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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

Manhattan Telecommunications Corporation
d/b/a Metropolitan Telecommunications a/k/a
MetTel

Emergency Petition for Limited Waiver
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CC Docket No. 94-129






                             ORDER

   Adopted:  April 11, 2001             Released:  April 12, 2001

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 Manhattan
Telecommunications Corporation d/b/a Metropolitan Telecommunications a/k/a MetTel
(MetTel) 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 MetTel to become the preferred carrier of consumers currently presubscribed to North
American Telecommunications Corporation (NATELCO), 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.     MetTel seeks a waiver of our verification rules to allow MetTel to be designated the
preferred local and intraLATA toll carrier for NATELCO customers without first obtaining each
customer's authorization and verification.  Because we conclude that, under the circumstances
presented, it is in the public interest to do so, we grant MetTel 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 MetTel 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 MetTel to transfer to its own customer base the affected NATELCO customers. 
According to the Waiver Petition, on February 23, 2001, NATELCO filed for bankruptcy
protection under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of
New York.  Pursuant to a bankruptcy sale, MetTel entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement
with NATELCO in which MetTel agreed to acquire a portion of the NATELCO customer base,
namely payphone access lines, including the customer accounts and accounts receivable. 
Following the Bankruptcy Court's approval of the Asset Purchase Agreement, which is expected
between April 15 and April 20, 2001, NATELCO will continue providing local and intraLATA
toll service to these customers for a short period of time.  MetTel seeks to transfer the affected
customers to its customer base the day after the Bankruptcy Court approves the Asset Purchase
Agreement, in order to prevent the affected customers from experiencing any disruption in
service.  Ultimately, MetTel will provide local and intraLATA toll service to the former
NATELCO customers. 
6.     We conclude that special circumstances exist to justify a waiver.  Without this waiver,
the service of some former NATELCO customers might temporarily be interrupted when
NATELCO ceases providing presubscribed service to customers who fail to respond in a timely
fashion to requests for preferred carrier change authorizations; 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 MetTel 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, and because MetTel has agreed to notify the affected customers as described
below.  According to the Waiver Petition, MetTel will undertake a two-step process to notify the
affected customers of the transfer.  The first notification letter will inform the affected
customers of the proposed transfer to MetTel and assure them that they will receive the same
features, services, and rates that NATELCO currently provides.  This notification letter will
also advise the affected customers that they may select a different preferred carrier, should they
desire to do so.  In addition, the affected customers will be given a toll-free number to call with
any questions they may have about the transfer. 
8.     According to MetTel, once the proposed transfer has been completed, MetTel will
notify these customers of that event and reiterate the foregoing information, assurances, and
advice.  In addition, MetTel states that it will take responsibility to investigate, respond, and
attempt to cure any outstanding customer complaints regarding services provided by
NATELCO.  We conclude that these conditions will adequately protect the rights of the
NATELCO customers.
9.     For the foregoing reasons, we grant MetTel 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 the provision of customer notification and the handling of
complaints, as described above and further detailed in the Waiver Petition.  
                     III.  ORDERING CLAUSES
10.    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 emergency waiver request filed by Manhattan Telecommunications Corporation
d/b/a Metropolitan Telecommunications a/k/a MetTel on April 4, 2001 IS GRANTED to the
extent indicated herein. 
11.    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