FCC Sets Deadlines for Comments to Its Proposed Rules Under TRACED Act to Curb Illegal Robocalls by Regulating VoIP Providers’ Access to Phone Numbers
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s proposed rules were published in the Federal Register today (Oct. 30, 2023), making comments due by November 29 and reply comments due by December 29. As explained in our earlier advisory, the FCC is making specific proposals for new regulations that would make significant modifications for (in)direct access to telephone numbers by interconnected VoIP providers.
The FCC proposes that the new or revised obligations to certify compliance with the FCC rules, acknowledge state laws’ applicability, and disclose ownership should apply to new and existing interconnected VoIP authorization holders within 30 days of the effective date of the final FCC order.
The FCC seeks comment on the duties of existing direct access authorization holders whose authorizations predate the new application requirements to be stipulated by the proposed rules, the 30-day deadline for compliance, and any special accommodations for small businesses. Among some other matters on which the FCC seeks comment are:
- Should authorization holders be allowed to continue to use numbers they obtained pursuant to the current procedures while submitting updated or corrected ownership information to the Bureau, unless and until the Bureau determines otherwise after investigation?
- Should the new interconnected VoIP applicants be required to provide, in their direct access applications, a list of the states where they initially intend to request numbering resources?
- What effect would the proposed rules have on the secondary numbering market? Would they (dis)incentivize the provision of NANC numbers by direct access authorization holders to indirect access recipients? What overall market and consumer effects of that would be?
- What penalties should the FCC impose on violators of the proposed rules? Should the FCC direct the Numbering Administrator to stop providing telephone numbers to the direct access authorization holder, and/or to prohibit the direct access authorization holder from providing numbers to the indirect access recipient?
The deadline for comments to the proposed rules is set for November 29. Reply comments are due by December 29.
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