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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File No. EB-04-IH-0271
)
AT&T Corp. ) Acct. No. 200532080021
)
Compliance with Rules ) FRN: 0005937974
Regarding )
Thousands-Block Number Pooling
ORDER
Adopted: December 21, 2004 Released:
December 21, 2004
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
1. In this Order, we adopt a Consent Decree terminating an
investigation into possible violations by AT&T Corp.
(``AT&T'') of sections 52.15 and 52.20(c) of the
Commission's rules,1 with respect to thousands-block number
pooling in certain rate centers.2
2. The Enforcement Bureau (``Bureau'') and AT&T have
negotiated the terms of a Consent Decree that would
terminate the Bureau's investigation. A copy of the Consent
Decree is attached hereto and incorporated by reference.
3. We have reviewed the terms of the Consent Decree and
evaluated the facts before us. We believe that the public
interest would be served by approving the Consent Decree and
terminating the investigation.
4. Based on the record before us we conclude that there
are no substantial or material questions of fact with
respect to this matter as to whether AT&T possesses the
basic qualifications, including those related to character,
to hold or obtain any Commission license or authorization.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to section 4(i) of
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.
§ 154(i), and the authority delegated by section 0.111 and
0.311 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311,
that the attached Consent Decree IS ADOPTED.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the above captioned
investigation IS TERMINATED.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File No. EB-04-IH-0271
)
AT&T Corp. ) Acct. No. 200532080021
)
Compliance with Rules Regarding ) FRN: 0005937974
Thousands-Block Number Pooling )
CONSENT DECREE
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Enforcement Bureau (``Bureau'') of the Federal
Communications Commission (the ``FCC'' or the ``Commission'') and
AT&T Corp. (``AT&T''), by their authorized representatives,
hereby enter into this Consent Decree to resolve an investigation
(the ``Investigation'') by the Bureau regarding alleged violation
by AT&T of Sections 52.15 and 52.20(c) of the Commission's
rules,3 with respect to thousands-block number pooling in certain
rate centers. The Investigation was undertaken pursuant to
sections 4(i), 4(j), 218, and 403 of the Communications Act.4
II. DEFINITIONS
2. For the Purposes of this Consent Decree, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) ``Adopting Order'' means an Order of the Bureau
adopting the terms and conditions of this Consent Decree
without change, addition or modification.
(b) ``AT&T'' or the ``Company'' means AT&T Corp., and any
affiliate, d/b/a, predecessor-in-interest, parent companies
and any direct or indirect subsidiaries of such parent
companies, or other affiliated companies or businesses, and
their successors and assigns.
(c) ``Bureau'' means the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal
Communications Commission.
(d) ``Communications Act'' or ``Act'' means the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 151 et
seq.
(e) ``Effective Date'' means the date on which the Bureau
releases the Adopting Order.
(f) The ``FCC'' or the ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(g) ``Investigation'' means the investigation commenced by
the Bureau's Letter of Inquiry dated September 29, 2004,
regarding AT&T's alleged noncompliance with Sections 52.15
and 52.20(c) of the Commission's rules.
(h) ``Parties'' means AT&T and the Bureau.
