Reporting Requirements for International Traffic Data

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 43

[DA 95-1248 ]

Reporting Requirements for International Traffic Data

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Revised manual.

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SUMMARY: The Common Carrier Bureau adopted a revised filing manual for

international traffic data. The new manual has a separate section that

consolidates the filing requirements for pure resale carriers. While

the new manual did not change these requirements, the consolidated

section will make it easier for small businesses which primarily

provide pure resale service to report. The new manual did change the

reporting requirements for facilities based traffic, which is primarily

provided by large businesses. In order to protect U.S. carriers'

interests, the new manual allows carriers to report some information on

a proprietary basis. Both facilities-based and pure resale carriers

must use this manual to report message counts, minute counts, gross

revenues, international settlements amounts, and retained revenues for

international communications services. The manual was adopted June 6,

1995 and approved by OMB.

DATES: Traffic data for the prior calendar year must be filed by July

31.

ADDRESSES: The original transmittal letter only must be filed with the

Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554.

Traffic data must be filed with the FCC Common Carrier Bureau, Industry

Analysis Division, Mail Stop 1600 F, 1919 M Street NW., Washington,

D.C. 20554 and with the FCC's Contract Copier (Currently International

Transcription Services, Inc.), Room 246, 1919 M Street NW., Washington

D.C. 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Blake or Jim Lande, Common

Carrier Bureau, Industry Analysis Division, (202) 418-0940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

FCC Report 43.61

Approved by OMB 3060-0106.

Expires 08/31/98.

Estimated Average Burden Hours Per Response: 24 Hours.

Manual for Filing Section 43.61 Data in Accordance With the FCC's Rules

and Regulations

June 1995.

Notice to Individuals

Section 43.61 of the Commission's Rules requires all carriers

providing international service to provide traffic and revenue data.

The collection of Section 43.61 traffic data stems from the

Commission's authority under the Communications Act of 1934, Sections

4, 48, 48 Stat. 1066, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154 unless otherwise noted.

Interpret or apply sections 211, 219, 48 Stat. 1073, 1077, as amended;

47 U.S.C. 211, 219, 220.

The foregoing Notice is required by the Privacy Act of 1974, Pub.L.

93.579, December 31, 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(e)(3), and the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1980. Pub.L. 96-511, section 3504(c)(3).

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is

estimated to average 24 hours per response including the time for

reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and

maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the

collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate

or any other aspect of this collection of information, including

[[Page 4919]]

suggestions for reducing the reporting burden to the Federal

Communications Commission, Office of Managing Director, Washington, DC

20554.

Contents

Introduction

Section 1--Definitions and General Information

A. Carriers that must file International Telecommunications Service

Data

B. International Points used for Reporting Purposes

C. Service Categories Used for Reporting Data

1. International Message Telephone Service

2. International Message Telegraph Service

3. International Telex Service

4. International Private Line Service

5. Miscellaneous or Other International Service

D. Filing Country-by-Country data for Each U.S. Point Served

1. Filing by U.S. Point

2. Filing data on a Country-by Country Basis

E. Billing Codes

1. Definition of Facilities-Based, Facilities Resale, and Pure

Resale Service

2. Switched and Miscellaneous or Other Services

3. Private Line Service

4. Table of Billing Codes

F. Measurement of Traffic and Revenues

1. Message Services

a. Message Service Traffic Measures

b. Message Service Revenue and Settlement Information

2. Private Line Services

a. Number of Leased Circuits and Number of Equivalent Voice

Grade Circuits

b. Leased Circuit Revenue

3. Miscellaneous or Other International Services

4. Data Requirements Summarized by Service

G. Filing Procedures

Section 2--Diskette Format and Coding Instructions

A. Media and File Name for Traffic Data filed on Diskette

B. Record Formats

C. Filing Carrier Name Field

D. Year of Data Field

E. U.S. Point Served Field

F. International Point or Region Field

G. Service Code Field

H. Footnote Code Field and Comment Records

I. Description Field

J. Billing Code Field

K. Data elements #1 through #5 (Traffic, circuits, revenue and

settlements information)

L. Example of a 43.61 report for a facilities-based carrier

Section 3--Simplified Instructions for Pure Resale Carriers

A. Definitions and Data to be Filed

B. Filing Procedures

C. Example of a 43.61 Report for Pure Resale Carrier

D. Example Check Sheet for International Points Served

Introduction

This manual is organized in three sections. Section 1 defines

international telecommunications service, explains the service

categories, defines the data requirements, and contains filing

instructions. Section 2 defines a computerized format, and explains

specialized codes that facilities-based and facilities resale carriers

must use for reporting data. Section 3 summarizes reporting

requirements for pure resale switched services. Most pure resale

carriers should be able to use Section 3 without reference to other

parts of the manual.

Section 43.61(a) of the FCC's Rules requires that each common

carrier providing international telecommunications service between any

U.S. point and any non U.S. point must file traffic and revenue

data.1 This includes foreign carriers that serve a U.S. point as

well as private carriers and carriers that provide non-tariffed

international communications services. Section 43.61(b) mandates that

carriers provide traffic and revenue data for each and every

international service. Section 43.61(d) specifies that the traffic and

revenue data must be furnished in accordance with this manual.

\1\ 47 CFR 43.61.

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The 43.61 international traffic reports contain traffic and revenue

information for service between the United States and international

points. The data are summarized in FCC statistical reports, are used to

monitor the development and competitiveness of international

telecommunications markets, and are used in the facilities planning

process. In addition, the FCC uses this information to develop and

support United States positions in discussions with foreign governments

and international standards organizations, such as the International

Telecommunications Union.

The manual contains reporting requirements for facilities-based,

facilities resale and pure resale services.2 Facilities-based

services are provided by a carrier utilizing international circuits in

which it has an ownership interest. Facilities Resale services are

provided by a carrier utilizing non-switched international circuits

leased from other reporting international carriers. Carriers must

provide detailed data for both the facilities-based and facilities

resale services that they provide. Pure resale services are switched

services that are provided by reselling the international switched

services of other carriers. Pure resale carriers may own domestic

switches and circuits, but rely on other carriers to carry switched

traffic between the United States and foreign points. Carriers must

separately report facilities-based, facilities resale, and pure resale

service. Section 3 contains simplified reporting requirements for pure

resale carriers. Only pure resale switched service is accorded

simplified reporting requirements.

\2\ The definitions herein of facilities-based and facilities

resale service are solely intended to govern reporting of

international traffic data, and are not intended for any other

purpose.

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The public reporting burden for the revised manual is estimated to

average 24 hours including the time for reviewing instructions,

searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data

needed, preparing the report, and reviewing the collection of

information. The 24 hours is a weighted average response time based on

80 hours for 30 facilities-based carriers and 10 hours for 120 pure

resellers. These figures represent the incremental reporting burden and

do not include the time that carriers spend maintaining data for other

purposes. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other

aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for

reducing the reporting burden to the Federal Communications Commission,

Office of Managing Director, Washington, DC 20554.

Section 1--Definitions and General Information

A. Carriers That Must File International Telecommunications Service

Data

Section 43.61(a) of the FCC's Rules requires that each common

carrier providing international telecommunications service between any

U.S. point and any non U.S. point must file traffic and revenue data.

This includes foreign carriers that serve a U.S. point as well as

private carriers and carriers that provide non-tariffed international

communications services. Section 43.61(b) mandates that carriers

provide traffic and revenue data for each and every international

service. Section 43.61(d) specifies that the traffic and revenue data

must be furnished in accordance with this manual.

International traffic and revenue data must be reported in

accordance with Section 43.61 of the Rules. Section 43.61(a) states

that ``[e]ach common carrier engaged in providing international

telecommunications service between the area comprising the continental

United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and off-shore U.S. points and any

country or point outside that area must file a report with the

Commission not later than July 31 of each year for

[[Page 4920]]

service actually provided in the preceding calendar year.''

Telecommunications services allow the public to communicate by means of

electronic signals transmitted by wire, radio, visual or other

electromagnetic systems and can entail the carriage of traffic or the

provision of dedicated communications channels. A service channel or

circuit is a path for electronic transmission of information between

two or more points. All common carriers must file international traffic

data, regardless of whether service is offered pursuant to tariff.

Enhanced services as defined by section 64.702 of the Commission's

rules are exempt from the section 43.61 filing requirements. Enhanced

services incorporate code and protocol conversion, information

provision or information processing as a fundamental part of the

service purchased by the customer. Simple packet switching, for

example, is not considered to be an enhanced service despite the fact

that the network temporarily stores packets. A packet switching service

that included code and protocol conversion, however, would be

considered to be enhanced unless packet switching was priced separately

from code and protocol conversion.

For the purpose of reporting international traffic data, an

international carrier is any entity that offers international

telecommunications service to non-affiliated entities for compensation.

