Toll Free Service Access Codes

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 61

[CC Docket No. 95-155; FCC 95-419]

Toll Free Service Access Codes

agency: Federal Communications Commission.

action: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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summary: The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on how toll

free numbers should be reserved, assigned, and used. Specifically, it

proposes to take steps to promote the efficient use of toll free

numbers; foster the fair and equitable reservation and distribution of

toll free numbers; smooth the introduction of new toll free codes as

numbers within operational codes are consumed; guard against

warehousing of toll free numbers; and determine how toll free vanity

numbers should be treated. The recent experience with 800 toll free

numbers leads the Commission to believe that it is necessary to

initiate a rulemaking proceeding through which the Commission seeks to

assure that, in the future, toll free numbers are allocated on a fair,

equitable, and orderly basis. The Commission also seeks to assure that

the transition period during which the numbers in one toll free code

are approaching full consumption and another code is being introduced

is smooth, without disruption of service to existing customers or

interruption in the availability of toll free numbers for new

customers.

dates: Comments are due on November 1, 1995, and reply comments are due

on November 15, 1995.

addresses: Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street,

Washington, DC 20554.

for further information contact: Irene Flannery, 202-418-2373. Network

Services Division, Common Carrier Bureau.

supplementary information: This summarizes the Commission's Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking in the matter of Toll Free Service Access Codes (CC

Docket 95-155, adopted October 4, 1995, and released October 5, 1995).

The file is available for inspection and copying during the weekday

hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Commission's Reference Center,

room 239, 1919 M Street, NW., Washington, DC, or copies may be

purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, ITS, Inc., 2100

M Street, NW., Suite 140, Washington, DC 20037, phone 202-857-3800.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The following collections of information contained in this Notice

of Proposed Rulemaking have been submitted to the Office of Management

and Budget for review under Section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995. 44 U.S.C. 3507(d)). For copies of the OMB submission,

contact Dorothy Conway at 202-418-0217 or via internet to

[email protected]. Comments are solicited on the Commission's need for

this information, whether the information will have practical utility,

the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and

any suggested methods for minimizing respondents' burden, including the

use of automated information techniques. Persons wishing to comment on

the collections of information should direct their comments to Timothy

Fain, Office of Management and Budget, Room 101236NEOB, Washington, DC

20503, phone 202-395-3561 or via internet at [email protected].

Comments must be filed with the Office of Management and Budget within

60 days of this publication. A copy of any comments

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filed with the Office of Management and Budget should also be sent to

the following address at the Commission: Federal Communications

Commission, Records Management Branch, room 234, Paperwork Reduction

Project, Washington, DC 20553. For further information, contact Judy

Boley, 202-418-0214.

Title: Toll Free Service Access Codes.

Action: Proposed collections.

OMB Control Number: None.

Respondents: Business or other for profit, including small

business.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Annual Burden:

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Paragraph

Collection No. Hours per response Total annual responses

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Recordkeeping........................... 13 10 minutes................. 4 million.

Reporting............................... 31 1.......................... 1.

Certification........................... 34 30 minutes................. 138.

Coding.................................. 44 30 minutes................. 4 million.

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Total Annual Hours: 2,664,079.

Needs and Uses: The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking solicits public

comments to respond to the requests of industry to smooth the

transition to an expanded set of toll free service access codes,

starting with 888 and eventually deploying 877, 866, and so forth. In

light of the rapid unanticipated depletion recently experienced with

800 numbers, the Commission is compelled to initiate this rulemaking

proceeding.

Analysis of Proceeding

Background

Toll free service differs from traditional telephone service in

that the charges for toll free calls received are paid by the called

party (i.e., the 800 subscriber). Toll free numbers are contained in a

database known as the SMS/800. To obtain a toll free number, a

subscriber must choose an entity responsible for managing that

subscriber's SMS/800 record and coordinating with the service providers

that will provide the subscriber's toll free service. (That entity is

known as a RespOrg.) RespOrgs can gain access to and modify the

subscriber's record in the SMS/800 database. There are currently

approximately 138 RespOrgs.

