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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Appendix A Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Implementation of the Subscriber Carrier ) Selection Changes Provisions of the ) Telecommunications Act of 1996 ) ) CC Docket No. 94-129 Policies and Rules Concerning Unauthorized ) Changes of Consumers Long Distance Carriers ) PETITION FOR DECLARATORY RULING OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, WAIVER New York Telephone Company, d/b/a Bell Atlantic-New York ("Bell Atlantic") respectfully requests the Commission to declare, by August 23, 1999, that an interactive response system that it has been ordered to deploy by that date by the New York Public Service Commission ("NYPSC") for imposing or lifting preferred carrier change freezes complies with the Commission's rules relating to third party verification and that those rules apply to Bell Atlantic's proposed system. Alternatively, Bell Atlantic requests a waiver of the electronic verification requirements of 47 C.F.R. 64.1190, in order to implement the interactive response system by August 23, 1999, and to use that system for interstate and intrastate preferred carrier freezes. This system will rely on verification methods other than automatic number identification ("ANI") and will allow the customer to freeze or unfreeze all lines billed to an account, rather than requiring a separate call for each line that the customer wishes to freeze or unfreeze. In these respects, it differs from the Commission's Electronic Verification rules. But neither of these features is inconsistent with the Commission's third party verification rules. The New York system will work as follows. A customer will call a toll-free telephone number to access the response unit, which is available 24 hours a day. Consistent with the Commission's third party verification requirements, the customer will be informed that the system permits her or him to freeze or unfreeze regional toll or long distance service providers at no charge. The system will also say that the customer will be unable to change frozen carriers unless she or he contacts Bell Atlantic. The system will then prompt the customer to enter his or her telephone number. After verifying that this number is assigned to a Bell Atlantic customer, the unit will prompt the customer to enter a unique six-digit number that appears on the telephone bill that is associated with the customer's name, billing address, and account. Consistent with the Commission's third party verification rules, this entry will confirm the customer's billing name and address. The entry also will provide verification and security for the transaction, because only the recipient of the bill will have access to that number. Once the verification process is successfully completed, the customer will hear a menu explaining how to freeze or unfreeze either the presubscribed interLATA or intraLATA carrier, or both. In the event the customer has trouble navigating the system or wishes to speak with a person, Bell Atlantic will provide operator backup. Those operators will be barred both by Bell Atlantic's internal rules and by the NYPSC order from engaging in marketing activities. The specific features of the Voice Response Unit ("VRU") grew out of a Bell Atlantic proposal offered in response to certain concerns expressed by the NYPSC relating to the three-way calling procedure then being utilized by Bell Atlantic. The NYPSC accepted Bell Atlantic's proposal with certain modifications, which in turn were accepted by Bell Atlantic. Thus, the development of the VRU can be described as the result of a fruitful and cooperative exchange of views between Bell Atlantic and the NYPSC. This system fully meets the Commission's third party verification rules on an automated basis. It confirms billing name and address, the billing telephone numbers affected by the freeze or unfreeze order, the decision to place a preferred carrier freeze on affected numbers and services (i.e., regional toll, long distance, or both), the fact that frozen carriers cannot be changed without contacting Bell Atlantic to lift the freeze, and the fact that the freeze is provided at no charge. In addition, the system satisfies Commission concerns about improper incentives, financial or otherwise, to market carrier freezes improperly. See Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 98-334, & 71 (rel. Dec. 23, 1998). Bell Atlantic does not own, manage, control, or direct the supplier of the automated system and does not have an exclusive agreement with the system supplier. Further, the automated system is in a location separate from carrier telemarketing personnel. Accordingly, it satisfies the Commission's stated concerns regarding physical separation of telemarketing personnel and the verifier. Id. By relying on information other than ANI for verification, this system will allow the customer to call from any telephone, not just the telephone number that is being frozen or unfrozen. This increases public convenience and allows the system to be used from a wider range of telephones. It also overcomes a shortcoming of using ANI, because, for certain services, such as PBX trunks, DID services, and multi-line hunt groups, the ANI will not necessarily pass the customer's billing telephone number, so use of ANI for verification would not be reliable or even possible. By using information other than ANI for verification, the New York system will also allow the customer to freeze or unfreeze all lines billed to an individual account with one call. In the event that a customer wants to change the freeze status of fewer than all lines billed to an account, the call will be transferred to an operator, who will process the order (with third party verification), until the planned modification to the system is developed. And the system provides a high level of security, because it matches the telephone number(s) being frozen or unfrozen with the six-digit number that can be obtained only on the customer's telephone bill. The interactive system serves the public interest, as the NYPSC found. It will be easy to access available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (except for brief maintenance periods during the week and a half-day scheduled maintenance period from Saturday night until Sunday morning). The customer will be able to call from any telephone number and freeze or unfreeze multiple lines on the same call. It is designed to be easy to navigate and will be available in both English and Spanish. It will operate completely without human intervention but will have human backup available to assist customers who are unable or unwilling to use the interactive system or who simply want to talk to a person. The operators will be prohibited from using the call for marketing purposes. Accordingly, Bell Atlantic requests the Commission to declare that the interactive response system, as described above, is consistent with the Commission's rules relating to third party verification for presubscribed carrier freezes. Alternatively, Bell Atlantic requests a waiver of the rules applicable to electronic verification to allow it to implement the interactive system in New York for all types of preferred carrier freezes by the NYPSC's deadline of August 23, 1999. Respectfully submitted, ________________________ Lawrence W. Katz Michael E. Glover 1320 North Court House Road Of Counsel 8th Floor Arlington, Virginia 22201 974-4862 Attorney for the New York Telephone Company June 28, 1999