OFFIC OF
TH CHAIRMAN
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON
D ember 16 2010
ar nat r illibrand:
hank ou for our I tt r c nc ming int mational roaming charg
ic cu tom r in area along the Y rk- anadian bord r. ou n
all mad by York cu t mer m time r am nt anadian II t
e c billing charges.
incurr d b irel
t d, m bil ph n
r r ulting in
I agr that c n urn r h uld n t fac th ften burdensome ta k r rr cting th
rutin billing rr rs. In re p n t y ur I tt r, th rnmi ion' taf[ nta t d ral
ir Ie rvic provider and requ ted inti rmation about their roaming pra ti and effi rt to
prev nt all from roaming onto anadian n twork . I have enclo ed th r ult fthi inquiry
and in truct d the ornmi ion' tafft di cu thi information directly with y ur taff.
Th rnmi ion ha mad c n urn r mp w rm nt a pri rit and i taking affirmati
t p t addr wir Ie billing pra tic including a oiding intemati nal r aming harg . n
t b r 14. 2010. the ommi i n initiat d it 'bill hock proceeding t anlin ay that
ir I crvic pr ider can a i t c n urn r in a oiding unexp ct d harg n th ir bill .
n pr po aI ould requir that arri r pr id tim Iy information to con urn r ab ut th ir
m bil ph n u ag including notificati n b fI re a c n umer incur int mati nal r aming
charg. ur I tt r clearl addr thi i u and ill inc1ud it in th r rd fI r thj
pr ding.
I appr iat our bringing thi imp rtant matt r to my attenti n. PIe d nth itat t
nta t m if ou hould r quire Furth r a i tan .
Carrier Roaming Infornlation
,. Cellular networks are designed so that a handset connects to lhe cell tower wilh the strongest
signal, regardless ofwhether the tower belongs to a subscriber's home carrier, and regardless
ofwhether the tower is in the United tates or Canada.
,. With the exception of E9ll calls, a mobile service provider generally is unable to detennine
a caller's location, including from which side ofthe U.S.lCanadian border a call was made.
,. Generally, a carrier - or the carrier's roaming partner is only able to ascertain the to\\ er(s)
that handled a particular call.
,. In the calls at issue here, the carriers would have known only that a Canadian partner handled
the call traffic.
Carrier Billing Practices
:;.. While c3lTiers are charged by their Canadian roaming partners for handling these calls, it
appears that most carriers will remove or reduce an intemational roaming charge on a
customer's bill depending on the circumstances.
,. orne carriers, after dctcrmining that particular Canadian towers frequently carry such U.S.
call traffic, will going-forward, treat calls handled by these towers as occurring on their home
networks, and will not apply roaming charges for such calls.
,. Generally, service providers are unablc to rcmovc the charge without discussing the mailer
with the customer, because they cannOI detenlline the circumstances surrounding an
Individual call.
Steps Consumers Can Take
,. In order to avoid international roaming charges in the future, wireless customcrs can lake
certain measures to prevent calls [rom roaming onto Canadian networks.
:.- Mobile phones have embedded preferred roaming lists (also known as mobile nel\\orks
eodes) that set out the priority order ofa carrier's roaming partners.
,. Subscribers can ensure that they have the current priority list on their handselS by performing
over-the-air updates as instructed by their carriers.
,. On most mobile handsets, wireless consumers are able to set their phones to a "home only"
setting, which will limit phone usage to the home carrier's network.
,. Caution, actions taken by subscribers to limit the ability of the phone to roam may affect call
quality, including the ability to make or complele a call.