For example, a cellular carrier that resells the international switched

service of another carrier must file Section 43.61 traffic data.

However, a cellular carrier that merely bills international service for

another carrier whose name is shown on the bill would not be considered

an international carrier even if the cellular carrier also billed for

itself the standard air time charges for the international call. The

carrier actually providing the international service would be required

to report.

B. International Points Used for Reporting Purposes

This manual defines three categories of geographic points. Domestic

U.S. points are the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto

Rico. Off-shore U.S. points include U.S. possessions such as American

Samoa, Guam, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston

Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Navassa Island, the Northern Mariana

Islands, Palmyra Atoll, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wake Island. The

Domestic U.S. and Off-shore U.S. points are collectively referred to

herein as the United States or as U.S. points. All other points of the

world, including ships operating in international waters, are Foreign

points. Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Mexico, which were not

encompassed by the older term ``overseas points'', are foreign points.

United States and foreign points are identified in the Common

Carrier Bureau Industry Analysis Division report titled International

Points used for FCC Reporting Purposes (International Points).

International Points lists world points that originate or receive

international telecommunications traffic. The report contains the

country and region codes that must be used to file section 43.61 data.

The report is published periodically and shows various classification

schemes for world points. Revisions to International Points will

reflect changes in political boundaries and the extent and operation of

international telecommunications networks. Contact the Industry

Analysis Division (202)418-0940 regarding points not listed in the

tables.

The geographic categories Domestic U.S., Off-shore U.S. and Foreign

shall be used to determine which data must be reported. Service that

both originates and terminates in Domestic U.S. points is considered to

be domestic, and should not be reported under section 43.61 of the

Rules. All other traffic for a United States point must be reported.

The following table illustrates the classification of traffic for

various pairs of points:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service originating and

terminating points Categorized Reporting status

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alaska to Hawaii................ Domestic U.S. to Domestic Traffic:

Domestic U.S. not reported.

Alaska to Puerto Rico........... Domestic U.S. to Domestic Traffic:

Domestic U.S. not reported.

U.S. Virgin Islands to Puerto Off-shore U.S. to U.S. International

Rico. Domestic U.S. Traffic:

Reported.

Alaska to Guam.................. Domestic U.S. to U.S. International

Off-shore U.S. Traffic:

Reported.

Alaska to Japan................. Domestic U.S. to U.S. International

Foreign. Traffic:

Reported.

Guam to Japan................... Off-shore U.S. to U.S. International

Foreign. Traffic:

Reported.

Guam to Wake Island............. Off-shore U.S. to U.S. International

Off-shore U.S. Traffic:

Reported.

Japan to Italy via Hawaii....... Foreign to Foreign U.S. International

transiting the Traffic:

U.S. Reported.

Japan to Italy via Guam......... Foreign to Foreign U.S. International

transiting the Traffic:

U.S. Reported.

Japan to Italy via ``country Foreign to U.S. to U.S. International

beyond'' service of a U.S. Foreign. Traffic: Each leg

carrier. of call reported

as U.S. Billed.

Japan to Italy via pure resale Foreign to U.S. to U.S. International

U.S. Call-back service in Foreign. Traffic: Each leg

Hawaii. of call reported

as U.S. Billed.

Japan to Italy direct........... Foreign to Foreign Foreign Traffic:

not reported.

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The distinction between domestic and international traffic may

prove burdensome in some instances. For example, there may be instances

where customers obtain international service while using a domestic

telecommunications service. A domestic cellular service might be usable

just outside U.S. territorial waters. The cellular carrier may have no

way of knowing if its service is being used to complete an

international call. If the carrier bills such a customer at domestic

rates, the traffic should be considered incidental to domestic service,

and need not be included in Section 43.61 reports. The opposite

situation might occur where a customer uses an international maritime

service while in U.S. territorial waters. Such a call to a domestic

point would be a domestic call. It could be difficult for the carrier

to identify and remove such traffic from its international data

reports. Such traffic is incidental to international service, and may

be included in Section 43.61 reports as international traffic. Carriers

should footnote entries that might contain a significant amount of such

traffic.

C. Service Categories Used for Reporting Data

Section 43.61(b) of the FCC's Rules requires carriers to provide

traffic and revenue information for each and every international common

carrier service that they provide to the public. Enhanced services as

defined by Section 64.702 of the Rules are not common carrier services.

International services may be provided over terrestrial cable,

[[Page 4921]]

submarine cable, microwave facilities, satellite circuits, etc.

Distinctions are made based on the service provided to the customer

rather than the technology employed to provide the service. The

following service categories and definitions are provided solely to

govern the reporting of traffic and do not bear on the legality or

treatment of international services for any other purpose:

1. International Message Telephone Service

International message telephone service involves the transmission

and reception of speech over the public switched network for which a

charge is collected on a minimum charge per call or measured time

basis. Per call prices are typically calculated based on the number of

minutes or fractions of minutes. Service features, such as operator

assistance or credit card billing, may be offered as part of the

service and may give rise to additional charges. Through use of modems

and other specialized equipment, the customer can use ordinary

telephone calls for the transmission of data, video and facsimile

3 messages.

\3\ Most people associate the word facsimile with the use of

terminal equipment that sends and receives images of a page. The

electronic image is transmitted over the public switched network.

Carriers should not separate this type of traffic from other types

of international message telephone traffic. Our rules previously

required detailed data reporting for several services that are

obsolete, including one then called facsimile service. The older

facsimile service was a private line service. The facsimile lines

accommodated analog equipment that transmitted images at a rate of 3

to 6 pages per hour. Digital equipment was introduced in the late

1960's. Customers stopped using dedicated facsimile lines in the

1970's following the development of facsimile equipment that could

utilize the public switched telephone network. Any remaining

dedicated facsimile lines should be reported as private lines using

the appropriate private line category.

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International message telephone services are generally tariffed on

a ``through'' basis from the United States to a particular foreign

point. This means that a call is charged a tariffed rate for a

particular point of destination, regardless of whether the call goes

directly to that country, or transits through some third point.

Traditionally, service is provided jointly by a U.S. international

message telephone service carrier and one or more foreign correspondent

carriers under a ``joint operating agreement''. Such agreements

typically specify the rights, duties, and legal obligations of each

correspondent; arrangements such as ``proportionate return'' which

govern the routing of traffic; and provide the accounting rate per unit

of international message telephone service traffic. The accounting rate

provides the basis for ``settling'' traffic balances, i.e. compensating

one carrier for handling the traffic of the other. However,

international message telephone service can also be provided by

facilities resale arrangements which may not entail accounting rate

agreements.

Carriers offer many types of switched network services with

different access and billing arrangements. International message

telephone service includes services with dedicated access if the calls

are routed through the public switched network. Accordingly, for

international reporting purposes, the international message telephone

service category includes traditional international message telephone

service, WATS, 800 and 900 type services, custom network services,

conference services, `country beyond' service, and similar services.

The international message telephone service category can also include

switched digital services that utilize ISDN interfaces and switched

global defined network services. International message telephone

service is reported with service code 1.

2. International Message Telegraph Service

International message telegraph service involves the transmission

and reception of record or textual matter which is not sent directly by

the sender, and for which a charge is collected on a per word basis.

International message telegraph service is reported with service code

2.

At one time carriers were required to provide separate data for

message telegraph services offered to the public, to governments, and

to press entities. Carriers should report 43.61 data that represents

totals for all types of customers.

3. International Telex Service

Telex service involves the transmission and reception of record

matter, including messages, facsimile and data, charged for on a per

minute or timed basis, for which the transmission is directly

controlled by the user over an exchange network dedicated to the

transmission of such records. Messages may be transmitted via carrier

facilities on either a direct dial or on a store and forward basis. The

telex network provides for the transmission of communications

alternately in either direction, but not in both directions

simultaneously. Such services are also referred to as teleprinter

exchange services. International telex service is reported with service

code 3.

Telegraph and Telex services are occasionally referred to as record

services.

4. International Private Line Service

Private line service is the leasing of a dedicated channel of

communications (leased circuit) for specified periods of time for the

customer's use. Leased private line circuits are typically priced by

distance, bandwidth or capacity, and other features such as line

conditioning. International private line service does not include

private circuits within the United States unless such circuits are

dedicated to the provision of international service and are provided

pursuant to international tariffs.

The international portion of the service typically begins at a

point within the United States and terminates at a connection point

halfway between the United States and the destination country. The

remaining half of the international private line from the theoretical

midpoint to the foreign destination is provided by the U.S. carrier's

foreign correspondent carrier. Each carrier bills the customer

separately for its half of the service. In actuality, although the

service is priced on the basis of a theoretical midpoint, the

international circuitry is usually provided by the U.S. and foreign

carriers jointly, with each carrier owning an undivided half-interest

in the circuits.

