Federal Communications Commission FCC 14-175 
1
STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER
Re:   Rural Call Completion, WC Docket No. 13-39.
The problem of poor quality call completion in rural America is very real, and the consequences 
can be dire, impacting businesses, families, and public safety.  The Commission has taken numerous steps 
to address this serious problem, including enforcement actions against companies with a poor record of 
call completion in rural America.  We also adopted rules on data collection that allow both the 
Commission and service providers to pinpoint areas where call completion rates are unacceptably low.  
The Order on Reconsideration we adopt today paves the way for these data collection requirements of the 
Commission’s rural call completion rules to become fully effective by resolving several outstanding 
petitions for reconsideration regarding the scope of the data collection requirements.  This resolution will 
provide certainty to the companies subject to our rules, while ensuring that both the Commission and 
service providers have sufficient information to combat poor call completion rates.
Now that this Order has been adopted, we will act promptly to obtain the necessary approvals 
from OMB to move forward with our data collection.  To that end, I have directed Commission staff to 
send the required paperwork to OMB within the next three business days, and to work with OMB to 
ensure that the approval process is completed as quickly as possible. The information we collect will 
assist long distance providers and the Commission in monitoring rural call performance, and will 
facilitate our ability to enforce our rules on an ongoing basis.