMRS carriers to terminate traffic that originates on the LECs' networks.⁽⁴⁾ The Commission also held that "a LEC must cease charging a CMRS provider or other carrier for terminating LEC-originated traffic and must provide that traffic to the CMRS provider or other carrier without charge."⁽⁵⁾ Section 51.703(b) of our rules states that "a LEC may not assess charges on any other telecommunications carrier for local telecommunications traffic that originates on the LEC's network."⁽⁶⁾ Because the 1934 Act defines the term "telecommunications carrier" to include CMRS providers, a LEC is prohibited by section 51.703(b) from assessing charges on CMRS providers "for local telecommunications traffic that originates on the LEC's network."

Sincerely,

Regina M. Keeney
Chief
Common Carrier Bureau

2. Implementation of Local Competition Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, CC Docket No. 96-98, CC Docket No. 95-185, First Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd 15499, 16037-39 ¶¶ 1081, 1084 (Local Competition Order).

3. Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56, to be codified at 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.

4. Local Competition Order, 11 FCC Rcd 15499, 16016 ¶ 1042.

5. Id., 16606 ¶ 1042.

6. 47 C.F.R. § 51.703(b).