Carriers should not report as international private line service

data for circuits that both originate and terminate within the domestic

United States, unless those circuits are dedicated for international

service and are provided pursuant to international tariffs. In

addition, carriers should not report facilities provided under contract

to foreign carriers except to the extent that the foreign carrier is

paying for facilities from the United States to the theoretical

midpoint.

There are six categories of private line service for reporting

purposes:

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Service

code Description

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4....... Voice Circuits--provided as individual circuits.

5....... Up to 1200 bits per second (bps).

6....... 1201 bps to 9600 bps.

7....... 9601 bps to 30 Million bps (Mbps) or .01 Megahertz to 18

Megahertz, except for voice circuits.

8....... Greater than 30 Mbps to 120 Mbps or greater than 18 Megahertz

to 72 Megahertz.

9....... Greater than 120 Mbps or greater than 72 Megahertz.

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The voice grade category should only contain individual circuits

that are

[[Page 4922]]

offered to accommodate a single voice circuit. This category does not

include ISDN circuits or large capacity circuits provided as multiple

voice grade equivalent channels.

Switched and virtual private line services should not be included

in the above categories and instead should be reported separately as

Miscellaneous or Other International Services. These services are

considered to be private lines services for some purposes. However, the

reporting of revenues and circuits for switched and virtual private

line services cannot easily conform to the format specified for the

private line categories contained herein.

5. Miscellaneous or Other International Service

The final service category includes all services that are not

listed above. The category includes cablephoto service, radiophoto

service, photo transmission service and addressed press service. The

category also includes packet switched transmission service, occasional

use television, switched video, switched and virtual private line

services and some other forms of switched digital service. The category

also includes any new service that differs from services listed above.

Miscellaneous or Other international services are reported with service

code 99.

D. Filing Country-by-Country Data for Each U.S. Point Served

1. Filing by U.S. Point

Carriers must file separate data for each United States point from

which they originate and bill facilities-based or facilities resale

service. Carriers may not consolidate facilities-based or facilities

resale data for two United States points without obtaining a waiver

from the FCC. Carriers may consolidate pure resale traffic for domestic

U.S. points (the Conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto

Rico). However, carriers may not consolidate pure resale data for an

off-shore U.S. point and a domestic U.S. point, or for two off-shore

U.S. points, without obtaining a waiver from the FCC. See 47 CFR

Section 1.3.

Carriers should not include in their report U.S. points that they

do not serve.

2. Filing data on a Country-by-Country Basis

For each large U.S. point, facilities-based and facilities resale

carriers must provide country-by-country data on diskette for each

service that they provide. However, region-by-region data may be

substituted for miscellaneous services. For small U.S. points, each

carrier must report world total traffic data on diskette for each

service that they provide. All carriers, including pure resale

carriers, must file world total traffic data for each pure resale

service that they provide. Pure resale traffic need not be provided on

diskette.

Reporting Requirements for Facilities-Based and Facilities Resale

Service

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Small U.S. points: File

Large U.S. points: File country-by-country world total data \1\ on

data on diskette diskette

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alaska.................................... American Samoa.

Conterminous U.S.......................... Baker Island.

Guam...................................... Howland Island.

Hawaii.................................... Jarvis Island.

Puerto Rico............................... Johnston Atoll.

U.S. Virgin Islands....................... Kingman Reef.

Midway Atoll.

Navassa Island.

Northern Mariana Islands.

Palmyra Atoll.

Wake Island .

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\1\ Many points on this list are not served by U.S. carriers at this

time. Carriers need not file data for points that they do not serve.

Where country-by-country reporting is required, carriers must file

separate data for each of the primary international points listed in

International Points. However:

(a) Carriers should omit points that would represent domestic

traffic. For example, a report for Alaska should not show traffic to

Hawaii. However, traffic between domestic and off-shore U.S. points

must be reported. For example, a report for Alaska should include

traffic to Guam.

(b) Carriers may consolidate traffic as indicated by the summary

codes shown in International Points. For example, Scotland has

country code 280, but also summary code 326. That summary code is

the country code for the United Kingdom. Traffic between a U.S.

point and Scotland may be reported as Scotland traffic using country

code 280 or may be included with other United Kingdom traffic and

reported using country code 326.

(c) Carriers should omit countries for which they have no

traffic.

There are no miscellaneous country codes. All traffic must be

reported to a country code associated with one of the points listed in

International Points. Contact the Industry Analysis Division of the

Common Carrier Bureau if traffic exists for an international point that

is not currently listed. The Industry Analysis Division will assign a

code for that point.

Where country-by-country reporting is required, carriers should

also file region and world totals. International Points groups all

international points into 10 regions. These regions and the reporting

codes are listed in Section 2-F below. Carriers may omit country-by-

country data for miscellaneous services, but must provide region and

world totals on diskette.

E. Billing Codes

Within a service, traffic is categorized according to the ownership

of facilities used to provide the service, and how the traffic was

billed. Carriers must use billing codes to associate traffic statistics

with a particular service type.

1. Definition of Facilities-Based, Facilities Resale, and Pure Resale

Service

In reporting data to the FCC, carriers must separate traffic on the

basis of the ownership of facilities used to provide service. Carriers

must separately report data for the three ownership categories shown

below: facilities-based, facilities resale, and pure resale. The

following definitions of facilities-based, facilities resale, and pure

resale traffic are intended solely for reporting international traffic

data, and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Facilities-based services are those services provided using

international transmission facilities owned in whole or in part by the

carrier providing service. Facilities-based carriers use one or more

international channels of communications to provide international

telecommunications service. An international channel is a wire or radio

link that facilitates electronic communications between a United States

point and another world point. A facilities-based carrier either owns

international channels, has an ownership interest in the channel such

as an indefeasible right of use (IRU), or leases the channel from an

entity that does not report traffic, such as Comsat. Carriers must

provide detailed data for the facilities-based services that they

provide.

Facilities Resale services are provided by a carrier utilizing non-

switched international circuits leased from other reporting

international carriers. A facilities resale service is provided over

international channels which are subject to Section 43.61 reporting by

the underlying carrier. Carriers must provide detailed data for the

facilities resale services that they provide.

Pure resale services are switched services that are provided by

reselling the international switched services of other carriers. Pure

resale services are not provided to the public over the reseller's

international channels of communications. Pure resale carriers may own

domestic switches and circuits, but rely on other carriers to

[[Page 4923]]

carry switched traffic between the United States and foreign points.

2. Switched and Miscellaneous or Other Services

Carriers are required to categorize and report international

switched traffic using billing information. The primary categories are:

U.S. Billed--traffic billed by U.S. carriers which originates or

terminates in the United States, or which originates from `country

beyond' type services; Foreign Billed--traffic which originates or

terminates in the United States and is billed by a foreign or

correspondent carrier; and, Transiting--traffic that originates outside

of the United States, transits the United States, and terminates

outside of the United States, and is billed by a foreign carrier.

Within the U.S. Billed category, carriers must categorize traffic

according to whether the call was billed under a `country beyond'

arrangement, or under some other arrangement. `Country beyond' services

are provided by U.S. carriers to customers located in foreign points.

The customer initiates the call to the U.S. carrier and then provides

the destination number. The U.S. carrier then completes the call. Such

calls are typically billed using calling cards. Carriers must use

billing codes to separate `country beyond' traffic from other U.S.

billed calls. Other U.S. billed calls include international calls that

are placed in the United States and are billed to the calling number,

billed to another number in the United States, billed to a calling card

or billed by some other arrangement. Other U.S. billed calls also

include calls initiated overseas and billed to an 800 number in the

United States or billed collect to the called party. Public data may be

filed combining these call categories. The carriers proprietary filing

must use billing codes to distinguish `country beyond' traffic data

from other U.S. billed traffic data.

Note that data are not reported with sufficient granularity to

separate traffic solely on the basis of whether it originates or

terminates in the United States. The same billing code is used for

calls that are dialed directly from the United States, and for calls

that originate in a foreign point but are billed collect in the United

States by the U.S. carrier.

Not all carriers will provide all possible categories of traffic.

Carriers should file data only for billing types that they actually

provided during the year.

A carrier may aggregate all pure resale international traffic,

including traffic from call-back service. Call-back service is

described on page 38, of the manual. Carriers may not aggregate pure

resale traffic with either facilities-based or facilities resale

traffic.

Traffic between some U.S. points will be reported as U.S. billed

for the point where it is billed, and as foreign billed for the other

end of the call. For example, a sent paid call from the U.S. Virgin

Islands to Puerto Rico will be reported as a U.S. billed call by the

carrier serving the U.S. Virgin Islands, and will also be reported as a

foreign billed call by the carrier serving Puerto Rico. This would be

the case even if the same carrier served both points. In fact, the same

call would be reported three times if it originated in an off-shore

U.S. point, transited a domestic U.S. point, and terminated in another

off-shore U.S. point.

