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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:  October 1, 2004               Released: October 4, 
2004

By the Deputy 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  
       In the First Waiver Order, the Common Carrier Bureau 
       determined that the period for converting the 
       informal complaints to formal complaints would be 
       extended to three months after a final nonappealable 
       order had been entered in a pending complaint 
       proceeding.4   For reasons of administrative 
       efficiency and to facilitate ongoing settlement 
       discussions, the Enforcement Bureau further extended 
       the deadline for conversion of these informal 
       complaints into formal complaints.5  Pursuant to the 
       most recent Enforcement Bureau order, informal 
       complaints were required to be converted by October 
       28, 2004, to benefit from the relation back rule 
       outlined in section 1.718.6  

     2.   On November 19, 2002, the Commission ruled on 
       certain liability issues in thirteen formal 
       complaints that raised many issues similar to those 
       raised in the pending informal complaints.7  The 
       parties to the thirteen formal complaints petitioned 
       the United States Court of Appeals for the District 
       of Columbia to review the Commission's Liability 
       Order,8 and on April 30, 2004, the Court issued an 
       opinion affirming in all respects the Commission's 
       Liability Order.9  We have been apprised by counsel 
       for a number of complainants that a substantial 
       number of informal complaints have settled since the 
       Court of Appeals decision and that settlement 
       negotiations are underway with hundreds of defendant 
       LECs at this time.  Counsel for complainants and 
       counsel for several defendants requested further time 
       in which to conclude these negotiations.10  In order 
       to ensure that all parties have sufficient time to 
       pursue an informal resolution of these disputes prior 
       to requiring the filing of formal complaints with the 
       Commission, we now extend to January 21, 2005 the 
       filing deadline for the conversion of these EUCL 
       informal complaints into formal complaints.  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. §§ 0.111 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 January 21, 2005.  This waiver 
       is effective as of the release of this Order. 



                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 
                         COMMISSION



                              Christopher N. Olsen
                              Deputy 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) (``First Waiver Order'').      

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  3672, ¶  8.  A 
final  nonappealable   order  has  been  entered   in  that 
proceeding.   See Verizon  Telephone Companies,  et al.  v. 
FCC, 269 F.3d 1098 (D.C. Cir. 2001).

5  See  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 2115 (EB  2002) (``Second Waiver Order''); 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 14759 (EB 
2002) (``Third  Waiver Order''); Informal  Complaints Filed 
By Independent  Payphone Service Providers  Against Various 
Local Exchange Carriers Seeking  Refunds of End User Common 
Line Charges, Order,  18 FCC Rcd 12047  (EB 2003) (``Fourth 
Waiver Order'');  Informal Complaints Filed  By Independent 
Payphone Service  Providers Against Various  Local Exchange 
Carriers Seeking  Refunds of End User  Common Line Charges, 
Order, 19 FCC Rcd 9066 (EB 2004) (``Fifth Waiver Order'').  

6  Fifth Waiver Order, 19 FCC Rcd 9066 (EB 2004).

7  See Communications Vending Corporation of Arizona, Inc., 
et al.  v. Citizens  Communications Company  f/k/a Citizens 
Utility  Company  and Citizens  Telecommunications  Company 
d/b/a  Citizens Telecom,  et  al.,  Memorandum Opinion  and 
Order, 17 FCC Rcd 24201 (2002) (``Liability Order'').

8  Communications Vending Corporation  of Arizona, Inc., et 
al. v. FCC, et. al., No. 02-1364, consolidated with No. 03-
1010,  03-1012 (D.C.  Cir. filed  Nov. 26,  2002, Jan.  14, 
2003, Jan. 17, 2003).

9  Communications Vending Corporation  of Arizona, Inc., et 
al. v.  Federal Communications Commission, et  al., No. 02-
1364, 2004 WL 911769 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 30, 2004).

10   See  Letter  From  Katherine  J.  Henry,  counsel  for 
Complainants,  to Radhika  Karmarkar and  Rosemary McEnery, 
Market  Disputes Resolution  Division, Enforcement  Bureau, 
File Nos. IC-98-42853, et al. (dated September 30, 2004).