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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-0065
)
Verizon Communications, Inc. )
)
Defendant. )
ORDER
Adopted: April 22, 2003 Released: April 24,
2003
By the Deputy Division Chief, Market Disputes Resolution
Division, Enforcement Bureau:
1. On June 28, 2002, APCC Services, Inc., et al.
(``APCC'' or ``Complainants'') filed an informal complaint
(``Complaint'') alleging that Verizon Communications, Inc.,
(``Verizon'') 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 April 25,
2003.2
2. Since the filing of the Complaint on June 28,
2002, the parties have engaged in negotiations to resolve
the disputes about dial around compensation issues.3 On
April 21, 2003, the parties filed jointly a Request for
Extension of Time to File Complainants' Formal Complaint in
this matter.4 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
April 25, 2003, to May 26, 2003.5 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.6
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 Verizon
Communications, Inc., to a formal complaint pursuant to
section 1.718 of our rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.718, is extended
to May 26, 2003.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Radhika V. Karmarkar
Deputy Chief, Market Disputes
Resolution Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 1.718.
2 Letter from Allan C. Hubbard, Attorney for
Complainants, and Cecelia Roudiez, Attorney for Verizon, to
Jonathan Reel, Attorney, Market Disputes Resolution
Division, Enforcement Bureau, FCC, File No. EB-02-MD-0065
(Apr. 21, 2003) (Waiver Request).
3 Id. at 2.
4 Id.
5 Id. at 1.
6 Id. at 2.