U.S. billed and foreign billed switched traffic is reported by the

foreign point in which the call originates or terminates, irrespective

of foreign points through which the call may transit. Transiting

traffic is reported for the country in which the call originates.

3. Private Line Service

International private line service typically links a location

within the United States with a location in a foreign point. The

service is provided jointly by the U.S. carrier and the foreign

correspondent carrier, and is usually accounted as if the U.S. carrier

provides service to the theoretical mid-point of the service. Thus, the

U.S. carrier tariffs a half circuit for its portion of the service, and

the foreign correspondent carrier likewise tariffs a half circuit. With

private line service, the customer billing address may be located in a

foreign country and the bill may be rendered by the foreign carrier

that provides the other half of the circuit. Even so, this service is

classified as U.S. billed because the customer has a United States

presence and the choice of billing location is arbitrary. The fact that

a foreign carrier may act as a billing agent is irrelevant. In sum,

U.S. carriers must report the portion of the service that they tariff.

Private lines are categorized by the foreign point in which the

line terminates. Facilities-based private line service should be

reported using billing code 1. Private line service provided over

resold facilities should be reported using billing code 11.

4. Table of Billing Codes

The following table provides the billing codes for switched and

private line services. Note that carriers must report separately

facilities-based, facilities resale, and pure resale traffic.

Table of Billing Codes

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Type of service provision

------------------------------------------------------

Facilities based Facilities resale Pure

---------------------------------------------- resale

--------

Confidential Public Confidential Public Public

filing filing filing filing filing

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SWITCHED AND MISCELLANEOUS SERVICE

U.S. Billed (Traffic Billed by reporting U.S. carriers):

Call originate in U.S. point served:

Billed to the calling number account............. 1 1 11 11 21

Billed to a calling card or other billing

arrangement..................................... 1 1 11 11 21

Calls Originate outside U.S. point served:

Billed collect to a U.S. customer................ 1 1 11 11 n.a.

Billed to a U.S. 800 service number.............. 1 1 11 11 n.a.

Billed to a calling card or other billing

arrangement..................................... 4 1 14 11 21

Foreign Billed (Traffic billed by foreign or

corresponding carrier):

Calls originate in U.S. point served:

Billed collect to a foreign customer............. 2 2 12 12 n.a.

Billed to a foreign 800 service number........... 2 2 12 12 n.a.

[[Page 4924]]

Billed to a foreign carrier calling card or other

arrangement..................................... 2 2 12 12 n.a.

Calls originate outside U.S. point served and

terminate in the U.S. point:

Billed to the calling number account............. 2 2 12 12 n.a.

Billed to a foreign carrier calling card or other

arrangement..................................... 2 2 12 12 n.a.

Transiting (Traffic that originates and terminates

outside the U.S point served):

Traffic billed by foreign or corresponding carrier:.. 3 3 13 13 n.a.

Private Line Service

All Circuits............................................. 1 1 11 11 n.a.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

F. Measurement of Traffic and Revenues

This section provides guidance for measuring traffic and revenues.

Each service has unique characteristics that create special concerns.

For example, a customer who places a telephone call to a foreign

country may not be aware that the call originates in a Local Access

Transport Area (LATA), crosses a Point of Presence (POP) to the

interexchange network of an interLATA carrier, is switched through

international facilities to a foreign carrier, and is then terminated

in a foreign local exchange. The customer need not consider the various

arrangements under which several carriers share the revenue from the

call. The private line customer, on the other hand, leases a specific

amount of capacity between two specified points. The customer may use a

variety of arrangements to get traffic to and from the leased circuit

and may use the circuit for several types of communications. The

private line customer is concerned with the charges for each specific

link in its network.

These and other differences between message and private line

services lead to differences in the ways that carriers should measure

traffic and revenues. The following sections cover message and private

line services. The guidelines should be used for miscellaneous

international services as appropriate.

1. Message Services

For each message service (telephone, telegraph, and telex) carriers

must report data for each billing type--principally U.S. billed,

foreign billed, and transiting. The data shall consist of a message

count, the duration of the messages, the billed revenue for the

messages (when U.S. billed), settlements associated with the messages,

and the net revenue for the messages.

Carriers must report traffic data on a calendar year basis. Thus,

the carrier should report the actual traffic carried during the year.

Revenues and settlement amounts should be measured on an accrual basis,

rather than on an actual receipts or actual settlement basis unless

rates have been adjusted retroactively. The amounts reported should not

reflect prior year adjustments or corrections. Accordingly, carriers

cannot legitimately report negative amounts in the message, minute,

revenue, or settlement data fields.

Even though there is a significant lag between the end of the

reporting year and the final data filing in October of the following

year, carriers may not have complete settlement data for some

countries. In such instances, carriers should make a good faith effort

to estimate settlement receipts, and note the fact in the filing.

Section 2 describes the preparation of footnote records. Carriers

should not adjust subsequent year reports when out of period data

becomes available. Instead, these amounts, if significant, should be

noted in the subsequent year filing.

a. Message Service Traffic Measures

Carriers must report the number of billed messages for

international message telephone, international message telegraph and

international telex services, except that messages may be omitted for

transiting traffic. Data should be reported for all billed traffic,

regardless of whether the customer is an end user or another carrier.

All billed traffic should be reported, even calls that have been billed

but written off as uncollectible. Unbillable traffic, however, should

not be reported.4

\4\ For example, call-back customers place calls to their U.S.

carriers, but hang up after one ring. The U.S. carrier does not

answer the call, but rather detects that a call was made, and then

calls back. Since the initial call was not answered and is not

billable, it should not be reported by either the underlying

facilities based carrier or by the call-back carrier. The call back

to the customer, however, should be reported.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carriers must report the number of minutes for international

message telephone and telex services. For facilities-based and

facilities resale service, carriers should report the number of minutes

upon which correspondent carriers will be compensated. For facilities-

based service, compensation generally is governed by the settlement

process. Settlement compensation is based on conversation minutes.

Settlement minutes averaged 5% to 6% less than billed minutes for

traffic billed in the United States for 1988 through 1990. If the

correspondent carrier is not compensated for traffic based on call

length, then the number of minutes should be based on conversation

minutes.

U.S. carriers should classify as transiting traffic all foreign

billed calls that both originate and terminate in foreign points. U.S.

carriers should classify as U.S. billed ``country beyond'' calls which

originate in foreign points, are placed through the carrier, and are

billed by the carrier. The U.S. carrier may owe settlements for two

legs of a ``country beyond'' call--one settlement amount for the

country where the call originates, and another for the country where

the call terminates. In this case, the number of minutes used for

settlement purposes will equal roughly twice the number of conversation

minutes.

Since carriers do not make settlement payments for their pure

resale traffic, carriers should report the number of minutes billed to

customers, which can be based on billing information received from the

underlying carrier.

Word counts must be reported for international message telegraph

service.

[[Page 4925]]

Carriers should report the number of words used for settlement

purposes.

All message data must be reported on a message or end-to-end basis.

This means that calls should be reported based on the billing location

and the ultimate points of origin or terminus.5 Transiting minutes

should be reported by the country in which the call is initiated.

\5\ At one time carriers were required to report traffic on two

schedules. The circuit traffic (CT) schedule showed all U.S. traffic

that went to or from a particular country, including traffic that

transited through that country to a third country. The message

traffic (MT) schedule showed all traffic that originated or

terminated in a particular country, including traffic that had

transited through a third country. The current requirements are more

similar to the MT schedule.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Message Service Revenue and Settlement Information

For each service that it provides, each carrier must report

separately billed revenues, settlement receipts due (on services billed

by correspondent carriers), settlement payments owed (on services

billed by the carrier), and the revenues they retain net of all

settlements. In the proprietary filing, carriers must use the specified

billing codes to separate traffic that it carriers over its own

facilities from traffic it carriers over facilities leased from other

reporting carriers.

Billed revenues are equal to the amounts that carriers billed to

customers for service at tariffed rates. Billed revenues should reflect

all discounts given to customers. Reported revenues should reflect

amounts actually billed to customers, including discounts that are

calculated after individual calls are rated. For example, discounts

which are calculated based on the total bill amount should be allocated

proportionally to international calls on a country-by-country basis.

However, if a discount is only calculated based on domestic billings,

then discounts should not be allocated to international service.

The cost of promotional items such as telephone sets, frequent

flyer miles, or merchandize credits, are marketing expenses and should

not be treated as revenue reductions. Credits or coupons for the

purchase of future communications services should be treated, when

earned or issued, the same as direct discounts credited to the

customer, with no allowance for the percentage of coupons which will

not be used, and no adjustments for costs of administering the

promotion.

Billed revenues should not be reduced to reflect uncollectibles or

transit fee expenses. Transit fees are owed when a call transits a

foreign carrier's facilities in one international point before

terminating in a second international point. Settlement amounts and

transit fees owed to the transiting carrier should be included with

settlements owed.

