PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 10-1171 June 25, 2010 WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU ANNOUNCES JULY 29, 2010 PAYPHONE DIAL-AROUND COMPENSATION PROCESS WORKSHOP Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau today announced it will convene a workshop to encourage industry representatives and other interested parties to discuss ways to streamline and improve the dial-around compensation process for payphone calls. The event will be held on Thursday, July 29, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (eastern daylight time) in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th St., S.W., Washington, D.C. The American Public Communications Council, Inc. has identified numerous problems with current methods of collecting compensation for payphone services. In particular, payphone providers report difficulty collecting revenues they are owed primarily by interexchange carriers for “dial-around” calls. Dial-around occurs when a caller uses an access code or toll-free number to make a coinless call from a payphone. Dial-around compensation, which is owed to the payphone provider for such calls, can represent 30-50 percent of a payphone provider’s revenue. We understand that failure to collect fair compensation for these calls can negatively impact payphone providers’ ability to compete against other types of telephone service providers, and may decrease the potential for innovation in public telephone services overall. On the other hand, we have also been told that in some instances local exchange and interexchange carriers have been asked to pay for calls they believe they are not required to pay. We note that the Commission’s rules require that only “completing carriers” must compensate payphone providers, and only for “completed calls.” Payphones continue to serve an important role, particularly in times of emergency and for consumers who do not have access to other wireline or wireless telephone service. The workshop will help the Commission and others gain a better understanding of the challenges facing the industry and how to improve the dial-around compensation process. Payphone providers, local exchange carriers and interexchange carriers, organizations representing these entities, and other interested parties are encouraged to participate. Participants are encouraged to discuss their experience with the current collection process and make suggestions for how to speed and otherwise improve that process, including the potential costs and benefits associated with such changes. The workshop is the beginning of a dialogue that participants will be encouraged to continue after the close of the workshop, and to update the Bureau within 90 days after the workshop about the results of such discussions. If there is agreement among various industry members about approaches or enhancements, the parties may be able to implement those changes without further action or approval by the Commission. To the extent that recommendations would require further action on the part of the Commission, we will consider such suggestions and then determine the appropriate next steps. Registration is encouraged but not required. To register, please contact Myrva Charles, in the Wireline Competition Bureau, at 202-418-1506 or email her at myrva.charles@fcc.gov. 2 Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. The request should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and contact information. Please provide as much advance notice as possible; last minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. Send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202- 418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). - FCC -