III. BACKGROUND
3. On September 29, 2004, the Enforcement Bureau issued a
Letter of Inquiry (``LOI'') to AT&T and initiated an
investigation concerning AT&T's compliance with thousands-block
number pooling regulations, and requested that AT&T provide
certain documents and other information with respect to 113
specifically identified rate centers.5 AT&T submitted its
initial response to the LOI on October 25, 2004, and filed a
supplement to that response on November 5, 2004.6
4. Section 52.20(b) of the Commission's rules provides
that all carriers, except those exempted by the Commission, must
participate in thousands-block number pooling where the
Commission implements such a system, and in accordance with a
Commission-established framework and schedule.7 Section 52.15 of
the Commission's rules provides, inter alia, that in areas where
thousands-block numbering pooling has been implemented,
telecommunications carriers that are required to participate must
submit to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator
(``NANPA'') semi-annual forecasts of their yearly numbering
resource requirements at the thousands-block level for each rate
center.8
5. AT&T states that it submitted a Numbering Resource
Utilization and Forecast (``NRUF'') Report, FCC Form 502, at the
thousands-block level to the NANPA for the reporting periods
ending December 31, 2003 and June 30, 2004 for each rate center
in which AT&T has numbering resources. AT&T also states that the
thousands-block forecast data was subsequently entered into the
Pooling Administration System (``PAS'') and thereby submitted to
the Pooling Administrator (``PA'').9
6. Section 52.20(c)(1) of the Commission's rules requires
all service providers that are required to participate in
thousands-block number pooling to donate thousands-blocks with
ten percent or less contamination to the thousands-block number
pool for the rate center within which the numbering resources are
assigned.10 Notwithstanding the contamination level of the
block, the Commission allows service providers to retain at least
one thousands-block per rate center as an initial or footprint
block, as well as enough thousands-blocks to meet their six-month
projection forecasts for the rate center.11 The Commission
otherwise allows service providers to maintain an inventory of
telephone numbers to meet their needs for six months.12 Section
52.15(g)(3)(iii) of the Commission's rules requires service
providers to maintain no more than a six-month inventory of
telephone numbers in each rate center or service area in which
they provide telecommunications service.13
7. AT&T states that, following the commencement of
Commission-mandated number pooling in 2001, it conducted an
inventory of its numbers to determine its initial six-month
numbering inventory requirements for each NPA entering the
pool.14 AT&T further states that it has subsequently continued
to review its inventory requirements and has donated to the
numbering pool a total of 521 thousands-blocks of numbers in 58
of the rate centers identified in Bureau's LOI.15 However, in
response to the Bureau's investigation of its practices, AT&T has
confirmed its willingness to review and revise its inventory
management methods.16
IV. AGREEMENT
8. AT&T agrees that the Commission has jurisdiction over
it and the matters contained in this Consent Decree and the
authority to enter into and adopt this Consent Decree.
9. AT&T represents and warrants that it is the properly
named party to this Consent Decree and is solvent and has
sufficient funds available to meet fully all financial and other
obligations set forth herein. AT&T further represents and
warrants that it has caused this Consent Decree to be executed by
its authorized representative, as a true act and deed, as of the
date affixed next to said representative's signature. Said
representative and AT&T respectively affirm and warrant that said
representative is acting in his/her capacity and within his/her
authority as a corporate officer of AT&T, and on behalf of AT&T
and that by his/her signature said representative is binding AT&T
to the terms and conditions of this Consent Decree.
10. The Parties agree that this Consent Decree does not
constitute either an adjudication on the merits or a factual or
legal finding regarding any compliance or noncompliance with the
requirements of the Act and the Commission's orders and rules.
The Parties agree that this Consent Decree is for settlement
purposes only and that by agreeing to this Consent Decree, AT&T
does not admit or deny any wrongdoing, non-compliance, or
violation of the Act or the Commission rules in connection with
the matters that are the subject of this Consent Decree.
11. In consideration for the termination of the
Investigation in accordance with the terms of this Consent
Decree, AT&T shall make a voluntary payment to the United States
Treasury, without further protest or recourse to a trial de novo,
in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00)
within ten (10) business days after the Effective Date of the
Adopting Order. The payment may be made by check or similar
instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications
Commission. The payment must include the Acct. No. and FRN No.
referenced above. Payment by check or money order must be mailed
to Forfeiture Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, IL, 60673-
7482. Payment by overnight mail must be sent to Bank One/LB
73482, 525 West Monroe, 8th Floor Mailroom, Chicago, IL 60661.
Payment by wire transfer must be made to ABA Number 071000013,
receiving bank Bank One, and account number 1165259.
12. In order to resolve and terminate the Investigation,
and to ensure compliance with the Commission's thousands-block
number pooling rules, AT&T shall implement the actions described
below, i.e., a Compliance Plan:
a) Forecasts & Reports. AT&T shall file telephone
numbering forecasts and reports in compliance with the
Industry Numbering Committee's ``Thousands-Block Number
(NXX-X) Pooling Administration Guidelines'' (and any
amendments thereto or replacement thereof), in a form
satisfactory to the PA.
b) Forecasting Procedures. By no later than June 30, 2005,
AT&T shall establish and maintain procedures to:
1) Generate a telephone number level forecast every six
months by rate center for all rate centers in which
AT&T holds numbering resources and is required to
submit forecasts at the thousands-block level,
2) Generate thousands-block level forecasts every six
months by rate center for all such rate centers,
3) Compare the telephone number level forecast by rate
center with its thousands-block inventory in each such
rate center, and
4) Donate any excess block inventory identified by the
measures described above, net of any blocks that may be
retained as ``footprint blocks'', or that may be
retained due to contamination, customer-specific number
assignments or other exceptions authorized by the
Commission.