Billed revenues should not include tax amounts that are itemized on

the customer bill and remitted directly to taxing authorities, and

should only include amounts that are recorded as revenues in the

company books of account.

U.S. carriers have contractual relationships with foreign carriers

so that telephone calls can be made between local exchanges in the

United States and local exchanges in foreign countries. The foreign

carrier in the relationship is usually called the foreign

correspondent. Accounting rate agreements specify the amounts that

carriers pay to their foreign correspondents on a per minute or similar

basis for facilities based service. When the U.S. carrier bills an

international call, it owes a settlement amount to the foreign

correspondent. When the foreign correspondent bills an international

call, the U.S. carrier is owed a settlement amount. The carriers

usually balance the amounts due and make net payments. The amounts due

to U.S. carriers, including separate transit fees, if any, are referred

to herein as settlement receipts. The amounts owed by U.S. carriers to

foreign corespondents, including separate transit fees, if any, are

referred to herein as settlement payments. Settlement payments do not

include the amounts that pure-resale carriers pay to underlying U.S.

carriers. Settlement payments do not include the access charge amounts

that U.S. carriers pay to U.S. local exchange carriers for originating

or terminating calls. The U.S. carrier retained revenue is equal to

billed revenue plus settlement receipts minus settlement payments.

There are instances where carriers in two international points do

not charge each other settlements. This might be the case where the

carriers are affiliates, or where facilities resale service is being

provided. In such cases, carriers should report as settlements owed any

amounts owed to foreign carriers that would be analogous to settlement

amounts, including charges for originating or terminating traffic in

the foreign carrier's toll network or local exchange. However, carriers

should not include as settlements any costs of the underlying

facilities being used to provide service. Also, payments to U.S.

carriers for originating or terminating calls in U.S. toll networks or

local exchanges should not be reported. Where zero amounts are entered

as settlement payments for U.S. billed service, carriers should

footnote the reason. See Section 2 for instructions on including

footnotes in the data files.

In a report for a U.S. point, U.S. carriers should not have billed

revenue for foreign billed traffic. Similarly, U.S. carriers should not

have settlement receipts for U.S. billed traffic.

Accounting agreements may be denominated in dollars, foreign

currency units, or other monetary measures. All revenue and settlement

payment information must be stated in U.S. dollars regardless of the

terms of the accounting agreements or industry practices. Carriers

should apply the currency conversion rates that prevailed at the time

actual settlements were made.

Some international calls are initiated in foreign points by

customers using ``country beyond'' services of a U.S. carrier. These

calls may terminate in the United States or in other foreign points.

Billed revenue for such a call should be reported for the country in

which the call originated. Reported settlements should include amounts

owed to carriers in both the originating country, and the terminating

country, in the case of calls that terminate in foreign points.

2. Private Line Services

This section provides guidance for reporting private line circuit

counts and revenues on a country-by-country basis. Carriers must report

separately circuits that they own from circuits that they provide on a

resale basis. As detailed in section 1-E-1 above, international

circuits should be reported as resold only if they have been leased

from a carrier subject to Section 43.61 reporting requirements and only

if the circuits are leased to customers or other carriers in the form

of private line service. If the carrier has combined some owned and

some leased international circuits in order to provide a through

circuit, then the circuit should be reported as facilities based.

a. Number of Leased Circuits and Number of Equivalent Voice Grade

Circuits

A leased circuit is a single leased channel of communications that

links two specific points. Leased circuits should be categorized

according to the six private line categories shown on page 12 of the

manual. Circuits are not categorized according to how the customer

actually uses them. Counts of leased circuits should be provided as of

December 31 of the year for which data are being reported. Carriers

should not attempt to convert part day leases into equivalent full day

circuits, but a circuit

[[Page 4926]]

leased by different customers for different hours on December 31 should

be reported as a single circuit.

Companies should not report non-tariff circuits provided to

affiliates. Those circuits should be treated as the affiliate's

circuits if they are used to provide a reportable international

service. If the company had an ownership interest in the international

circuits, then the affiliated carrier would be providing facilities-

based service. If the company had obtained the international circuits

by lease, then the affiliated carrier could be providing facilities

resale service.

Carriers are also required to provide the number of voice

equivalent circuits for the leased circuits provided as of December 31

of the year for which data are being reported. Voice equivalent

circuits should be estimated by converting the total bandwidth of

circuits leased to an international point. The standard conversion is

based on 64 kilo bits per second for one voice equivalent channel. The

figure should be rounded to the nearest whole number. An 18 megahertz

video channel should be reported as 240 voice equivalent channels, a 24

megahertz video channel should be reported as 288 voice equivalent

channels, and a 36 megahertz video channel should be reported as 630

voice equivalent channels. The number of voice equivalent circuits

should be consistent with the data used to calculate regulatory fees as

well as amounts filed in FCC circuit reports.

b. Leased Circuit Revenue

Private line and leased circuit service revenues should include

only revenue from service provided under international tariffs. Private

line and leased circuit service revenue should not include revenue for

circuits that originate and terminate within the United States unless

those circuits are provided under an international tariff. Private line

revenues should include any service set up, installation, and

termination charges. Private line revenues do not include billings made

on behalf of domestic or foreign carriers for service provided by those

carriers. Private line revenues should include revenue billed by a

foreign carrier on behalf of the U.S. carrier for service provided by

the U.S. carrier, even if the revenue has not yet been remitted to the

U.S. carrier. Carriers must report the total private line revenues due

for the calendar year, regardless of whether a lease was in effect at

year end. Where lease or bill periods overlap the calendar year, billed

amounts should be apportioned between years based on the number of days

of service in each year. Private line revenues should not include taxes

included on the customer bill.

Billed revenues should reflect all discounts given to customers.

Reported revenues should reflect amounts actually billed to customers,

including discounts that are calculated based on total charges for all

services. Discounts which are calculated based on the total bill amount

should be allocated proportionally to international circuits. The cost

of promotional items such as telephone sets, frequent flyer miles, or

merchandize credits, are marketing expenses and should not be treated

as revenue reductions. Credits or coupons for the purchase of future

communications services should be treated the same as direct discounts,

with no allowance for the percentage of coupons which will not be used,

and no adjustments for costs of administering the promotion.

3. Miscellaneous or Other International Services

The category miscellaneous or other international services

potentially includes a wide variety of services. For the most part,

carriers must select and report the most relevant traffic measures.

However, providers of packet switched services should report the number

of kilo segments transmitted during the year; providers of occasional

use television service should report the number of hours of service

provided; and switched video service providers should report the number

of sessions and the number of minutes of service. See the chart on page

34 of the manual.

4. Data Requirements Summarized by Service

The following table summarizes the Section 43.61 data filing

requirements by service category:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Facilities-based and

facilities resale Pure resale service

service *

------------------------------------------------------------------------

International message By country and Countries served.

telephone service. billing type: World totals by

messages, minutes, billing type:

carrier revenues, messages, minutes,

settlement and carrier

payments, retained revenues.

revenue.

International message By country and World totals by

telegraph service. billing type: billing type:

messages, words, messages, words,

carrier revenues, and carrier

settlement revenues.

payments, retained

revenue.

International telex service. By country and World total by

billing type: billing type:

messages, words, messages, words,

carrier revenues, and carrier

settlement revenues.

payments, retained

revenue.

Private line................ By country and * *

service category:

leased circuits,

voice equivalent

circuits, revenues.

Other international services Region totals by World total by

billing type: billing type:

messages, minutes, messages, minutes,

words, leased words, kilo

circuits, voice segments, sessions,

equivalent contracts, and

circuits, kilo carrier revenues as

segments, sessions, appropriate.

contracts, carrier

revenues,

settlement

payments, retained

revenue as

appropriate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Pure resale carriers normally will not have settlement payments.

Payments to underlying U.S. carriers should not be reported as

settlements.

** Resale of private lines (either as private line service or as

switched service) is classified as facilities resale service, not pure

resale service.

G. Filing Procedures

Section 43.61(a) directs carriers to file reports by July 31,

reporting service actually provided in the preceding calendar year.

Section 43.61(c) provides that carriers shall submit a revised report

by October 31 identifying and correcting errors in the July 31 filing.

Carriers do not need to file revised data where figures change due to

corrections that normally occur in the billing and settlement cycles if

the corrected figures are within five percent of the figures filed in

the July 31 filing. Carriers must refile a corrected version of each

data record on which one or more data elements was found to be in error

by more than five percent. The five percent guideline covers

fluctuations in traffic or revenue totals due to corrections and true-

ups that occur during the billing

[[Page 4927]]

and settlement process. Carriers must file corrections for all

instances where they have filed erroneous data due to procedural

mistakes made while compiling or reporting data.

