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 14-1726 Release Date: November 28, 2014 WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU ANNOUNCES UPDATED LIST OF RURAL AND NONRURAL OCNs FOR RURAL CALL COMPLETION REPORTING WC Docket No. 13-39 On November 8, 2013, the Commission released the Rural Call Completion Order,1 which adopted rules that require, among other things, originating long-distance providers to submit to the Commission in electronic form once per calendar quarter the monthly data on calls attempted to rural LECs as identified by operating company number (OCN) and the nonrural LEC monthly overall data.2 In accordance with our rules,3 the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. (NECA) has provided an updated list of rural and nonrural OCNs on its website at the following URL: https://neca.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=11187&libID=11207.4 The NECA OCN lists are provided to facilitate compliance with the recordkeeping, retention, and reporting required by our rules. The OCN lists do not amend or limit the generally applicable prohibition on call blocking.5 Some providers have recently raised questions about obligations concerning calls delivered to rural competitive LECs that are affiliated with rural incumbent LECs, or to other LECs 1 Rural Call Completion, WC Docket No. 13-39, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 28 FCC Rcd 16154 (2013) (Rural Call Completion Order or Order). See also Rural Call Completion, WC Docket No. 13-39, Order on Reconsideration, FCC 14-175 (rel. Nov. 13, 2014). 2 47 C.F.R. § 64.2105. 3 47 C.F.R. § 64.2101(h). 4 The list may also be found by visiting https://www.neca.org/Call_Completion_Issues.aspx and clicking “ILEC OCN List” on the lower left of the page. Overall Company Codes (OCC) and Combined Entity Company Codes (CECC) have been provided for certain OCNs to assist providers in allocating call attempts to the OCN used for reporting purposes. 5 See Developing a Unified Intercarrier Compensation Regime, Establishing Just and Reasonable Rates for Local Exchange Carriers, CC Docket No. 01-92, WC Docket No. 07-135, Declaratory Ruling, 27 FCC Rcd 1351, 1356 paras. 11-12 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2012) (stating that failure to complete calls to certain areas “compromise[s] the integrity and reliability of the PSTN and the effectiveness (and universality) of interconnected networks by effectively blocking, choking, reducing, or otherwise restricting traffic to particular locations”); see also Connect America Fund, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 26 FCC Rcd 17663, 18029, para. 974 (2011) (Universal Service/Intercarrier Compensation Reform Order), aff’d sub nom. In re FCC 11-161, 753 F.3d 1015 (10th Cir. 2014) (prohibiting blocking of voice traffic to or from the PSTN by VoIP providers). 2whose OCNs do not appear on the NECA rural OCN list.6 We remind providers that the prohibition against call blocking extends equally to all calls, regardless of whether the destination OCN appears on the NECA list of rural OCNs. For further information, please contact Richard Hovey, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-2582 or Richard.Hovey@fcc.gov. - FCC - 6 See, e.g., Letter from Nicholas G. Alexander, Senior Counsel, Federal Affairs, Level 3, on behalf of CenturyLink, Level 3, and Verizon, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WC Docket No. 13-39 (filed Nov. 14, 2014).