Federal Communications Commission DA 17-917
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Telephone Number Portability
Numbering Resource Optimization
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CC Docket No. 95-116
CC Docket No. 99-200
ORDER
Adopted:  September 21, 2017 Released:  September 21, 2017
By the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau:
1. On September 18, 2017, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department 
of Homeland Security, declared the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico a major disaster due to Hurricane 
Maria.
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  Hurricane Maria is moving through the Caribbean, striking the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto 
Rico.
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  Hurricane Maria has caused significant damage in the areas within its path, including storm surge, 
wind damage, and flooding, and has resulted in significant property damage and personal injury.  It has
also caused substantial service disruptions and outages in telephone service in all areas it has affected.
Hurricane Jose is moving up the East Coast of the United States, and although not expected to make 
landfall, sustained winds and rainfall could cause significant damage, flooding, and service disruptions.
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In an effort to assist the telecommunications industry as it restores service in the affected areas, we grant, 
on our own motion, a temporary waiver of the Commission’s rule for aging telephone numbers for 
residential customers in those areas declared a major disaster due to Hurricane Maria and possibly 
Hurricane Jose,
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and the numbering administrators that support them, to deviate from section 52.15(f)(ii) 
of the Commission’s rules regarding number assignments.  Section 52.15(f)(ii) of the Commission’s rules 
allows carriers to age numbers for no more than 90 days before making them available for assignment to 
                                                     
1
See FEMA, President Donald J. Trump Signs Emergency Declaration for Puerto Rico (Sept. 18, 2017), 
https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2017/09/18/president-donald-j-trump-signs-emergency-declaration-puerto-rico; 
see also FEMA, President Donald J. Trump Signs Emergency Declaration for the U.S. Virgin Islands (Sept. 18, 
2017), https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2017/09/18/president-donald-j-trump-signs-emergency-declaration-us-
virgin-islands.  Currently, no emergency declarations have been declared as a result of Hurricane Jose.  
Nevertheless, if such declarations are made, this Order will apply to those states as well.
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NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Maria, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at5.shtml?cone#contents  
(last visited Sept. 21, 2017).
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NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Jose, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?cone#contents
(last visited Sept. 21, 2017).
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See 47 C.F.R. § 52.15(f)(ii) (“Aging numbers are disconnected numbers that are not available for assignment to 
another end user or customer for a specified period of time. Numbers previously assigned to residential customers 
may be aged for no more than 90 days.”)
Federal Communications Commission DA 17-917
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other customers.
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  If territories or states were previously covered in a prior waiver order, this order 
supplements that order and extends the waiver time period.
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2. Section 1.3 of our rules authorizes the Commission to suspend, revoke, amend, or waive a 
Commission rule for good cause shown.
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  In order to promote the maintenance and rebuilding of 
communities affected by Hurricanes Maria, and communities that may be affected by Hurricane Jose, and 
to facilitate continued access to telecommunications services for disaster victims, it is in the public interest 
to temporarily waive section 52.15(f)(ii) of the Commission’s rules.  That rule requires service providers to 
age numbers for no more than 90 days before making the numbers available for reassignment.  Waiver of 
section 52.15(f)(ii) will allow carriers in the affected areas, upon customers’ request, to disconnect 
temporarily customers’ telephone service to avoid billing issues, and then reinstate the same numbers
when service is reconnected in those areas. This waiver applies to all companies that provide service in 
the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and in any states declared states of emergency as a result of 
Hurricanes Maria and Jose. This waiver is in effect immediately and for a nine-month period, expiring on
June 20, 2018.  If service providers are unable to resume service on a normal basis after this period, they 
may request additional relief from the Wireline Competition Bureau.  
3. Also, because of substantial damage to telecommunications systems we expect to be caused by 
Hurricane Maria, and possibly by Hurricane Jose, to areas within their paths, we recognize that customers 
in the affected rate centers may desire to port numbers to locations outside those rate centers.  Therefore, 
during this period of service interruption, we encourage service providers to port telephone numbers 
geographically outside a rate center to the extent it is technically feasible.  We also encourage all providers 
in the areas affected by Hurricane Maria, and those possibly affected by Hurricane Jose, to waive call 
forwarding, message center, and voicemail service charges for affected customers, to the extent lawfully 
permitted, until the customers’ service is restored.   
4. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 4(i), 251(b)(2), and 251(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 251(b)(2) and 251(e), and sections 0.291 
and 1.3 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 0.291, 1.3, that section 52.15(f)(ii), 47 C.F.R. § 52.15(f)(ii), 
is waived to the extent herein described herein. 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Kris A. Monteith
Chief
Wireline Competition Bureau
                                                     
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See id.
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See Telephone Number Portability; Numbering Resource Optimization Order, CC Docket No. 95-116; CC Docket 
No. 99-200, Order, DA 17-852 (WCB Sept. 6, 2017).
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47 CFR § 1.3.  This rule provides that “[a]ny provision of the rules may be waived by the Commission on its own 
motion or on petition if good cause therefore is shown.”  Id.