The following schedule details the number of copies required and

the location to which those copies should be delivered. This schedule

applies to the July 31 and October 31 filings. Carriers that provide

only pure resale international services are not required to file data

on diskette.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Certification and

Mailing address Transmittal letter paper copy of report Data on diskette*

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FCC Secretary, Mail Stop 1170, 1919 Original.................... ...................... ....................

M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20554.

FCC Common Carrier Bureau Industry 2 copies.................... Original and 1 copy of 1 set.

Analysis Division, Mail Stop 1600 both public and

F, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, confidential versions.

D.C. 20554.

The FCC's Contract Copier **, Room 1 copy...................... 1 copy public version 1 set.

246, 1919 M Street, N.W., only.

Washington, D.C. 20037.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Pure resale traffic, and summary data for smaller U.S. points need not be filed on diskette. See page 14 of

the manual.

** Currently International Transcription Services, Inc.

Paper copies must contain data that are identical to the data filed

on diskette. Page headings must clearly indicate the filing entity, the

United States point covered, and the service being reported. Column

headings must describe the data contained in each column.

The carrier must include footnote text to explain the specific

circumstances of any data for the current period which differs

materially from that for the previous period if the difference is not

self-explanatory but was caused by unusual circumstances not explained

in a previous report. The paper copies of the 43.61 data must include

the text of any footnotes. A data field is provided in the diskette

record format to indicate that a footnote has been included in a

separate data file record as well as in the paper copies. The paper

copies and comment records in the data files should also contain any

additional data or information that the carrier deems relevant or

necessary to understanding the data it is required to file.

The transmittal letter should identify the name of the carrier, the

date of the filing, and should state that Section 43.61 data has been

filed with the Common Carrier Bureau's Industry Analysis Division and

the Commission's current contract copier. The original of the

transmittal letter should be filed with the Secretary of the FCC.

Copies of the transmittal letter should be filed with the Industry

Analysis Division and the Commission's current contract copier.

Carriers must certify the accuracy of the data submitted in FCC

Report 43.61 by including a signed certification statement as the last

page of the paper report. The statement must be signed by an officer of

the reporting carrier. An officer is a person who occupies a position

specified in the articles of incorporation (or partnership agreement),

and would typically be president, vice president for operations, vice-

president for finance, comptroller, treasurer or a comparable position.

If the carrier is a sole proprietorship the owner must sign the

certification. The original and one copy of the certification statement

should be filed with the Industry Analysis Division. One copy of the

certification should be filed with the Commission's current contract

copier.

For additional information, comments or suggestions, contact the

Common Carrier Bureau's, Industry Analysis Division (202) 418-0940.

The text of the certification statement is included below:

Certification

I certify that I am an officer of ____________________; that I

have examined the foregoing report and that to the best of my

knowledge, information and belief, all statements of fact contained

in this report are true and that said report is an accurate

statement of the affairs of the above named respondent in respect to

the data set forth herein for the period from __________ to

__________.

Printed Name-----------------------------------------------------------

Position---------------------------------------------------------------

Signature--------------------------------------------------------------

Date-------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 2 Diskette Format and Coding Instructions

A. Media and File Name for Traffic Data Filed on Diskette

Data should be provided on 3\1/2\'' floppy diskettes formatted for

IBM or IBM compatible personal computers. Carriers serving more than

one United States point should provide one file for each point served.

All files may be included on the same diskette. The record files should

be named according to the following convention:

aaaaaaYY.436

where:

aaaaaa are 3 to 6 alpha characters that identify the filing entity

and U.S. point.

YY is the last two digits of the calendar year for which data are

being filed.

.436 is the file extension, (short for 43.61).

For example:

ATTVI91.436 might signify AT&T's Virgin Islands data for 1991

GRPHNT91.436 might signify Graphnet's complete filing for 1991

Carriers may file data in more than one file. All files may be

placed on the same diskette. Carriers filing multiple files should give

each file a unique name.

B. Record Formats

The data files may contain comment records and data records. A

comment record has a blank space (ASCII character 32 or `` '') in the

first position in the line, contains less than 132 characters, and ends

with a carriage return. Comment records can be used to provide

headings, formatting, and footnotes in the data file. A listing of the

data file can be used as the paper copy of the data for filing

purposes.

All data records must be provided using the record format set forth

herein. Each record shall consist of a string of ASCII characters.

Fields with ``character'' content should be left justified within the

stated field boundary and may contain the ASCII characters ``A''

through ``Z'', ``a'' through ``z'', ``,'', ``.'', ``-'', ``+'', ``/'',

``&'', ``#'', ``*'', ``!'', ``:'', ``;'', ``0'' through ``9'', and

blank spaces (ASCII character 32). Fields with ``number'' content

should be right justified within the field boundary, and may contain

the ASCII characters

``-'', ``0'' through ``9'' and leading blank spaces, but no commas,

decimal points, or other characters. The character ``-'' signifies a

negative value and should appear in the field to the left of the value.

Negative values are only possible for retained revenue, where the

settlement payout owed exceeded the billed revenue for a switched

service.

Each data record should contain the following fields:

[[Page 4928]]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justification within Field Record

Field Field contents field size positions

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Filing Carrier Name............. characters left 15 1-15

2. Year of data.................... numbers right 2 16-17

3. U.S. Point served............... numbers right 5 18-22

4. International Point or region... numbers right 5 23-27

5. Service code.................... numbers right 3 28-30

6. Footnote indicator.............. characters right 3 31-33

7. Description..................... characters left 36 34-69

8. Billing Code.................... numbers right 2 70-71

9. Data field #1................... numbers right 12 72-83

10. Data field #2................... numbers right 12 84-95

11. Data field #3................... numbers right 12 96-107

12. Data field #4................... numbers right 12 108-119

13. Data field #5................... numbers right 12 120-131

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The data fields are further described in Section 2-K below.

Data files can be created using standard editors, word processors

spreadsheet programs, data base programs and custom programs. For

example, to create a data file using a spreadsheet:

--Set the column widths to equal the field size shown above. Thus, the

first column would be 15 characters wide.

--Enter fields as using a ``label'' format, rather than using a

``numeric value'' format. Be careful not to include extra spaces at the

end of the line.

--Specify a generic or character oriented printer (the lotus 3.1

sequence would be rint rinter ptions dvanced evice

ame)

Note: the print file will be useless if you specify a graphics

printer or if you try to print in WYSIWYG mode.

--Set the left, top, and bottom margins to 0, set the right margin to

132. Set the page length to 1000 lines.

--Set the print range.

--Print to a ile, rather than to the actual hardware device, and

then o. Rename the resulting file using the naming conventions shown

above.

C. Filing Carrier Name Field

The filing carrier name should be between 3 and 15 characters. The

name field should appear on all data records filed by the carrier, and

should be identical for all records filed by the carrier.

D. Year of Data Field

This field should contain the last two digits of the year for which

data are being filed. For example, the July 31, 1992 filing will

contain data for 1991. Therefore, the year of data field would be

``91''. This would appear on every data record in the file.

E. U.S. Point Served Field

The U.S. Point served country code is used to indicate which United

States point is covered by the data record. The codes for United States

points are in the range 1001 to 1999, and are the country codes shown

in International Points. Contact the Industry Analysis Division if an

Off-shore U.S. point is not listed in the report. The Industry Analysis

Division will assign a country code for such points. All records in a

file must have the same U.S. point code.

F. International Point or Region Field

Where records contain data for traffic between a U.S. point and a

specific international point, the code for that international point

should be taken from International Points and entered in the

International Point field. For example, the code 1 in the international

point field would indicate that the record reports traffic between a

United States point and Abu Dhabi.

There is no miscellaneous or ``all other'' country code. All

traffic must be reported to a specific point. Country-by-country

traffic and revenue data for points in a region should total to the

amount reported for that region using region codes. Settlement and

traffic adjustments which cannot be tied to specific points should be

allocated to all appropriate points.

Data records will be rejected if the U.S point and international

point are both domestic points.

The international point code for region subtotal and world total

summary records should be as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For services 1 through 9,

International point code (record description field (record field

field #4) #7)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

9001................................ Western Europe.

9002................................ Africa.

9003................................ Middle East.

9004................................ Caribbean.

9005................................ North and Central America.

9006................................ South America.

9007................................ Asia.

9008................................ Oceania.

9009................................ Eastern Europe.

9010................................ Other Regions.

9999................................ World Total.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: Code 9010--Other Regions, covers Antarctica and Maritime

traffic.

Section 1-D of this manual explains which data must be filed on a

country-by-country basis, and which data need only be filed on a

summary basis. Facilities-based carriers must file regional and world

total traffic and revenue subtotals for each service that they provide.

However, country-by-country and region totals are not required for

smaller international points. See page 13 of the manual. In addition,

carriers must file separate world total traffic and revenue by U.S.

point for the pure resale traffic that they provide for the domestic

United States (Alaska, Hawaii, the conterminous U.S. and Puerto Rico)

and for each other U.S. point that they serve.