c) Initial Donations. AT&T shall review its number
inventories in each of the rate centers identified by the
Bureau in the September 29 LOI, and return to the pool, on
or before December 31, 2004, any excess inventory from the
rate centers identified in the September 29 LOI:
d) Donations. AT&T shall review its numbering inventories
for the remaining rate centers in which AT&T holds numbering
resources and is required to submit forecasts at the
thousands-block level and return any excess inventory to the
pool:
1) Commencing with an initial donation of numbers on or
before January 7, 2005,
2) Following with donations each week thereafter of any
excess inventory that is identified, and
3) Completing the review and donation process on or
before June 30, 2005 (the entire period from the
Effective Date until July 1, 2005 constituting the
``Donation Period'').
e) Certification of Donations. AT&T shall certify in
writing to the Bureau its compliance with paragraphs 12(c)
and 12(d) on January 15, 2005, April 1, 2005, and July 1,
2005.
f) Compliance Manual. AT&T shall within sixty days of the
Effective Date develop and update as necessary a Compliance
Manual on thousands-block number pooling. AT&T personnel
shall have ready access to the Compliance Manual and must
follow the procedures contained in it. The manual shall,
among other things, describe the North American Numbering
Plan and Thousands-Block Number Pooling Administration
Guidelines and how they apply to AT&T.
g) Compliance Training Program. AT&T shall within sixty
days of the Effective Date establish a thousands-block
number pooling compliance training program for employees who
engage in thousands-block number pooling activities. AT&T
shall conduct training sessions at least annually to ensure
compliance with the Act and the FCC's policies and rules,
and, for any new employee, within 30 days of employment.
h) Designated Compliance Officer. AT&T shall designate a
Compliance Officer, within thirty days of the Effective
Date, to serve as a point of contact for keeping responsible
personnel informed of the Commission's and the Pooling
Administrator's thousands-block number pooling requirements.
In addition, the Designated Compliance Officer shall review
the Compliance Plan annually to ensure that it is maintained
in a proper manner and continues to address the objectives
set forth herein.
i) Termination. Except as otherwise stated, the
requirements of paragraph 12 shall expire twenty-four months
from the Effective Date.
13. The Parties agree and acknowledge that this Consent
Decree shall constitute a final settlement of the Investigation.
In express reliance on the covenants and representations
contained herein, and in order to avoid the potential expenditure
of additional public resources, the Bureau agrees to terminate
the Investigation. In consideration for the termination of this
Investigation, AT&T agrees to the terms, conditions, and
procedures contained herein. The Bureau agrees that, in the
absence of new material evidence related to this matter, it will
not use the facts developed in the Investigation or the existence
of the Consent Decree, to initiate, on its own motion, any new
proceedings, formal or informal, or take any actions on its own
motion against AT&T concerning the matters that were the subject
of this Investigation. In addition, the Bureau will not, on its
own motion, seek any administrative or other penalties from AT&T
concerning AT&T's compliance with the Commission's orders and
regulations regarding reporting, forecasting and donation of
numbers for its activities during the Donation Period, as long as
AT&T complies with the requirements set forth in subparagraphs
12(a), 12(b), 12(c), and 12(d) above. Nothing in this paragraph
shall limit the Commission's authority to enforce this Consent
Decree in accordance with its terms, nor shall anything in this
Consent Decree limit the Commission's authority to consider and
adjudicate any formal complaint that may be filed pursuant to
section 208 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. Section 208, and to take any
action in response to such complaint.
14. Except as provided herein, nothing in this Consent
Decree shall alter AT&T's obligation to comply with the Act and
with the Commission's rules and orders.
15. AT&T waives any and all rights it may have to seek
administrative or judicial reconsideration, review, appeal, or
stay, or to otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this
Consent Decree and the Order adopting this Consent Decree,
provided the Order adopts the Consent Decree without change,
addition, or modification.
16. AT&T's decision to enter into this Consent Decree is
expressly contingent upon the Bureau's issuance of an Adopting
Order.
17. In the event that this Consent Decree is rendered
invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, it shall become
null and void and may not be used in any manner in any legal
proceeding.
18. The Parties also agree that if any provision of this
Consent Decree conflicts with any subsequent rule or order
adopted by the Commission (except an order specifically intended
to revise the terms of this Consent Decree to which AT&T does not
consent) that provision will be superseded by such Commission
rule or order.
