N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC) ruled calls to CLEC virtual loca...
N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC) ruled calls to CLEC virtual local numbers such as foreign exchange (FX) numbers are local calls for reciprocal compensation purposes. Agency’s ruling was part of arbitration order settling interconnection contract impasses between WorldCom and BellSouth.…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
BellSouth contended that calls originating in one local calling area and terminating in another couldn’t be local traffic by definition and must be treated as interexchange. It said regulators in Ill., Me. and Tex. all concluded that FX numbers weren’t local exchange, Conn. tentatively concluded same thing, and FCC ruled calls to FX number of out-of-state business were interstate traffic, not local. But NCUC sided with WorldCom in ruling that classification of call as local or toll depended solely on exchange prefix dialed by caller, not physical location of receiving party, as long as caller and recipient were in same LATA. NCUC said interLATA FX numbers would be interexchange, not local, for intercarrier compensation purposes. On related question, NCUC declined to rule on appropriate compensation treatment of Internet Protocol telephony, saying there was too much uncertainty surrounding issue. On other issues, NCUC said: (1) BellSouth didn’t have to unbundle operator or directory assistance services if it provided WorldCom with selective routing enabling CLEC to reach alternative operator service provider. (2) BellSouth must provide unbundled dedicated transport along routes where facilities existed, but wasn’t obligated to construct new dedicated transport routes for CLEC. (3) BellSouth was entitled to be paid for any extraordinary functions it performed if requested by WorldCom to deal with 3rd party carrier for reciprocal compensation. (4) Reciprocal compensation for Internet-bound local calling would be subject to later true-up once FCC decided on compensation method for Internet-bound calls. (5) BellSouth must notify WorldCom if it sold property on which WorldCom had installed facilities. (6) BellSouth must notify NCUC if it intended to disconnect WorldCom’s wholesale services for nonpayment at same time notice went to WorldCom. (7) WorldCom had right to opt into terms of any other BellSouth-CLEC interconnection agreement, but BS wasn’t required automatically to provide WorldCom with copies of other interconnection agreements it made.