The international point code 9999 should be used if the record

contains world total data for a service. International point code 9999

is not a miscellaneous or ``all other'' code. This code represents a

total for all international traffic between a United States point and

the rest of the world. Where country-by-country data are filed, records

with international point code 9999 contain the totals of records with

the same U.S. region, service, and billing codes, and with

international point codes between 1 and 1999.

G. Service Code Field

The following service codes should be used:

1 International message telephone service

2 International message telegraph service

3 Telex Service

4 Private Line--Voice

[[Page 4929]]

5 Private Line--up to 1200 bits per second (bps)

6 Private Line--1201 bps to 9600 bps

7 Private Line--9601 bps to 30 Million bps (Mbps) or .01 Megahertz

to 18 Megahertz

8 Private Line--greater than 30 Mbps to 120 Mbps or greater than 18

Megahertz to 72 Megahertz

9 Private Line--greater than 120 Mbps or greater than 72 megahertz

99 New, Miscellaneous and Other Services

H. Footnote Code Field and Comment Records

The footnote code field should be used to indicate that the paper

copies of the 43.61 data, as well as comment records contained in the

data file, contain a footnote concerning the data record. The carrier

must include footnote text to explain the specific circumstances if any

data for the current period differs materially from that filed for the

previous period and the difference is not self-explanatory but was

caused by unusual circumstances not explained in a previous report. The

paper copies of the 43.61 data must include the text of the footnote.

These footnotes should be labeled sequentially from 1 to 999, and the

footnote should be included in the footnote code field in the data

record. Alpha numeric codes may be used only if the carrier needs to

provide more than 999 footnotes in the report.

Footnotes and other comments should be included in the data file as

comment records. Any record with a blank space (`` ``) in the first

position will be treated as a comment record. Please note that some

word processors and spreadsheet programs will insert leading spaces

when files are printed to diskette. If this occurs, you will need to

use an editor to manually delete the spaces.

I. Description Field

For service codes 1 through 9, this field should contain the name

of the international point or world region. The name should be

identical to the international point name published in International

Points. Region names are shown in section 2-F above.

For service code 99, this field should be used to identify the

service provided. This field is critical because the carrier may use

service code 99 for several different types of service. Records with

service code 99 will not be accepted unless there are at least 10

characters other than blank spaces in the service description field.

The service should be fully described in the paper copy of the section

43.61 filing and in comment fields.

All records pertaining to the same Other International Service

should have identical service descriptions in this field. The following

standardized names should be employed to report other international

services.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service Service name (include in field #7) Traffic measures

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Packet switching service...... Packet Switching.................................... (1) Kilo segments.

Occasional use television-- Occasional Television............................... (1) Hours.

short term arrangements to

facilitate transmission of

television signals.

Switched Video................ Switched Video...................................... (1) Sessions.

(2) Minutes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

J. Billing Code Field

The billing code indicates whether the record contains facilities-

based, facilities resale, or pure resale data. Facilities based codes

are from 1 to 4, facilities resale codes are from 11 to 14, and the

pure resale code is 21. The billing code indicates whether the traffic

and revenue information are for U.S billed, foreign billed, or

transiting service. Billing codes are shown on page 18 of the manual.

Facilities-based private line service will be reported with bill code

1. Facilities resale private line service will be reported with billing

code 11.

K. Data elements #1 Through #5

There are five data element fields, each of which is 12 characters

wide. These fields should contain right justified integer values with

no commas, periods, or other punctuation marks. Revenue should be

rounded to the nearest dollar. The contents of the data field will vary

depending on the type of service. Section 1-F describes the precise

types of information that must be provided. The following figure

summarizes the requirements:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service code Data field #1 Data field #2 Data field #3 Data field #4 Data field #5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1............ Messages*......... Minutes........... Billed & Settlement Retained Revenue.

Settlement Payments.

Revenue**.

2............ Messages*......... Words............. Billed & Settlement Retained Revenue.

Settlement Payments.

Revenue**.

3............ Messages*......... Minutes........... Billed & Settlement Retained Revenue.

Settlement Payments.

Revenue**.

4-9.......... Leased Circuits... Voice Equivalent Revenue........... (no data)......... (no data).

Circuits.

10........... Messages*......... Minutes........... Billed Revenue.... Settlement Retained Revenue.

Payments.

99........... Volume Measure***. Volume Measure***. Billed & Settlement Retained Revenue.

Settlement Payments if

Revenue**. appropriate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Messages can be omitted for transiting traffic. Minutes can be omitted for transiting traffic in the public

filing.

** Records for U.S. Billed traffic will contain billed revenue. Records for Foreign Billed traffic will contain

settlement amounts due from foreign corespondents. Transiting records may combine both billed revenue and

settlement amounts due.

*** Volume measures have been specified for some Other International Services. See section 1-C-5 and the table

on page 34 of the manual. For other services reported with Service Code 99, use the volume and revenue

measures that are most appropriate. See Section 1-F-3. Comment records in the file must indicate the volume

and revenue measures provided.

BILLING CODE 6712-01-U

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMMITTED] TR09FE96.011

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMMITTED] TR09FE96.012

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMMITTED] TR09FE96.013

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMMITTED] TR09FE96.014

BILLING CODE 6712-01-C

[[Page 4934]]

Section 3 Simplified Instructions for Pure Resale Carriers

This section details the filing requirements for pure resale

traffic and is intended to be a stand alone manual for pure resellers

of switched services. Pure resale services are not provided to the

public over the reseller's international channels of communications,

but instead are provided by reselling switched communications service

of other international carriers. Pure resellers may own switching

equipment as well as domestic circuits.

A. Definitions and Data To Be Filed

Each pure reseller must file world total traffic and revenue data

for each service that it provides. Pure resellers may consolidate pure

resale traffic for domestic U.S. points (the Conterminous United

States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico). Pure resellers must file

separate data for each additional U.S. point served, i.e. American

Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston

Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana

Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Wake Island and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

International Message Telephone, International Message Telegraph,

Telex, and Miscellaneous or Other services can be offered on a pure

resale basis. International Message Telephone Service includes call-

back service, hot line service, and other resale services where the

point of origin for the call differs from the billing location.

``Call-back'' refers to an arrangement in which a customer in a

foreign country uses foreign facilities to dial a preassigned telephone

number in the United States. The call is not completed, but the

presence of signaling information triggers a call back to the customer,

who receives a dial tone from the U.S. carrier's switch. The customer

can then place a call via outbound switched service of the U.S.

carrier. Three separate calls have been placed: an unanswered call

placed by the customer; a call back to the customer placed by the

carrier; and a call to number then requested by the customer. The final

call either terminates at a U.S. telephone or physically transits the

United States. The customer that initiates the call-back is billed by

the U.S. carrier. Typically, the call-back carrier provides the service

by reselling the international services of other U.S. carriers. The

underlying carrier will bill the call-back carrier for the call that

goes from the call-back carrier switch to the customer, and for the

call that goes from the call-back carrier to the ultimate call

destination. The Commission has granted a 214 application to provide

this service. VIA USA, Ltd et al. 9 FCC Rcd 2288 (1994).

In offering a ``hot line'' arrangement, the U.S. carrier

continuously places calls to the telephone of a subscriber located

outside the United States. The called party's telephone has a

disconnected ringer. When the called party wants to access a U.S. dial

tone to place an international call, he or she simply picks up the

receiver and ``answers'' one of several thousand continuous calls made

to that particular phone during the day and receives a dial tone at the

U.S. carrier's location. The U.S. carrier completes and bills the call.

Traffic and revenue totals should not include traffic between

domestic U.S. points. Traffic and revenue totals should be based on

amounts billed to customers with no allowance for uncollectibles.

However, unbillable traffic should not be included. Revenue amounts

should reflect all discounts attributable to international service.

Traffic and revenue totals should be based on service actually provided

during the reporting year, regardless of when the traffic was actually

billed. Revenue should not include taxes shown on customer bills.

Pure resellers providing message telephone service must also

provide a list of the countries where calls terminated during the

reporting year. Table 5 of International Points used for FCC Reporting

Purposes is a check list that can be used for this purpose. Carriers

serving a domestic U.S. point should not check off other domestic U.S.

points, since the traffic totals should exclude traffic between

domestic U.S. points. The report should also contain any additional

data or information that the carrier deems relevant or necessary to

understanding the data it is required to file. In addition to providing

the points served, pure resale carriers must file the following data

for each service that they provide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service Traffic data

------------------------------------------------------------------------

International message telephone service... World totals by billing

type: messages, minutes,

and carrier revenues.

International message telegraph service... World totals by billing

type: messages, words, and

carrier revenues.

International telex service............... World total by billing type:

messages, words, and

carrier revenues.

Each other international services......... World total by billing type:

messages, minutes, words,

kilo segments, sessions,

contracts, and carrier

revenues as appropriate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Filing Procedures

Section 43.61(a) directs carriers to file reports by July 31,

reporting service actually provided in the preceding calendar year.

