Report No. DC-2571 ACTION IN DOCKET CASE March 8, 1994 CALLER ID TO BE AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE; FCC ADOPTS FEDERAL POLICIES FOR REGULATION (CC DOCKET 91-281) The Commission has adopted a federal model, effective April 12, 1995, for interstate delivery of calling party number based services. These services include caller ID, which is available today in many states, as well as services that will permit businesses to serve customers more efficiently and will permit increased security of computer networks. The rules adopted today enable these services to become available to consumers and businesses nationwide and require free, automatic, per call blocking to protect privacy interests. They also require carriers to educate consumers about these services. The Commission also adopted rules to address privacy concerns raised by the reuse or sale of information generated by automatic number identification (ANI). Specifically, the Commission found that a federal model for interstate delivery of calling party number is in the public interest, that calling party privacy must be protected, and that certain state regulation of interstate caller ID must be preempted. The availability of calling party number based service, including caller ID, requires end to end interconnection of Signalling System 7 (SS7) networks between carriers, so that the calling party's number can be transmitted from the calling party to the called party. Interstate delivery of calling party based services is thus not feasible until interstate SS7 interconnection and calling party number delivery between local exchange carriers and interexchange carriers becomes widespread. The Commission noted that a consistent, nationwide interstate policy will contribute to economic growth as businesses employ the new technology for a number of uses. These uses may include pay- per-view television, order/entry verification, voice messaging storage, customized customer service, business fraud reduction, call routing, emergency dispatch, health care services, telephone banking, home shopping, dealer locator, and selective call message forwarding. (over) - 2 - While the technology for nationwide caller ID service is being deployed and used on an intrastate basis, several regulatory and legal issues have delayed its introduction nationwide. Today's action supports the efforts of carriers, standards setting bodies, states, equipment manufacturers and others to provide caller ID in an efficient manner. In the federal model the Commission recognizes the value and benefits to the public of this service and promotes the transmission of the calling party number from the originating carrier to the terminating carrier. The Commission has balanced the reasonable privacy expectations of both the calling and called parties and removed obstacles to the development of calling party based services posed by uncertainty and non-uniform state policies. In today's action the Commission found that: -- Common carriers using Common Channel SS7 and subscribing to or offering any service based on SS7 functionality must transmit the calling party number parameter (CPN) and its associated privacy indicator on any interstate call to connecting carriers; (The CPN is the subscriber line number or the directory number contained in the calling party number parameter of the call set-up message associated with an interstate call using SS7. The calling party number parameter includes an associated privacy indicator.) In other words, local exchange carriers (LECs) must transmit both the calling party number and its associated privacy indicator to interexchange carriers (IXCs) and vice versa; -- Carriers offering CPN delivery services must provide, at no charge to the caller, an automatic per call blocking mechanism for interstate callers. Terminating carriers providing calling party based services, including caller ID, must honor the privacy indicator; -- The costs of interstate transmission of CPN are so small that the CPN should be transmitted among carriers without additional charge; and -- Carriers participating in the offering of any service that delivers CPN on interstate calls must inform telephone subscribers that the subscriber's number may be revealed to called parties and describe what steps subscribers can take to avoid revealing their numbers. In the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this proceeding, the Commission is seeking comment on whether more detailed customer education rules should be adopted and whether the policies adopted for interstate calling party number-based services like caller ID should be extended to other services that might identify the calling party. - 3 - The Commission also adopted rules to limit the use of information generated by ANI to call set-up, routing, screening, billing and collection and other services by end users, with exceptions for most law enforcement and emergency uses and for marketing by the ANI recipient only. The reuse or sale of ANI would be prohibited absent affirmative subscriber consent, and carriers would be required to educate callers regarding ANI services. (ANI based services were developed in the pre-SS7 signalling environment as the billing telephone number of the calling party. Because this technology predates SS7 technology, ANI is not blockable in the same way as the calling party number in an SS7 network.) In considering whether to extend its existing rules governing disclosure of customer proprietary network information (CPNI) to cover residential and single line business customers as protection of their privacy interests, the Commission said it would seek comments through a separate public notice to be considered in the context of the Computer III Remand Proceeding. Action by the Commission March 8, 1994, by Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 94-59). Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello and Barrett, with Commissioner Barrett issuing a separate statement. - FCC - News Media contact: Rosemary Kimball at (202) 632-5050. Common Carrier Bureau contacts: Olga Madruga-Forti at (202) 634-1816 and Suzanne Hutchings at (202) 634-1802.