Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Implementation of the Subscriber Carrier ) Selection Changes Provisions of the ) CC Docket No. 94-129 Telecommunications Act of 1996 ) ) EqualNet Corporation Request for Waiver ) ) ORDER Adopted: March 12, 1999; Released: March 15, 1999 By the Chief, Common Carrier Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1. In its Carrier Change Orders, the Commission adopted rules applicable to carriers changing a consumer's preferred carrier. In this order we grant EqualNet Corporation (EqualNet) a limited waiver of the authorization and verification requirements of the Commission's rules and Carrier Change Orders to enable EqualNet to change the preferred carrier of those consumers currently presubscribed to Brittan Communications International, Inc. (BCI) from BCI to EqualNet. 2. Section 258 of the Act, adopted in 1996, makes it unlawful for any telecommunications carrier to "submit or execute a change in a subscriber's selection of a provider of telephone exchange service or telephone toll service except in accordance with such procedures as the Commission shall prescribe." The goal of section 258 is to eliminate the practice of "slamming," which is the unauthorized change of a subscriber's preferred carrier. Pursuant to section 258, carriers are absolutely barred from changing a customer's preferred local or long distance carrier without first complying with the Commission's verification procedures. In the recently issued Section 258 Order, the Commission revised its procedures to ensure that carriers obtain the requisite authority prior to changing a customer's carrier. The Commission requires that carriers follow one of the Commission's prescribed verification procedures before submitting carrier changes on behalf of consumers. 3. EqualNet requests a waiver of our verification rules to allow it to be designated the preferred long distance carrier for customers of BCI, which recently filed for bankruptcy, without first obtaining the customers' authorization and verification. Because we conclude that, under the circumstances presented, it is in the public interest to grant the waiver, we grant EqualNet's petition subject to the conditions represented in its filing. II. DISCUSSION 4. Waiver of the Commission's rules is appropriate only if special circumstances warrant a deviation from the general rule, and such a deviation will serve the public interest. We find that EqualNet has made a showing of good cause to grant a waiver of the requirements in the Commission's carrier change rules and orders for those consumers who have authorized BCI as their preferred carrier. EqualNet has demonstrated that special circumstances exist that would warrant a waiver. In its Petition for Waiver of Commission Rules (Waiver Petition), EqualNet states that on January 27, 1999, RFC Capital Corporation (RFC), a secured creditor of BCI, conducted a non-judicial foreclosure sale of BCI assets, including BCI's customer accounts and accounts receivable. USC Telecom, Inc., the successful bidder for the assets at the foreclosure sale, is transferring those customer accounts and accounts receivable to EqualNet, its sister corporation. EqualNet states that under these special circumstances, a waiver of the Commission's carrier change rules and orders is necessary to provide a seamless transition of BCI's customers' long distance service to EqualNet's service, at the same or better rates than those customers were receiving from BCI. 5. We also conclude that EqualNet has shown that granting its request is in the public interest. Without this waiver, BCI's customers are at risk of either losing their long distance service or of being charged substantially higher rates than those they received from BCI. Furthermore, EqualNet has agreed that if the Commission waives its rules to permit EqualNet to provide service to BCI's customers, EqualNet will investigate, respond, and cure the complaints registered against BCI promptly and accurately. In addition, EqualNet will notify BCI's customers of the assumption of their service by EqualNet and that they will continue to be billed at the same or better rates than BCI's rates. EqualNet's notice will also advise consumers that they have the right to change their preferred carrier at any time and will instruct consumers how to do so. We conclude that these conditions will adequately protect the rights of BCI's customers. 6. As discussed above, BCI is no longer providing long distance service and BCI's customers are at risk of either losing their long distance service or of being charged substantially higher rates than those they received from BCI. The immediate implementation of this order is therefore crucial to the Commission's efforts to ensure that customers who had chosen BCI as their preferred carrier have no disruption in their long distance rates or service. III. CONCLUSION AND ORDERING CLAUSES 7. For the foregoing reasons, we grant EqualNet's waiver request for the limited purposes described above. We find that allowing EqualNet to change BCI's customer's preferred carrier from BCI to EqualNet without first obtaining each customer's express authorization and verifying such authorization in accordance with the Commission's carrier change rules and orders serves the public interest under these special circumstances where BCI has ceased to function as a common carrier. The grant of this waiver is conditioned upon EqualNet's provision of the customer notification and complaint resolution services described above and further detailed in its petition. 8. Accordingly, pursuant to authority contained in Sections 1, 4, and 258, of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  151, 154, 258, and the authority delegated under sections 0.91 and 0.291 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.91, 0.291, that the waiver request filed by EqualNet Corporation on March 11, 1999 IS GRANTED to the extent indicated herein. 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order is effective immediately upon release thereof. Lawrence E. Strickling Chief, Common Carrier Bureau