Section 43.61(c) provides that carriers shall submit a revised report

by October 31 identifying and correcting errors in the July 31 filing.

Carriers do not need to file revised data where corrected figures are

within five percent of the figures filed in the July 31 filing. The

five percent guideline covers fluctuations in traffic or revenue totals

due to corrections and true-ups that occur during the billing and

settlement process. This exception is not intended to cover instances

where carriers discover that they have filed erroneous data due to

procedural mistakes made while preparing section 43.61 reports.

The following schedule details the number of copies required and

the location to which those copies should be delivered. This schedule

applies to the July 31 and October 31 filings.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Certification and

Mailing address Transmittal letter report*

------------------------------------------------------------------------

FCC Secretary, Mail Stop 1170, Original.......... .................

1919 M Street, NW., Washington,

DC 20554.

FCC Common Carrier Bureau 2 copies.......... Original and 1

Industry Analysis Division, Mail copy.

Stop 1600 F, 1919 M Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20554.

The FCC's Contract Copier**, Room 1 copy............ 1 copy.

246, 1919 M Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20037.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Pure resale traffic need not be filed on diskette.

**Currently International Transcription Services, Inc.

The transmittal letter should identify the name of the carrier, the

date of the filing, and should state that Section 43.61 data has been

filed with the Common Carrier Bureau Industry Analysis Division and the

Commission's

[[Page 4935]]

current contract copier. The original of the transmittal letter should

be filed with the Secretary of the FCC. Copies of the transmittal

letter should be filed with the Industry Analysis Division and the

Commission's current contract copier.

Carriers must certify the accuracy of the data submitted in FCC

Report 43.61 by including a signed certification statement as the last

page of the paper report. The statement must be signed by an officer of

the reporting carrier. An officer is a person who occupies a position

specified in the articles of incorporation (or partnership agreement),

and would typically be president, vice president for operations, vice-

president for finance, comptroller, treasurer or a comparable position.

If the carrier is a sole proprietorship the owner must sign the

certification. The original and one copy of the certification statement

should be filed with the Industry Analysis Division. One copy of the

certification should be filed with the Commission's current contract

copier.

For additional information, comments or suggestions, contact the

Common Carrier Bureau's, Industry Analysis Division (202) 418-0940.

The certification statement is included below:

Certification

I certify that I am an officer of ____________________; that I

have examined the foregoing report and that to the best of my

knowledge, information and belief, all statements of fact contained

in this report are true and that said report is an accurate

statement of the affairs of the above named respondent in respect to

the data set forth herein for the period from __________ to

__________.

Printed Name-----------------------------------------------------------

Position---------------------------------------------------------------

Signature--------------------------------------------------------------

Date-------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Sample 43.61 Report for a Pure Resale Company

IAD International

International Traffic and Revenue Report for 1994 Filed Pursuant to

Section 43.61 of the Commission's Rules

International Message Telephone Service provided on a pure resale

basis, including Call-back type service.

I. Traffic originated from U.S. Domestic Points [does not include

traffic between U.S. domestic points].

A. Served: Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Conterminous United

States.

B. International points served are attached.

C. Traffic Data consolidated for Domestic U.S. points: Messages,

21,000,258; Minutes, 28,208,890; and Billed Revenue, $16,003,920.

II. Traffic originated from U.S. Virgin Islands.

A. International points served are attached.

B. Traffic Data: Messages, 258; Minutes, 890; and Billed Revenue,

$920.

D. Example Check Sheet for International Points Served

This Check Sheet was taken from Table 5 of ``International Points

Used for FCC Reporting (Check Alaska, Conterminous U.S., Hawaii, or

Puerto Rico ONLY if you are reporting service for non-domestic U.S.

points.)

3... Afghanistan 384 Czech Republic 158 Kiribati

1005. Alaska 81 Denmark 159 Korea, North

6.... Albania 82 Djibouti 160 Korea, South

8... Algeria 83 Dominica 161 Kuwait

1009. American Samoa 84 Dominican Republic 162 Kyrgyzstan

10... Andorra 87 Ecuador 163 Laos

12... Angola 88 Egypt 164 Latvia

13... Anguilla 89 El Salvador 165 Lebanon

14... Antarctica 91 Equatorial Guinea 166 Lesotho

15... Antigua and Barbuda 93 Estonia 167 Liberia

16... Argentina 94 Ethiopia 168 Libya

17... Armenia 98 Fiji 169 Liechtenstein

8.... Aruba 99 Finland 171 Lithuania

20... Australia 101 France 173 Luxembourg

21... Austria 103 French Guiana 174 Macau

22... Azerbaijan 102 French Overseas Departm 176 Madagascar

24... Bahamas, The 104 French Polynesia 179 Malawi

25... Bahrain 354 French Southern and Ant 180 Malaysia

1026. Baker Island 106 Gabon 181 Maldives

28... Bangladesh 108 Gambia, The 182 Mali

29... Barbados 111 Georgia 183 Malta

50... Belarus 112 Germany 185 Maritime--Atlantic

31... Belgium 114 Ghana 186 Maritime-other oceans

32... Belize 115 Gibraltar 187 Maritime--Pacific

33... Benin 118 Greece 188 Marshall Islands

35... Bermuda 120 Greenland 190 Mauritania

36... Bhutan 121 Grenada 191 Mauritius

37... Bolivia 123 Guadeloupe 194 Mexico

40... Bosnia and Herzegovina 1124 Guam 195 Micronesia

41... Botswana 127 Guatemala 1196 Midway Atoll

43... Brazil 129 Guinea 197 Moldova

44... Brunei 130 Guinea-Bissau 199 Mongolia

46... Bulgaria 131 Guyana 202 Montserrat

47... Burkina 132 Haiti 203 Morocco

48... Burma 1133 Hawaii 205 Mozambique

49... Burundi 136 Honduras 207 Namibia

[[Page 4936]]

52... Cambodia 137 Hong Kong 208 Nauru

53... Cameroon 1138 Howland Island 1374 Navassa Island

54... Canada 139 Hungary 209 Nepal

55... Canary Island 140 Iceland 210 Netherlands

56... Cape Verde 141 India 211 Netherlands Antilles

58... Cayman Islands 142 Indonesia 213 Caledonia

59... Central African Republi 143 Iran 217 New Zealand

61... Chad 144 Iraq 219 Nicaragua

350.. Chagos Archipelago 145 Ireland 220 Niger

63... Chile 148 Israel 221 Nigeria

64... China 149 Italy 222 Niue

68... Colombia 150 Jamaica 223 Norfolk Island

69... Comoros 151 Japan 1363 Northern Mariana Island

70... Congo 1369 Jarvis Island 226 Norway

71... Cook Islands 1153 Johnston Atoll 230 Oman

74... Costa Rica 154 Jordan 231 Pacific Islands (Palau)

75... Cote d'Ivoire 52 Kampuchea 232 Pakistan

76... Croatia 156 Kazakhstan 1234 Palmyra Atoll

77... Cuba 157 Kenya 235 Panama

79... Cyprus 1371 Kingman Reef 237 Papua New Guinea

238.. Paraguay 332 Vanuatu

239.. Peru 334 Venezuela

241.. Philippines 335 Vietnam

244.. Poland 337 Virgin Islands, British

245.. Portugal 1338 Wake Island

1247. Puerto Rico 340 Wallis and Futuna

248.. Qatar 343 Western Sahara

253.. Reunion 344 Western Samoa

254.. Romania 345 Yemen

257.. Russia 347 Zaire

258.. Rwanda 348 Zambia

264.. Saint Helena 349 Zimbabwe

265.. Saint Kitts and Nevis

266.. Saint Lucia

269.. Saint Pierre and Miquel

270.. Saint Vincent and the G

277.. Sao Tome and Principe

279.. Saudi Arabia

281.. Senegal

282.. Serbia

283.. Seychelles

286.. Sierra Leone

287.. Singapore

385.. Slovakia

289.. Slovenia

290.. Solomon Islands

291.. Somalia

292.. South Africa

293.. Spain

294.. Sri Lanka

295.. Sudan

296.. Suriname

298.. Swaziland

299.. Sweden

300.. Switzerland

301.. Syria

303.. Taiwan

304.. Tajikistan

305.. Tanzania

307.. Thailand

310.. Togo

312.. Tonga

315.. Trinidad and Tobago

316.. Tunisia

317.. Turkey

318.. Turkmenistan

319.. Turks and Caicos Island

320.. Tuvalu

321.. Uganda

322.. Ukraine

325.. United Arab Emirates

326.. United Kingdom

1327. United States (contermi)

[[Page 4937]]

328.. Uruguay

330.. Uzbekistan

1331. U.S. Virgin Islands

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-2615 Filed 2-8-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712-01-U