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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Informal Complaints Filed By )
Independent Payphone Service ) File Nos. IC-98-42853, et
Providers Against Various ) al.
Local Exchange Carriers )
Seeking Refunds Of End User )
Common Line Charges )
ORDER
Adopted: August 1, 2002 Released: August 2,
2002
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
1. In this Order, we extend the deadline for
converting End User Common Line (``EUCL'') informal
complaints that are covered by the Common Carrier
Bureau's Order of September 10, 1999,1 into formal
complaints.2 In these informal complaints,
independent payphone providers (``IPPs'') allege that
the defendant local exchange carriers (``LECs'')
improperly assessed EUCL charges, in violation of the
Commission's rules and sections 201(b) and 202(a) of
the Communications Act, as amended (the ``Act'').3
For reasons of administrative efficiency and because
of ongoing settlement discussions, the staff
previously extended the deadline for conversion of
these informal complaints into formal complaints.4
Pursuant to the most recent Bureau order, informal
complaints were required to be converted by September
9, 2002, to benefit from the relation back rule
outlined in section 1.718.5
2. The Commission is currently adjudicating thirteen
formal complaints that were recently converted from
informal complaints and that raise many issues
similar to those raised in the pending informal
complaints.6 The Commission is expected to rule on
these liability issues by November 19, 2002, the
relevant statutory deadline. We anticipate that the
resolution of these legal issues will be relevant to
the settlement of the informal complaints.
Accordingly, we now extend to June 30, 2003, the
filing deadline for the conversion of these EUCL
informal complaints into formal complaints. 7
Because this extension will facilitate the possible
settlement of these numerous claims, we are satisfied
that our action today serves the public interest.
3. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections
4(i), 4(j), and 208 of the Communications Act, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 154(j), 208, section
1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.3, and
the authority delegated by sections 0.111 and 0.311
of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.011 and
0.311, that section 1.718(a) of the Commission's
rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.718(a), IS HEREBY WAIVED, with
regard to the IPP EUCL informal complaints described
herein and the deadline for the conversion and filing
of these informal complaints into formal complaints
is hereby extended to June 30, 2003. This waiver is
effective as of the release of this Order.
4. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the Secretary of the
Commission shall cause to have this Order published
in the Federal Register.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 Informal Complaints Filed By Independent Payphone
Service Providers Against Various Local Exchange Carriers
Seeking Refunds of End User Common Line Charges, Order, 16
FCC Rcd 3669 (CCB 1999), at ¶ 5 (``First Waiver Order'').
See also C.F. Communications Corp., et al. v. Century
Telephone of Wisconsin, Inc., et. al., Memorandum Opinion
and Order on Remand, 15 FCC Rcd 8759, 8768 (2000); C.F.
Communications Corp. v. FCC, 128 F.3d 735 (D.C. Cir. 1997);
C.F. Communications Corp. v. FCC, No. 97-1202, slip. op
(D.C. Cir. 1997); C.F. Communications Corp. v. Century
Telephone of Wisconsin, Inc. et. al., Memorandum Opinion
and Order, 8 FCC Rcd 7334, 7335-36 (1993); C.F.
Communications Corp. v. Century Telephone of Wisconsin,
Inc., et. al., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 10 FCC Rcd
9775 (1995); C.F. Communications Corp., et. al. v. Michigan
Bell Telephone Co., et. al., Memorandum Opinion and Order,
12 FCC Rcd 2134 (1997). A final nonappealable order has
been entered in this proceeding. See Verizon Telephone
Companies, et al. v. FCC, 269 F.3d 1098, 1109 (D.C. Cir.
2001).
2 Ordinarily, section 1.718 requires that a formal
complaint must be filed with six months of the carrier's
response to the informal complaint if the formal complaint
is to relate back to the filing of the informal complaint.
See 47 C.F.R. § 1.718(a).
3 47 U.S.C. §§ 201(b) and 202(a); 47 C.F.R. §§ 69.1 et
seq.
4 See First Waiver Order, 16 FCC Rcd at 3671, ¶ 5. See
also Informal Complaints Filed By Independent Payphone
Service Providers Against Various Local Exchange Carriers
Seeking Refunds of End User Common Line Charges, Order, 17
FCC Rcd 2225, 2226 (EB 2002), at ¶ 3 (``Second Waiver
Order'').
5 Second Waiver Order, 17 FCC Rcd at 2226, ¶ 3.
6 See Formal Complaints filed in Communications Vending
Corporation of Arizona, Inc., et al. v. Citizens
Communications Companay f/k/a Citizens Utility Company and
Citizens Telecommunications Company d/b/a Citizens Telecom,
et al., File Nos. EB-02-MD-018-030.
7 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.718 et seq.