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                              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

Primus Telecommunications, Inc.

Petition for Waiver
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CC Docket No. 94-129






                             ORDER

   Adopted: December 14, 2000           Released:  December 15, 2000

By the Associate Chief, Accounting Policy Division, 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 Primus
Telecommunications, Inc. (Primus) a limited waiver of the authorization and verification
requirements of the Commission's rules and Carrier Change Orders.  We grant this limited
waiver to the extent necessary to enable Primus to become the preferred carrier of certain
consumers currently presubscribed to Network International, without first obtaining the
consumers' authorization and verification.
2.     Section 258 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by the
Telecommunications Act of 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," 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 Section 258 Order, the Commission revised its procedures to ensure
that carriers obtain the requisite authority prior to changing a customer's preferred
carrier.  The Commission requires that carriers follow one of the Commission's prescribed
verification procedures before submitting carrier changes on behalf of consumers. 
3.     Primus seeks a waiver of our verification rules to allow Primus to be designated
the preferred long distance carrier for the customers of Network International without first
obtaining each customer's authorization and verification.  Because we conclude that, under
the circumstances presented, it is in the public interest to grant the waiver, we grant
Primus a waiver, subject to the conditions represented in its filings.
                        II.  DISCUSSION
4.     Generally, the Commission's rules may be waived for good cause shown.  As
noted by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, however, agency rules are presumed
valid.  The Commission may exercise its discretion to waive a rule where the particular
facts make strict compliance inconsistent with the public interest.  In addition, the
Commission may take into account considerations of hardship, equity, or more effective
implementation of overall policy on an individual basis.  Waiver of the Commission's
rules is therefore appropriate only if special circumstances warrant a deviation from the
general rule, and such a deviation will serve the public interest. 
5.     We find that Primus has demonstrated that good cause exists to justify a limited
waiver of the Commission's authorization and verification requirements to the extent
necessary to enable Primus to transfer to its own customer base the affected Network
International customers.  Primus, a licensed provider of interexchange services in 49 states
and the District of Columbia, has entered into an agreement to purchase certain assets of
Network International, including Network International's customer base.  Network
International is a reseller providing intrastate, interstate, and international
telecommunications services throughout the United States.  In the Waiver Petition,
Primus states that Network International's principal owner, Mark Sandler, has suffered
increasingly severe health problems that have interfered with his ability to manage
Network International's operations.  According to the Waiver Petition, if Network
International's customer base is not transferred immediately to a qualified buyer, Network
International's customers could experience a decline in the level of customer service and
Mr. Sandler's health could be adversely affected.  Because of the size of Network
International's customer base, Primus asserts that it could not contact, solicit, and obtain
appropriate verification from each Network International subscriber in an expeditious
manner.
6.     We conclude that special circumstances exist to justify a waiver.  Without this
waiver, the service of some former Network International customers might temporarily be
interrupted when Network International ceases providing presubscribed service to
customers who fail to respond in a timely fashion to requests for preferred carrier change
authorization; those customers might also pay potentially higher casual calling rates after
the discontinuance of presubscribed service.  We conclude that a waiver of the
Commission's carrier change rules and orders is necessary to provide a seamless transition
with no disruption of service to the transferred customers.
7.     We find that Primus has demonstrated that a limited waiver of the authorization
and verification rules is in the public interest because it will prevent consumers from
temporarily losing service or paying significantly higher rates, and because Primus has
agreed to notify the affected customers as described below.  Primus states that it will
undertake a two-step process to notify the affected customers of the transfer.  In a first
letter, Primus will inform customers of the proposed transfer and assure them that no
charges or rate increases will be imposed as a result of the transfer.  Primus states that it
will also advise the affected customers that they can choose a different preferred carrier,
should they desire to do so.  In addition, customers will be given a toll-free number to call
with any questions they may have about the transition.  According to the Waiver Petition,
once the proposed transfer has been consummated, Primus will notify these customers of
that event and reiterate the foregoing information, assurances, and advice.  Moreover,
Primus has agreed to work with the complainants, Network International, and the
Commission to investigate and resolve complaints regarding services provided by Network
International.  We conclude that these conditions will adequately protect the rights of the
transferred customers of Network International.
8.     For the foregoing reasons, we grant Primus a waiver of the authorization and
verification requirements of our rules for the limited purposes described above. The grant
of this waiver is conditioned upon Primus' provision of customer notification and handling
of complaints, as described above and further detailed in the Waiver Petition and
Supplement.
                     III.  ORDERING CLAUSES

9.     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, 0.291, and 1.3 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.91,
0.291, 1.3, the waiver request filed by Primus Telecommunications, Inc. on November 17,
2000, and supplemented on December 8, 2000, IS GRANTED to the extent indicated
herein. 
10.    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order is effective upon release. 
                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                              
                              K. Michele Walters
                              Associate Chief, 
                              Accounting Policy Division,
                              Common Carrier Bureau