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Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20554
APCC Services, Inc., )
Data Net Systems, LLC )
Davel Communications, Inc. )
Jaroth, Inc. dba Pacific Telemanagement )
Services, and )
Intera Communications Corp., )
)
Complainants, )
)
v. ) File No. EB-02-MDIC-032
)
Cooperative Communications, Inc., )
)
Defendant. )
ORDER
Adopted: December 3, 2002 Released: December 5,
2002
By the Deputy Division Chief, Market Disputes Resolution
Division, Enforcement Bureau:
1. On March 29, 2002, APCC Services, Inc., et al.
(``APCC'' or ``Complainants'') filed an informal complaint
alleging that Cooperative Communications, Inc. (``Cooperative'')
is responsible for paying dial around compensation for certain
types of completed calls carried by its network that originated
from APCC's payphones. Pursuant to section 1.718 of the
Commission's rules,1 the Complainants are required to convert
their informal complaints into formal complaints within six
months of the date that the Defendant replies to the informal
complaints, or such informal complaints will be deemed to be
abandoned. In this case, the Complainants were required to
convert the informal complaint into a formal complaint by
November 17, 2002.2
2. Since March 29, 2002, the parties have engaged in
negotiations to resolve the disputes about dial around
compensation issues.3 On November 7, 2002, the parties filed
jointly a Request for Extension of Time to File Complainants'
Formal Complaint in this matter (``Waiver Request''). The
parties seek a waiver of section 1.718 of the Commission's rules,
and, in particular, request an extension of the deadline for
filing a formal complaint from November 17, 2002 to January 10,
2003.4 The Waiver Request explains that the parties are
attempting to resolve this dispute without further litigation,
and that an extension is necessary to continue negotiations and
work toward settling this matter.5
3. We are satisfied that granting the parties' Waiver
Request will serve the public interest by promoting the private
resolution of disputes and by postponing the need for further
litigation and expenditure of further time and resources of the
parties and of this Commission until such time as may actually be
necessary.
4. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 4(i),
4(j), and 208 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47
U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 154(j), and 208, and sections 1.3 and 1.718 of
the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.3, 1.718, and the
authority delegated in sections 0.111 and 0.311 of the
Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, that the Request
for Extension of Time to File Complainants' Formal Complaint IS
GRANTED.
5. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, unless otherwise extended
by order, the deadlines that would otherwise apply under section
1.718 of our rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.718, are hereby waived, and the
date that APCC Services, Inc., et al. must convert their informal
complaint against Cooperative to a formal complaint pursuant to
section 1.718 of our rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.718, is extended to
January 10, 2003.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Radhika V. Karmarkar
Deputy Chief, Market Disputes Resolution
Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 1.718.
2 See Letter from Gregory D. Kwan, Attorney for
Complainants, and Lou Lombardi, Jr., Cooperative, to Warren
Firschein, Attorney, Market Disputes Resolution Division,
Enforcement Bureau, FCC, File No. EB-02-MDIC-032 (November 7,
2002).
3 Id.
4 Id. at 1-2.
5 Id. at 2.