Federal Communications Commission	"FCC/DA  XX-XXX"



DA 18-1041
Released:  October 10, 2018

WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU REMINDS PROVIDERS OF NUMBERING WAIVER DURING HURRICANE SEASON
CC Docket No. 95-116; 99-200

On October 9, 2018, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, announced that the President signed an emergency declaration for Florida due to emergency conditions in areas affected by Hurricane Michael. See FEMA, President Donald J. Trump Signs Emergency Declaration for Florida (Oct. 9, 2018), https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2018/10/09/president-donald-j-trump-signs-emergency-declaration-florida (last visited Oct. 10, 2018).
  Hurricane Michael is hitting the Gulf Coast with life-threatening storm surge, hurricane force winds and heavy rainfall.  As a result, Hurricane Michael is expected to cause substantial telephone service outages in all areas in its path.  We therefore take this opportunity to remind providers and their customers that we have granted a temporary waiver of the Commission’s telephone number “aging” rule for areas covered by emergency declarations during the 2018 hurricane season. Telephone Number Portability et al., CC Docket Nos. 95-116 and 99-200, Order, DA 18-951 (WCB Sept. 14, 2018), 2018 WL 4404051. 
  Service providers in the affected areas may, upon customers’ request, disconnect temporarily customers’ telephone service to avoid billing issues, and then reinstate the customers’ same numbers when service is reconnected.  The waiver is applicable for nine months, and for areas of Florida affected by Hurricane Michael will expire on July 9, 2019. If the President signs emergency declarations for other states affected by Hurricane Michael, this waiver will expire 9 months from the date those emergency declarations were signed.
 
Also, because of the high likelihood of substantial damage to telecommunications systems in Hurricane Michael’s path, customers in the affected areas may wish to port numbers to locations outside their rate centers.  To facilitate their customers’ continued access to telecommunications service following the hurricane, we once again encourage service providers to port telephone numbers geographically outside a rate center to the extent it is technically feasible.  We also encourage service providers in the areas affected by Hurricane Michael to waive call forwarding, message center, and voicemail service charges for affected customers, to the extent lawfully permitted, until the customers’ service is restored.   
–  FCC – 
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