FCC Modifies Plans for Rural Call Completion Reporting

The Federal Communications Commission’s plan to collect data about rural call completion, adopted a year ago, is now one step closer to implementation.

The FCC on November 4 adopted an order on reconsideration that makes one key change to its data collection plan. Long-distance carriers will not have to report data about intraLATA toll calls that are carried entirely over their own network or intraLATA toll calls that are handed off directly to the terminating local exchange carrier or to the tandem switch that the terminating LEC’s end office subtends. The change was made in response to a petition from USTelecom and ITTA. “We find that modifying our original determination will significantly lower providers’ compliance costs and burdens without impairing the commission’s ability to obtain reliable and extensive information about rural call completion problems,” the FCC wrote. The next step is for the Office of Management and Budget to review the data collection plan.