PRICING POLICY DIVISION
The Pricing Policy Division is responsible for administering the provisions
of the Communications Act requiring that the charges, practices, classifications,
and regulations of common carriers providing interstate and foreign services
are just and reasonable. The Division develops competitive pricing policies
and rules for the retail and wholesale interstate rates charged by price-cap
carriers and rate-of-return carriers; the intercarrier compensation rates
that carriers charge each other; and the rates for resale of local exchange
services, unbundled network elements and interconnection that incumbent carriers
charge competitive carriers. The Division also ensures compliance with Commission
pricing rules and conducts formal or informal investigations of carrier charges,
practices, classifications and regulations, and recommends appropriate action.
The Division also develops rules and polices relating to the Uniform System
of Accounts, affiliate transactions, regulated/non-regulated cost allocations,
and depreciation rates. In conjunction with the Competition Policy Division,
this Division reviews applications from Bell operating companies for authority
to provide in-region interLATA services.
4/24/2009 Public Notice: Pleading Cycle Established For Iowa Telecommunications Services, Inc., Petition For Waiver Of The Section 61.41 Of The Commission's Rules. (DA No. 09-581). (Dkt No 09-25). Comments Due: 05/15/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/26/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]
4/24/2009 Public Notice: Comments Sought On Hawaiian Telcom, Inc. Petition For Waiver Of Section 61.42(G) Of The Commission's Rules. Comments Due: 05/14/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/26/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]
4/24/2009 Public Notice: Comments Sought On AT&T Petition For Waiver Of Section 61.42(G) Of The Commission's Rules. Comments Due: 05/14/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/26/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]
4/24/2009 Public Notice: Annual Adjustment Of Revenue Thresholds. [Word] [Acrobat]
4/17/2009 Order: Centurytel, Inc. Petition For Conversion To Price Cap Regulation And Limited Waiver Relief. Granted price cap conversion request. (Dkt No. 08-191). [Word] [Acrobat]
4/17/2009 Order: ACS Petition For Conversion To Price Cap Regulation And Limited Waiver Relief. Granted price cap conversion request. (Dkt No. 08-220). [Word] [Acrobat]
4/3/2009 Public Notice: Comment Cycle Established For Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Separations Freeze Extension. (Dkt No 80-286). Comments Due: 04/17/2009. Reply Comments Due: 04/24/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]
3/26/2009 Order: Procedures for the 2009 filing of annual access charge tariffs and Tariff Review Plans for incumbent local exchange carriers subject to price cap regulation and those ILECs subject to section 61.38 of the Commission's Rules. WCB/Pricing File No. 09-02 [Word] [Acrobat]
3/26/2009 Order: Tariff Review Plans regarding the 2009 Annual Access Charge Tariff Filings. Sets forth the Tariff Review Plans that all incumbent local exchange carriers should file to support the annual revisions to the rates in their interstate access service tariffs. WCB/Pricing File No. 09-03 [Word] [Acrobat] [TRP Short Form] [TRP Long Form] [Rate of Return]
3/26/2009 Public Notice: Annual Files Update
Cost Allocation Manual Revision. Comments Due: 04/27/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/12/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]
3/5/2009 Letter: Request For Clarification Of RAO 21 With Respect To Installation Of Emergency Standalone Routers In Remote Terminals. Clarified that the installation of emergency standalone routing capability at a terminal classified as a remote concentrator prior to installation of such capability shall not alter the classification of that terminal or location as a remote terminal. (Dkt No. 08-235). [Word] [Acrobat]
2/25/2009 Public Notice: Pleading Cycle Established For Petition Of BLUE CASA Communications, Inc., For Declaratory Ruling Concerning Intercarrier Compensation For ISP-Bound VNXX Traffic. (DA No. 09-467). (Dkt No 09-8). Comments Due: 03/12/2009. Reply Comments Due: 03/23/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]
2/2/2009 Public Notice: Petition Of Verizon New England For Forbearance. Extended the forbearance date to May 15, 2009. (Dkt No. 08-24). [Word] [Acrobat]
1/30/2009 Public Notice: National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc'S Proposed 2009 Modification Of Average Schedule Formulas. (Dkt No 08-248). Comments Due: 02/17/2009. Reply Comments Due: 02/27/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]
1/21/2009 Order: Feature Group IP Petition For Forbearance From Section 251 (G) Of The Communications Act And Section 51.701(B)(1) And 69.5(B) Of The Commission's Rules. Denied a petition filed by Feature Group IP requesting that the Commission forbear from section 251(g) of the Communications Act and sections 51.701(b)(1) and 69.5(b). (Dkt No. 07-256). [Word] [Acrobat]
[Word] [Acrobat]
1/9/2009 Order: Petition Of The Embarq Local Operating Companies For Limited Forbearance Under 47 U.S.C. Section 160(C) From Enforcement Of Rule 69.5(A), ET AL. Extended by 90 days Embarq's Forbearance Deadline. (Dkt No. 08-8). [Word] [Acrobat]
Pricing Flexibility
In the Access Charge Reform Fifth Report and Order, the Commission
established the parameters for granting flexibility in the pricing of interstate
access services by incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) subject to price
cap regulation. The pricing flexibility framework the Commission adopted
in the Access Charge Reform Fifth Report and Order is designed to
grant greater flexibility to price cap LECs as competition develops, while
ensuring that: (1) price cap LECs do not use pricing flexibility to deter
efficient entry or engage in exclusionary pricing behavior; and (2) price
cap LECs do not increase rates to unreasonable levels for customers that
lack competitive alternatives. In addition, the reforms were designed to
facilitate the removal of services from price cap regulation as competition
develops in the marketplace, without imposing undue administrative burdens
on the Commission or the industry.
The Wireline Competition Bureau has released several orders granting petitions
of price cap LECs seeking pricing flexibility in accordance with the rules
adopted in the Access Charge Reform Fifth Report and Order.
CALLS MADE FROM PAYPHONES
Section 276 of the Act directs the Commission to take a number of actions
to promote competition among payphone services and the widespread deployment
of payphone services to the general public. The FCC has taken steps also
to ensure fair compensation to payphone service providers for each and every
call placed from payphones.
A payphone service provider is the person or entity who owns the payphone
instrument, such as the local telephone company, an independent company,
or the owner of the premises where the payphone is located. [Consumer Fact Sheet]
Quick EDOCS / ECFS Search |
If you know the FCC reference number for a particular Commission item released
in 2000 or later, e.g. FCC 00-29, DA 02-222, you can use this quick search
by selecting the appropriate type under "EDOCS" and specifying the output
type. Docket and rulemaking numbers (e.g., Docket 99-25) released since approximately
1990 can be searched by selecting the appropriate type under ECFS (no document
type needed). Not all documents may be available using this limited search.
Selecting "EDOCS" or "ECFS" + Search will take you to the search pages for
these systems.
|