Toll free service has proven to be very popular because it provides

callers with a free and convenient means of contacting parties holding

toll free numbers. Toll free numbers are widely used today for business

purposes, personal needs, and for access to such services as voice mail

and paging devices. The original toll free service access code was 800.

Of the approximately 8 million 800 numbers originally available, less

than 800,000 800 numbers are available for subscribers today.

Earlier in 1995, the industry selected 888 as the first relief toll

free code and reserved 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, and 822 as the

subsequent relief toll free codes. The industry originally estimated

that modification in the local exchange networks to enable use of 888

numbers would not be completed until April 1, 1996. The 888 deployment

date has now been advanced to March 1, 1996. After a week in June 1995

in which over 113,000 800 numbers were assigned, the industry

approached the Common Carrier Bureau for assistance because of fears

that the supply of 800 numbers would be depleted well in advance of the

deployment of 888 numbers. The Bureau developed a conservation plan

designed to slow the depletion of 800 numbers.

Summary

To prevent unnecessarily rapid depletion of the scarce numbering

resource, we must ensure that toll free numbers are used efficiently.

To that end, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking first seeks comment on:

(1) Making sure that toll free numbers are available to subscribers who

need and want them rather than reserved or assigned to consumers or

businesses who did not ask for them; (2) requiring a one time deposit

into an escrow account for each toll free number held in reserve status

by RespOrgs, 800 Service Providers, third party agents and/or toll free

service subscribers; (3) revising the process for recycling previously

used toll free numbers; and (4) using personal identification numbers

(``PINs'') to expand the number of users who can use a single toll free

number.

Second, given the problems that arose with 800 numbers, as well as

the heightened interest in and demand for toll free numbers, it is

particularly important to have policies in place well in advance of the

deployment of new toll free codes. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

seeks comment on proposals regarding: (1) The reservation of new toll

free codes; (2) the phased opening of new toll free service; (3) the

implementation plan for the next toll free code beyond 888; and (4) the

tracking of toll free number usage.

Toll free numbers are currently reserved on a ``first come, first

served'' basis. Because this procedure seems to enable large RespOrgs

with multiple terminals that can access the database to reserve mass

quantities of toll free numbers in rapid order and may, as a result

place smaller, less technologically sophisticated RespOrgs at a

competitive disadvantage, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes

amending the ``first come, first served'' reservation system. The

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also proposes activating new toll free

codes gradually to avoid a ``run on the bank'' of new toll free

numbers.

In an effort to prevent an exhaust situation in which all toll free

numbers from existing codes have been assigned by the time a new code

is opened, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes that the planning

for the introduction of new toll free codes start well in advance of

the projected total consumption of the previous toll free codes. The

early planning proposals include identifying a trigger that would alert

the industry that the current toll free code is nearing depletion and

that the next toll free code should be prepared for deployment, and

mandating the implementation of a new toll free code on six months

notice. To further facilitate planning and implementation, the Notice

of Proposed Rulemaking proposes requiring the administrator of the SMS/

800 database, currently Database Service Management, Inc., to submit

periodic reports to the Commission on the use of toll free numbers.

Third, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on the

alleged warehousing and hoarding of toll free numbers. Warehousing

occurs when RespOrgs obtain toll free numbers from the database without

having an actual customer to whom those numbers are to be assigned.

Hoarding occurs when a toll free subscriber acquires more numbers from

a RespOrg than it immediately intends to use. Despite voluntary

guidelines limiting the quantity of toll free numbers that RespOrgs may

reserve, the rapid

[[Page 53159]]

depletion of 800 numbers prompted growing concern that 800 numbers were

being warehoused and hoarded. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

proposes imposing a permanent cap on the quantity of numbers a RespOrg

may hold in reserve status at any one time and requiring that RespOrgs

certify to the Commission that they have actual subscribers for each

number drawn from the SMS/800 database.

