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 11-1715
Release Date:  October 14, 2011
FCC ANNOUNCES AGENDA FOR 
OCTOBER 18 RURAL CALL COMPLETION WORKSHOP 
Washington, D.C. – In a September 26, 2011 News Release, the Commission announced the creation of 
the Rural Call Completion Task Force to investigate and address the growing problem of calls to rural 
customers that are being delayed or that fail to connect.  The Release noted that the Task Force would 
hold a workshop on October 18 to identify specific causes of the problem and to discuss potential 
solutions with key stakeholders.  The Agenda for the workshop follows.
RURAL CALL COMPLETION WORKSHOP AGENDA
9:15 am Opening Remarks
9:30 – 10:30 am Panel One:  Rural Call Completion Problems - Causes and Effects
Moderator:  
· Jeff Goldthorp, Associate Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security 
Bureau, FCC
Discussion Topics:
· Analysis of symptoms and scope of problem based upon data collected
· Effects on customers
· Possible causes, including roles of least-cost routing, wireless call quality, 
IP-based technology interoperability, and incidence of intentional call 
blocking
Panelists:
· Robert Gnapp, NECA 
· Fritz Hendricks, Onvoy Voice Services 
· Denny Law, Golden West Telecommunications 
· Dave Lewis, ANPI / Zone Telecom 
· Kim Meola, AT&T Services, Inc. 
· Dale Merten, Toledo Telephone
· Tami Spocogee, PAETEC 
10:30 – 10:45 am Question and Answer Session with Panel 
10:45 – 11:00 am Break 
2
11:00 – 12:00 pm Panel Two:  How Can Rural Call Completion Problems be Addressed?
Moderator: 
· Deena Shetler, Associate Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau, FCC
Discussion Topics:
· Facilitating information sharing among carriers
· Least cost routing contracts requirements
· Industry-consensus solutions including best practices, interoperability and 
performance profiles, and new technical standards
· Possible regulatory solutions
Panelists:
· Scott Booth, Verizon 
· Jill Canfield, NTCA 
· Martin Corso, TDS Telecommunications Corp. 
· Penn Pfautz, AT&T Services, Inc. 
· Rick Ratliff, Sprint 
12:00 – 12:15 pm Question and Answer Session with Panel
The workshop will be held in the Commission Meeting Room (TWC-305), 445 12th Street, S.W., 
Washington, D.C. and will be open to the public; however, admission will be limited to the seating 
available.  Those attending are encouraged to pre-register by sending an email with their name, title, 
organization affiliation and contact information to RuralCall@fcc.gov.
The workshop will be webcast live at http://fcc.gov/live/ and questions during the event can be emailed to 
RuralCall@fcc.gov. The workshop can also be replayed later at http://www.fcc.gov/events/past.  Further 
details on this workshop can be found at http://www.fcc.gov/events/rural-call-completion-workshop.
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request.  The request should 
include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and contact information.  We ask that 
requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible in order to allow the agency to satisfy such 
requests whenever possible.  Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), or (202) 418-0432 (tty).
Further questions regarding the workshop can be directed to Myrva Charles in the Competition Policy 
Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-1506 (voice), myrva.charles@fcc.gov.
- FCC -