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 SEPARATE  STATEMENT  OF  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  K.  POWELL 
 RE:  In  the  Matter  of  Rules  and  Regulations  Implementing  Minimum  Customer  Account  Record  Exchange  Obligation  on  All  Local  and  Interexchange 
 Carriers,  CG  Docket  No.  02-  386. 
 RE:  Rules  and  Regulations  Implementing  the  Telephone  Consumer  Protection  Act  of  1991,  CG  Docket  No.  02-  278. 


 RE:  Presubscribed  Interexchange  Carrier  Charges,  CC  Docket  No.  02-  53. 
 The  three  items  the  Commission  adopts  today  continue  our  efforts  to  place  consumers  at  the  forefront  of  the  Commission’s  agenda.  Specifically,  we  take  action  to 
 strengthen  the  Commission’s  telemarketing  rules,  which  were  amended  in  2003.  This  continues  the  work  begun  in  2003  with  the  establishment  of  a  national  do-  not-  call 
 registry  and  other  consumer  protection  measures  concerning  telemarketing  calls.  The  do-not-  call  registry  now  contains  over  80  million  telephone  numbers  and  continues  to  serve 
 as  an  option  to  protect  consumers  from  unwanted  telemarketing  calls. 


 Moreover,  the  rules  we  adopt  today  help  to  ensure  that  consumers’  phone  service  bills  are  accurate  and  that  their  carrier  selection  requests  are  honored  and  executed 
 without  undue  delay.  Facilitating  the  exchange  of  customer  account  information  in  certain  situations  will  assist  all  carriers  in  resolving  billing  issues  and  moving  customers 
 seamlessly  from  one  carrier  to  another.  I  am  pleased  that  the  Commission  has  endorsed  a  proposal  that  has  garnered  the  support  of  a  broad  cross-  section  of  the  industry.  These 
 standards  will  create  greater  industry  uniformity  without  imposing  unnecessary  burdens  on  carriers. 


 Finally,  we  revise  the  Commission’s  policies  governing  charges  associated  with  a  consumer’s  choice  to  change  long  distance  providers.  The  current  $5  safe  harbor  rate 
 was  implemented  in  1984,  and  industry  and  market  conditions  have  changed  dramatically  since  that  time.  Moreover,  the  record  in  this  proceeding  clearly  demonstrates  a  large 
 disparity  between  the  costs  of  PIC  change  charges  that  are  processed  electronically  versus  those  that  are  processed  manually.  As  a  result,  based  on  cost  data  filed  in  the  record,  we 
 set  a  separate  safe  harbor  rate  for  electronically  and  manually  processed  PIC  changes  --  $  1.25  and  $5.50,  respectively.  Carriers  that  have  invested  in  the  technology  to  process 
 and  submit  PIC  changes  electronically  should  be  rewarded  by  offering  potential  customers  a  lower  PIC  change  rate  reflecting  the  lower  costs  of  electronic  processing. 
 Adopting  a  two-  tiered  approach  provides  an  incentive  for  providers  offering  long  distance  service  to  invest  in  electronic  processing  capabilities  to  gain  the  competitive 
 advantage  of  lower  PIC  change  charges  for  customers  switching  to  these  services. 
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 I  am  pleased  to  support  these  three  interrelated  items.  They  represent  the  Commissions  commitment  to  protecting  individuals  throughout  the  life-  cycle  of 
 consumer  choice  –  from  the  decision  to  change  providers,  to  the  costs  associated  with  that  choice,  to  a  decision  to  prevent  unwanted  telemarketing  calls. 
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