Fourth, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on

assignment of vanity numbers. A vanity number is a telephone number for

which the letters associated with the number's digits on a telephone

handset spell a word of value to the number holder (e.g., ``1-800-

FLOWERS'' and ``1-800-THECARD''). For the purposes of this Notice,

vanity numbers also include any numbers in which holders have a

particular interest, be it economic or otherwise. The Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on whether the current holder of a

vanity 800 number should have a superior right vis-a-vis all other

interested parties to receive the equivalent 888 number, as well as any

right such a holder would have to the equivalent number in subsequent

toll free codes.

Fifth, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on issues

related to toll free Directory Assistance, administration of the SMS/

800, and public awareness of and industry participation in the

implementation process. 800 Directory Assistance is currently a

monopoly service provided by AT&T. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

proposes combining 800 Director Assistance and 888 Directory

Assistance, and eventually Directory Assistance for subsequent toll

free codes, into an interchangeable toll free Directory Assistance

service. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also seeks comment on

whether Database Services Management, Inc. should continue to

administer the toll free databases or whether some other entity should

assume that responsibility. Further, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

seeks comment on whether public awareness initiatives, in addition to

those industry has already taken, are necessary to ensure that the

public is informed about the deployment of new toll free codes.

Sixth, to prevent one or a few RespOrgs from laying claim to large

percentages of a new toll free service access code on the day it

becomes available, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on a

``circuit breaker'' model designed to regulate the rate at which toll

free numbers can be drawn from the database. The impetus for this

proposal is the recent experience when the 800-555 code was opened. On

the day it became available, one carrier claimed approximately 90% of

the numbers that were available. This froze out many small RespOrgs and

was widely regarded as unfair, although permitted by the industry

guidelines. The Commission believes that it would be sensible to

consider a circuit breaker mechanism to prevent a repeat of this

problem. Circuit breakers, in the context of securities trading, are

designed to limit program trading in volatile markets by restricting

access to computerized trading systems and by allowing the markets to

cool off by suspending trading for short periods of time. While a

circuit breaker model in the toll free context could not be identical

to one in the securities context, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

proposes a model that has an effect over the toll free market similar

to the effect the circuit breaker rules have over the securities

market.

Finally, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on how 888

and subsequent toll free codes should be tariffed. Since the Commission

believes that 800 and 888 will be used interchangeably and are

functionally the same, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking tentatively

concludes that 888 and subsequent toll free codes should be treated,

for tariffing purposes, like existing 800 services. As a result, the

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also tentatively concludes that the

existing Part 69 provisions for 800 service would also cover 888

service and local exchange carriers would not need to obtain a waiver.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C.

Sec. 601, et seq., this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking may require

RespOrgs and 800 Service Providers to have a written request from a

toll free subscriber before assigning a toll free number and may be

required to retain such record for two years. The administrator of the

SMS/800 database, currently Database Services Management, Inc., will be

required to submit periodic reports to the Commission on toll free

number utilization. RespOrgs will be required to certify, under penalty

of false statement, the accuracy of certain subscriber information.

The Secretary shall send a copy of the Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration in

accordance with paragraph 603(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

Public Law 96-354, 94 Stat. 1164, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. (1981).

Written public comments are requested in the Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis. These comments must be filed in accordance with

the same filing procedures as other comments in this proceeding, but

they must also have a separate and distinct heading designating them as

responses to the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.

Ordering Clauses

Accordingly, It Is Ordered, That pursuant to Sections 1, 201-205,

218 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 161, 154,

201-205, 218, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is hereby provided.

It Is Further Ordered That, the Secretary shall send a copy of this

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration in accordance with paragraph 603(a) of

the Regulatory Flexibility Act, Public Law 96-354, 94 Stat. 1164, 5

U.S.C. 601 et seq. (1981).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 61

Communications common carriers, Telecommunications.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

FR Doc. 95-25316 Filed 10-11-95; 8:45 am]

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