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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Part 68 Waiver Requests of ) File Nos.: ) Nor Pac Group, Inc. ) NSD-L-00-01 RadioShack ) NSD-L-00-02 CIDCO Incorporated ) NSD-L-00-03 UNICO Pacific Group ) NSD-L-00-04 ORDER Adopted: January 11, 2000 Released: January 11, 2000 By the Deputy Chief, Network Services Division, Common Carrier Bureau: 1. The above-captioned Petitioners (hereinafter "Petitioners") have filed requests for waiver of Section 68.312(i) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  68.312(i), so that they may register, under Part 68 of the rules, devices that detect the presence of a stutter dial tone. Stutter dial tone is a series of short separate tones produced by the telephone company's central switching office that alerts a voice mail subscriber that he or she has voice mail. The Petitioners' devices automatically check for the presence of stutter dial tone and, if detected, cause a light to blink to alert the subscriber of the waiting voice mail message. For the reasons discussed below, we grant Petitioners' waiver requests. 2. All terminal equipment sold in the United States and connected to the public switched telephone network must be registered under Part 68 of the Commission's rules. The Part 68 registration process requires testing of the device to demonstrate that it conforms to Part 68 requirements, so as to prevent harm to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Once the equipment tests show that the applicant's device meets the Part 68 requirements, a registration number is issued, and the device may be sold in the United States. A waiver of one or more portions of Part 68 does not excuse an applicant from this testing process, and the waiver of Section 68.312(i) sought by the Petitioners would allow them to submit their stutter dial tone devices for Part 68 testing, pursuant to the conditions that are contained in this Order. 3. On September 28, 1995, the Commission's Common Carrier Bureau released an order granting eight parties waivers of Section 68.312(i) of the Commission's rules to offer similar devices. The waivers were granted subject to eight conditions. In the Alameda Order, the Common Carrier Bureau invited other parties able to meet these conditions to file petitions for waiver of Section 68.312(i) for their stutter dial tone detection devices. Since the Alameda Order was released, we have granted waivers to numerous Petitioners. 4. On August 9, 1999, the Common Carrier Bureau released an Order on Reconsideration (Reconsideration Order) in response to petitions filed by VoiceWaves, Inc. and Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (SBC). In the Reconsideration Order, the Commission granted VoiceWaves' request and eliminated the 30-second maximum after a voice mail subscriber terminates a call, so that the second performance condition now reads: "(2) makes an off-hook stutter dial tone check no more than once after a subscriber completes a call, and complete the check no earlier than 4 seconds after the subscriber hangs-up." We also applied the same logic to the third performance condition and eliminated the four-minute maximum following the termination of a subscriber's call, so that it now reads: "(3) makes an off-hook stutter dial tone check after an unanswered incoming call no more than once." We denied the rest of VoiceWaives and SBC's Petitions. Finally, we ordered that all parties already in receipt of stutter dialtone waivers issued pursuant to the Alameda Order are not required to file a new Part 68 Registration for equipment covered by those waivers as a consequence of the Reconsideration Order. 5. The Commission may waive any provision of its rules if good cause for a waiver is shown. Under the relevant case law, the applicant has the burden showing good cause for a waiver: "[a]n applicant [for a waiver] faces a high hurdle even at the starting gate." Nevertheless, an agency must take a "hard look" at applications for waiver and must consider all relevant factors. An agency must adhere strictly to its rules unless a party can show "reasons why in the public interest the rule should be waived." Finally, "[t]he agency must explain why deviation better serves the public interest and articulate the nature of the special circumstances to prevent discriminatory application and to put future parties on notice as to its operation." 6. We stated in the Alameda Order that the introduction of innovative customer premises equipment that increases choice for consumers and improves the value to the customer of a particular service serves the public interest. The Petitioners have certified that their devices will conform to the eight conditions specified in the Alameda Order, and we conclude the devices for which Petitioners seek waiver are similar to the devices manufactured by the parties granted waivers in the Alameda Order. Thus, we conclude, for the same reasons that were contained in the Alameda Order, that Petitioners have shown good cause for granting the requested waiver. Because Petitioners have certified that the devices they have designed using stutter dial tone detection will conform to the conditions specified in that order, we conclude that the devices should be submitted for Part 68 conformance testing to prove that they will pose no harm to the PSTN. ORDERING CLAUSES 7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to authority delegated in Sections 0.91 and 0.291 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.91, 0.291, and Section 1.3 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.3, that the requests for waiver of Section 68.312(i) of the rules, 47 C.F.R.  68.312(i), by Nor Pac Group, Inc., RadioShack, CIDCO Incorporated, and UNICO Pacific Group ARE GRANTED to the extent stated herein. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the petitions for waiver ARE GRANTED SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: that the stutter dial tone detection devices (1) perform no periodic testing for stutter dial tone; (2) make an off-hook stutter dial tone check no more than once after a subscriber terminates a call, and complete the check no earlier than 4 seconds after the subscriber hangs up; (3) make an off-hook stutter dial tone check after an unanswered incoming call no more than once; (4) perform no off-hook stutter dial tone checks after an unanswered incoming call if the visual message indicator is already lit; (5) take the line off-hook for no more than 2.1 seconds per stutter dial tone check; (6) synchronize off-hook checks when multiple stutter dial tone detection and visual signalling devices are attached to the same line so that only one check is made per calling event for a single line; (7) do not block dial tone to a subscriber attempting to initiate a call as an off-hook stutter dial tone detection check is occurring; and (8) do not use more than 8 micro-amps of direct current (DC) from subscriber line loop, except that the devices may draw loop DC sufficient to make authorized off-hook checks. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Kurt A. Schroeder Deputy Chief, Network Services Division Common Carrier Bureau