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DA 05-2874
Released: October 31, 2005
Enforcement Bureau Provides Additional 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 further information regarding its intended enforcement
of the subscriber affirmative acknowledgement requirement imposed
on interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service
providers in the Commission's VoIP E911 Order.1 In its September
27, 2005 public notice,2 the Bureau announced that, after
considering the reports submitted by interconnected VoIP
providers detailing their compliance with the Commission's
notification requirements,3 it would not pursue enforcement
action against providers who had obtained acknowledgements from
90% or more of their subscribers that they had read and
understood an advisory from the provider addressing the
limitations of the provider's 911 service. We also indicated
that we would continue to forbear from enforcement action, until
October 31, 2005, against providers who had obtained less than
90% of their acknowledgements, provided that such providers
submitted a status report to us by October 25, 2005.
We have reviewed reports submitted by numerous providers on
October 25, 2005, and continue to see evidence of providers'
substantial efforts to comply with the Commission's rules, as
well as significant progress in obtaining acknowledgements from
all of their customers regarding the limitations of their 911
service. Based on these substantial efforts, we will continue to
refrain from exercising our enforcement authority against those
providers who have yet to obtain acknowledgements from 90% or
more of their subscribers, provided that these providers file an
additional status report with the Commission on November 28,
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. Thereafter, we expect these providers
to seek the remaining acknowledgements and notify the Commission
once they have achieved 100% compliance.
Filing Procedures
Interconnected VoIP providers may file the above-referenced
report in this proceeding on or before November 28, 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).
2 See Public Notice, (DA 05-2530) released September 27, 2005.
3The 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.