WTA Files Comments in 8YY Proceeding

On Sept. 4, WTA filed comments in response to the FCC’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking designed to address arbitrage and fraud in the intercarrier compensation regime.  However, WTA believes that the “1,000 or so wholly innocent RLECs should not be punished by having at least $40-to-$45 million of their originating 8YY access charge revenue streams reduced precipitously to zero, with a potential of no replacement revenue or cost recovery.”

As stated in its comments, WTA believes that the “Commission can readily eliminate arbitrage and fraud in the current 8YY system without penalizing innocent rural local exchange carriers by eliminating critical originating access charges and revenues for 8YY calls. Fraudulent and otherwise illegitimate robocalls made for the sole or primary purpose of generating originating 8YY access revenues can be: (1) prohibited; (2) traced and identified; (3) precluded from collecting unlawful charges; and (4) subjected to maximum allowable forfeitures. Database queries regarding 8YY calls can be limited to one query per carrier and its affiliates, and database query charges can be limited to a uniform nationwide cap. Originating 8YY access charges can be prohibited from being assessed by or paid to any local exchange carrier for any location other than that from which a <i>bona fide</i> customer actually dialed the 8YY call involved. Routing of 8YY calls in an indirect manner likely to be intended to maximize transport compensation can be challenged as unjust and unreasonable, with longer routes, revenue sharing arrangements and affiliated facilities all raising presumptions of unlawfulness.”