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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  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:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT: 
 January  31,  2002  Michael  Balmoris  202-  418-  0253 
 Email:  mbalmori@  fcc.  gov 


 FCC  RELEASES  PAYPHONE  ORDERS 
 Intrastate  Payphone  Line  Rates  and  Interim  Payphone  Compensation  Issues  Reviewed 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC) 
 released  two  orders  affecting  the  payphone  industry.  The  Orders  were  adopted  pursuant 
 to  Section  276  of  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996.  The  1996  Act’s  payphone-related 
 provisions  promote  the  twin  goals  of  increased  competition  among  payphone 
 service  providers  and  the  widespread  deployment  of  payphone  service. 


 Review  of  LEC  Coalition's  Application  for  Review  (Wisconsin  Payphone  Item) 
 In  March  of  2000,  the  Common  Carrier  Bureau  launched  a  review  of  the  intrastate 
 payphone  line  rates  of  the  four  largest  incumbent  local  exchange  carriers  in  the  state  of 
 Wisconsin.  More  specifically,  the  Bureau’s  March  2000  Order  required  that  incumbent 
 local  exchange  carriers  (LECs)  price  their  intrastate  payphone  line  rates  according  to  the 
 Commission’s  flexible,  cost-  based,  forward-  looking  ratemaking  principles,  also  known  as 
 the  “new  services  test.” 


 In  the  Order  released  today,  the  Commission  agreed  to  grant  the  LEC  Coalition’s 
 application  for  review,  but  denied  the  request  of  the  LEC  Coalition  to  withdraw  or  stay 
 the  Bureau’s  March  2000  Order.  The  Commission  affirmed  its  earlier  conclusion  that  the 
 payphone  provisions  of  the  1996  Act  require  Bell  Operating  Companies  to  set  their 
 intrastate  payphone  line  rates  in  compliance  with  the  Commission's  new  services  test  and 
 clarified  certain  aspects  of  how  the  March  2000  Order  applied  that  test.  Today’s  Order 
 thus  confirms  the  Commission’s  earlier  decisions  regarding  pricing  of  intrastate 
 payphone  lines,  as  well  as  the  work  many  states  have  done  in  adopting  cost-  based  pricing 
 of  such  services  to  encourage  greater  payphone  deployment  and  competition. 


 Interim  Payphone  Compensation 
 In  the  second  Order  released  today,  the  Commission  revises  aspects  of  the 
 compensation  to  be  paid  to  payphone  service  providers  by  interexchange  carriers  and 
 local  exchange  carriers  for  the  period  from  November  7,  1996  through  October  6,  1997 
 (referred  to  as  the  “interim  period”).  This  Order  responds  to  a  remand  from  the  U.  S. 
 Court  of  Appeals  for  the  D.  C.  Circuit.  More  specifically,  the  Commission’s  Order 
 addresses  the  following  items: 
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 ƒ  a  new  estimate  of  completed  access  charge  and  subscriber  800  calls  per 
 payphone  per  month;  ƒ 
 an  adjusted  default  per  call  compensation  amount  for  the  interim  period;  ƒ 
 the  issue  of  compensation  during  the  interim  period  for  0+  and  inmate  calls; 
 and,  ƒ 
 interest  rates  applicable  to  interim  payphone  compensation. 


 The  Order  does  not  require  the  immediate  payment  of  compensation  as  this  Order 
 does  not  determine  how  to  allocate  the  obligation  to  pay  compensation  among 
 interexchange  carriers.  The  Order  notes,  however,  that  this  determination  will  be  made  in 
 a  subsequent  Order. 


 CCB/  CPD  File  No.  00-  1  (Wisconsin  Payphone) 
 CC  Docket  No.  96-  128  (Interim  Payphone  Compensation) 


 Action  by  the  Commission  January  28,  2002,  by  Memorandum  Opinion  and 
 Order  (FCC  02-  25)  and  by  Fourth  Order  on  Reconsideration  and  Order  on  Remand  (FCC 
 02-  22).  Chairman  Powell  and  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  and  Martin. 


 Common  Carrier  Bureau  Staff  Contact:  Lynne  Milne  at  (202)  418-  1520  (Interim 
 Payphone  Compensation)  and  Joshua  Swift  at  (202)  418-  1520  (Wisconsin  Payphone  Line 
 Rates). 


 -FCC-News 
 about  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  can  also  be  found 
 on  the  Commission’s  web  site  www.  fcc.  gov. 
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