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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  Contact:  David  Fiske 
 May  7,  2001  (202)  418-  0513 


 FCC  CHAIRMAN  POWELL  RECOMMENDS  INCREASED  FCC 
 ENFORCEMENT  POWERS  FOR  LOCAL  TELEPHONE  COMPETITION 


 FCC  Chairman  Michael  Powell  has  recommended  that  Congress  increase  the  forfeiture 
 level  imposed  on  common  carriers  violating  local  competition  provisions  of  the 
 Telecommunications  Act  of  1996  from  the  current  statutory  limit  of  $1.2  million  per  violation  to 
 at  least  $10  million  per  violation.  Powell  said  “In  my  discussions  with  competitive  local 
 exchange  carriers,  they  cite  enforcement  as  the  key  area  for  increased  regulatory  effort.” 


 In  a  letter  sent  Friday  to  leaders  of  the  Senate  and  House  Commerce  and  Appropriations 
 Committees,  Powell  also  recommended  a  longer  statute  of  limitations  than  the  current  one  year 
 period  for  FCC  investigat  ions  of  local  compet  it  ion  violat  ions,  and  asked  for  Commission 
 authority  to  award  punitive  damages  in  formal  complaint  cases. 


 Powell  wrote,  “A  vibrant  competitive  local  exchange  carrier  (CLEC)  industry  is  central 
 to  Congress’s  vision  for  opening  local  markets  to  competition.” 


 He  said,  “In  my  view,  the  difficulties  currently  facing  the  CLEC  industry  stem  from  a 
 variety  of  conditions….  And  in  some  cases,  CLECs  may  have  been  stymied  by  practices  of 
 incumbent  local  exchange  carriers  (ILECs)  that  appear  designed  to  slow  the  development  of 
 local  competition.”  He  added  that  given  the  “vast  resources”  of  many  of  these  ILECs,  the  current 
 $1.2  million  forfeiture  limit  “is  insufficient  to  punish  and  to  deter  violations  in  many  instances.” 
 He  recommended  a  higher  statutory  forfeiture  level  “to  enhance  the  deterrent  effect  of 
 Commission  fines.” 


 Powell  said  the  FCC  must  “vigorously  enforce  the  local  competition  provisions  of  the 
 1996  Act,  “  and  said,  “I  believe  there  is  more  that  we  can  do  with  the  help  of  Congress.” 


 The  text  of  the  full  letter  is  attached. 


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