WTA Applauds Introduction of the “Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act’’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 23, 2015) – WTA-Advocates for Rural Broadband applauds Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Jon Tester (MT) for introducing the Improving Rural Quality and Reliability Act of 2015. The legislation directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to address the ongoing problem of telephone calls not always being completed to rural areas.

Specifically, the bill would require all intermediate providers of voice communications services to register with the FCC and comply with service quality standards established by the agency. For several years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of telephone calls not being completed in rural areas mostly due to the use of least cost routers that, at times, do not terminate calls in rural areas because of the cost.

“We’re grateful for the work and leadership that Senator Klobuchar and Senator Tester are doing on this issue,” said Derrick Owens, WTA’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “We believe this legislation complements the work being done at the FCC on call completion and that it provides additional assurance that all calls will be completed with a high quality of service. Having a phone call reach its intended recipient has been a basic standard of our communications network for decades. We urge the Senate to take up this legislation and pass it.”

See full press release.