JSI wishes to alert its clients and other independent companies that the FCC's November 8, 2007, order on local number portability (LNP) recently was published in the Federal Register. As a result, the order's effective date is March 24, 2008. By this date, all carriers are required to comply with the new VoIP porting requirements. In addition, beginning March 24, rural local exchange carriers (LECs) that are subject to the FCC's wireline-to-wireless (i.e., intermodal) porting requirements, but have not been porting due to the court-imposed stay, must resume porting with wireless companies.
JSI also points out that July 31, 2008, remains the effective date by which all carriers must change to the new port-order validation process that requires validation of "simple" ports be performed on only four fields. Companies should also be aware that a separate Federal Register notice has established the comment dates for the related Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The FCC seeks comments on whether it should extend other LNP requirements and numbering-related rules to VoIP providers and whether it should reduce the porting interval. Comments are due March 24, and replies are due April 21. JSI plans to file comments in response to the FCC's notice.
Effective March 24: New Porting Obligations for Carriers, VoIP Providers and Their Numbering Partners
The FCC's new rules require porting of numbers associated with VoIP service. Under these rules, both wireline and wireless carriers are required to port with the VoIP "numbering partner" or with VoIP providers that are certified telecom carriers. Carriers are not required to port directly to VoIP providers that are not certified. Similarly, VoIP providers can no longer refuse to port numbers back to an incumbent LEC (ILEC) that successfully wins back a ported customer.
The LNP order requires LECs to port to VoIP numbering partners, wireline, and/or wireless providers when:
- wireless carrier coverage area overlaps the geographic location of the porting out number's rate center;
- the wireline carrier has facilities or numbering resources in the same rate center; or
- the VoIP's numbering partner meets either of the above criteria.
Carriers should keep in mind that when a VoIP provider's numbering partner is a wireline carrier that seeks to port a number from an ILEC, the ILEC can demand an interconnection agreement prior to porting the number.
Rural LECs Must Begin Porting to Wireless Carriers; Intermodal LNP
After the FCC issued its intermodal LNP order in November 2003, many rural ILECs were required to initiate intermodal porting and became LNP-compliant. In March 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the FCC had failed to conduct the required analysis to accompany the order. The court ruled that until the FCC completed the analysis and published it in the Federal Register, enforcement of the order's requirements would be "stayed" for all carriers are considered to be "small entities," a category that included rural ILECs. As a result, since the stay was implemented, most rural ILECs have not had to port numbers to wireless carriers.
In its recent LNP order, the FCC submitted the required analysis and declared that intermodal porting for "small entities" must resume 30 days after the order's publication in the Federal Register. With that done, the effective date has been established as March 24, 2008. This means that ILECs that received one or more requests to implement LNP from a wireless carrier prior to the stay now are required to port with the wireless carrier or carriers beginning March 24, upon receipt of a valid port request. Remember - ILECs cannot require wireless carriers to establish an interconnection agreement prior to porting numbers.
If carriers would like more information about these new rules or have questions about the FCC's porting requirements, contact Bridget Alexander (balexander@jsitel.com), Karen Hoffman (khoffman@jsitel.com), or Valerie Wimer (vwimer@jsitel.com), in JSI's Maryland office, at 301-459-7590.
