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DA 05-2530
Released: September 27, 2005
Enforcement Bureau Provides Further Guidance to
Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol Service Providers
Concerning Enforcement of Subscriber Acknowledgement Requirement
WC Docket No. 04-36
WC Docket No. 05-196
In this Public Notice, the Enforcement Bureau (Bureau)
provides additional guidance concerning its intended enforcement
of the subscriber affirmative acknowledgement requirement placed
on interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service
providers in the Commission's VoIP E911 Order.1 After
considering the reports submitted to us by interconnected VoIP
providers detailing their compliance with the Commission's
notification requirements,2 it is evident that many providers
have devoted significant resources to notifying each of their
subscribers of the limitations of their 911 service and obtaining
acknowledgements from each of their subscribers. Specifically,
by repeatedly prompting subscribers through a variety of means,
the majority of providers submitting September reports have
obtained acknowledgments from nearly all, if not all, of their
subscribers. For example, the September reports indicate that at
least 21 providers have received acknowledgments from 100 percent
of their subscribers and at least 32 others have obtained
acknowledgements from 90 percent or more of their subscribers.
In recognition of these substantial efforts and the very high
percentage of received acknowledgments, the Bureau announces that
it will not pursue enforcement action against such providers. We
do, however, expect these providers will continue seeking the
remaining acknowledgements and will notify the Commission once
they have achieved 100% compliance.
To the extent that a provider has not received
acknowledgements from at least 90% of its subscribers, we intend
to continue forbearing from enforcement of our acknowledgment
requirement until October 31, 2005, provided that these providers
submit a status report to us by October 25, 2005. This status
report should detail the efforts that they have undertaken to
obtain acknowledgments from the remainder of their subscriber
base, explain why they have been unable to achieve an
acknowledgment percentage closer to 100%, and provide the current
percentage of acknowledgments that they have received as of the
date of filing.
Filing Procedures
Interconnected VoIP providers may file the above-referenced
report in this proceeding on or before October 25, 2005. Reports
must reference WC Docket No. 05-196 and should be labeled clearly
on the first page as ``Subscriber Acknowledgement Report (date of
filing).'' The report may be filed using: (1) the Commission's
Electronic Comment Filing System
(ECFS), or (2) by filing paper copies. See Electronic
Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg.
24,121 (May 1, 1998).
· Electronic Filers: Compliance letters may be filed
electronically using the Internet by accessing the
ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Filers should
follow the instructions provided on the website for
submitting comments. For ECFS filers, in completing
the transmittal screen, filers should include their
full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, and the
applicable docket number (WC Docket No. 05-196).
· Paper Filers: Parties that choose to file by paper
must file an original and four copies of each filing.
Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by
commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or
overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although we
continue to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal
Service mail). All filings must be addressed to the
Commission's Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of
the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445
12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554.
· The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered
or messenger-delivered paper filings for the
Commission's Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue,
N.E., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing
hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All
hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands
or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before
entering the building.
· Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal
Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent
to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD
20743.
· U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and
Priority mail should be addressed to 445 12th
Street, SW, Washington DC 20554.
Parties should also send a copy of their filings to:
· Byron McCoy, Telecommunications Consumers Division,
Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission,
Room 4-A234, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20554, or by email to byron.mccoy@fcc.gov;
· Kathy Berthot, Deputy Chief, Spectrum Enforcement
Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications
Commission, Room 7-C802, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554, or by email to
kathy.berthot@fcc.gov; and
· Janice Myles, Competition Policy Division, Wireline
Competition Bureau, Federal Communications Commission,
Room 5-C140, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20554, or by e-mail to janice.myles@fcc.gov.
Parties must also serve one copy with the Commission's copy
contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals II, 445
12th Street, S.W., Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554, (202)
488-5300, or via e-mail to fcc@bcpiweb.com.
For further information regarding this proceeding, press
should contact Janice Wise, Director, Media Relations,
Enforcement Bureau, (202) 418-8165, and providers should contact
David Hunt, Telecommunications Consumers Division, Enforcement
Bureau, (202) 418-1522, or Cynthia Bryant, Telecommunications
Consumers Division, Enforcement Bureau, (202) 418-8164.
-FCC-
_________________________
1IP-Enabled Services and E911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service
Providers, First Report and Order and Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, 20 FCC Rcd 10245 (rel. Jun 3, 2005) at ¶¶ 48, 73
(VoIP E911 Order); see also 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(e).
2The Bureau has reviewed numerous reports that interconnected
VoIP providers filed on August 10, September 1 and September 22.
See Public Notice, (DA 05-2085) released July 26, 2005,
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-
2085A1.doc; see also Public Notice, (DA 05-2358) released August
26, 2005, http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-
05-2358A1.doc.