19. By this Consent Decree, AT&T does not waive or alter
its right to assert and seek protection from disclosure of any
privileged or otherwise confidential and protected documents and
information, or to seek appropriate safeguards of confidentiality
for any competitively sensitive or proprietary information. The
status of materials prepared for, reviews made and discussions
held in the preparation for and implementation of AT&T's
compliance efforts under this Consent Decree, which would
otherwise be privileged or confidential, are not altered by the
execution or implementation of the terms of this Consent Decree,
and no waiver of such privileges is made by this Consent Decree.
Nothing in this Consent Decree shall be deemed to prejudice
AT&T's rights to seek exemption from disclosure pursuant to the
Freedom of Information Act and the Commission's implementing
regulations for documents provided by AT&T to the Commission, or
for AT&T to contest any request for disclosure of agency records
relating to the subject of this Consent Decree.
20. If either Party (or the United States on behalf of the
Commission) brings a judicial action to enforce the terms of the
Adopting Order, neither AT&T nor the Commission shall contest the
validity of the Consent Decree or the Adopting Order, and AT&T
and the Commission will waive any statutory right to a trial de
novo with respect to the issuance of the Adopting Order and shall
consent to a judgment incorporating the terms of this Consent
Decree.
21. AT&T agrees that any violation of the Consent Decree or
the Adopting Order will constitute a separate violation of a
Commission order, entitling the Commission, or its delegated
authority, to exercise any rights or remedies attendant to the
enforcement of a Commission order.
22. This Consent Decree may be signed in counterparts.
For: AT&T Corp.
_____________________________ __________________________
Date Hossein Eslambolchi
President - AT&T Global Networking
Technology Services
AT&T CTO & CIO
For: Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
______________________________
__________________________
Date David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 52.15, 52.20(c).
2 Letter from Hillary S. DeNigro, Deputy Chief, Investigations
and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications
Commission, to David Dorman, Chief Executive Officer, AT&T Corp.
(September 29, 2004).
3 47 C.F.R. §§ 52.15, 52.20(c).
4 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 154(j), 218 and 403.
5 See Letter dated September 29, 2004 from Hillary S. DeNigro,
Deputy Chief, Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement
Bureau, FCC, to David Dorman, AT&T Corp (``September 29 LOI'').
6 See Letter dated October 25, 2004 from Richard A. Rocchini,
Senior Attorney, AT&T to Mika Savir, Attorney, Investigations and
Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, FCC (``AT&T Response'');
Letter dated November 5, 2004 from Richard A. Rocchini, Senior
Attorney, AT&T to Mika Savir, Attorney, Investigations and
Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, FCC (``AT&T Supplement'').
7 47 C.F.R. § 52.20(b).
8 47 C.F.R. § 52.15.
9 See AT&T Response at 1-2 and Exhibits A and B. AT&T states
that, based on its understanding of appropriate practices, in
submitting its thousands-number block forecast to the PA, in most
cases, it placed a zero in those rate centers in a Numbering Plan
Area (``NPA'') in which it did not expect to need numbers, and
left remaining rate centers in such NPAs blank. AT&T Response at
2. AT&T states that the PA apparently interpreted this process
as a failure to submit a report for those rate centers. AT&T
states that it has amended its PAS input for the reporting period
to comply with the PA's acceptable format, and submitted revised
data to the PA on October 25, 2004. Id. at 2-3.
10 47 C.F.R. § 52.20(c)(1). In the 310 and 909 area codes in
California, the contamination level is twenty-five percent or
less. See Numbering Resources Optimization, Petition of the
California Public Utilities Commission for Waiver of the Federal
Communications Commission Contamination Threshold Rule, Order, 18
FCC Rcd 16860 (2003).
11 47 C.F.R. §52.20(c)(2); Numbering Resource Optimization,
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 15
FCC Rcd 7574, 7661-61 ¶ 191 (2000) (``NRO Order'').
12 47 C.F.R. § 52.20(c)(2); NRO Order, 15 FCC Rcd at 7660 ¶ 189.
13 47 C.F.R. § 52.15(g)(3)(iii).
14 See AT&T Response at 3 and Exhibit D.
15 See id at 4 and Exhibit E; AT&T Supplement at 3.
16 See AT&T Response at 3; AT&T Supplement at 5.