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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 Re:  AT&  T  Corp.  Petition  for  Declaratory  Ruling  Regarding  Enhanced  Prepaid  Calling  Card  Services,  WC  Docket  Nos.  03-  133,  05-  68  (FCC  05-  41). 
 This  Order  clarifies  that  the  Commission’s  existing  rules  for  telecommunications  services  apply  to  calling  card  services  even  when  consumers  are  played  a  recorded  advertising  message.  This  result  is 
 the  most  logical  reading  of  our  rules  and  best  preserves  our  universal  service  policies.  Accordingly,  I  support  the  Order. 


 I  have  concern,  however  about  the  scope  of  the  issues  we  address  here.  In  particular,  I  am  concerned  that  the  Commission  defers  ruling  and  instead  seeks  comment  through  a  Notice  of  Proposed 
 Rulemaking  on  two  alternative  forms  of  calling  card  services,  which  the  petitioner  in  this  case  now  uses  to  provide  service.  Indeed,  commenters  have  raised  the  possibility  that  a  significant  portion  of  the  multi-billion 
 dollar  calling  card  industry  may  use  these  alternative  forms  of  service. 
 By  not  addressing  these  two  alternative  forms  of  calling  card  services  here,  we  leave  for  another  day  questions  about  whether  these  calling  card  services  must  also  contribute  to  the  universal  service  fund 
 and  how  these  services  are  classified  for  purposes  of  our  intercarrier  compensation  rules.  This  ambiguity  may  be  read  by  providers  to  signal  a  regulatory  edge  for  one  form  of  technology  over  another,  despite  the 
 fact  that  the  services  appear  functionally  the  same  from  the  perspective  of  the  consumer.  Alternatively,  when  the  Commission  finally  does  address  these  other  forms  of  service,  a  portion  of  the  calling  card 
 industry  may  face  the  same  sort  of  liability  contemplated  in  this  Order.  Either  way,  I  am  concerned  that  we  perpetuate  a  marketplace  dynamic  where  success  is  significantly  affected  by  tolerance  for  regulatory 
 risk.  As  policymakers,  and  as  stewards  of  universal  service,  we  should  move  to  address  these  issues  quickly  and  comprehensively. 
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