$/Public Notice/Part 68 Waiver Request of Alameda Engineering, Inc., et al., DA 95-2443/$ $//400.68.312//$ RECORD ONLY PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 News media information 202/418-0500 Recorded listing of releases and texts 202/632-0002. DA 95-2443 Released: December 8, 1995 COMMISSION SEEKS COMMENT ON VOICEWAVES PETITION FOR RECON SIDERATION OF ORDER GRANTING PART 68 WAIVER FOR STUTTER DIAL TONE DETECTION DEVICES Comments Due: December 21, 1995 Replies Due: January 5, 1995 On October 30, 1995, VoiceWaves, Inc. filed a Petition for Reconsideration of a Common Carrier Bureau Order, released on September 28, 1995, granting waiver from Section 68.312(k) of the Commission' Rules to VoiceWaves and seven other parties to permit registration of stutter dial tone detection devices. A "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. A stutter dial tone detection device automatically detects the presence of stutter dial tone and causes a light to blink to visually alert the subscriber of a waiting voice mail message. In the Order, the Commission granted waiver for these devices subject to eight conditions. VoiceWaves asks the Commission to reconsider the second condition, which states that the device may make an automatic check for stutter dial tone no earlier than 4 seconds and no later than 30 seconds after a voice mail subscriber completes a call and hangs up on the line to which the device is attached. VoiceWaves argues that this requirement, or at least the 30 second maximum, should be eliminated because the condition unnecessarily taxes telephone network resources, causes calls to be unnecessarily missed, and forecloses customer choice for the devices. VoiceWaves also asks the Commission to require that stutter dial tone detection devices not interfere with other registered devices, such as facsimile machines and modems, attached to the same line. VoiceWaves argues that facsimile or modem transmissions may be severed or made illegible if the stutter detection device makes an off- hook check while the other device on the line is in use, and that carriers will be required to absorb the cost of service calls to inform consumers that their stutter dial tone detection devices are causing such problems. We invite comment on VoiceWaves' Petition for Reconsideration. Comments should be filed on or before December 21, 1995, and Reply Comments should be filed on or before January 5, 1995. All comments should be filed with Scott Shefferman, Network Services Division, Common Carrier Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 2025 M Street, N.W., Suite 6008, Washington, D.C. 20554, referencing Part 68 Waiver Request of Alameda Engineering, Inc., et al, DA 95-XX. The full text of the Petition is available for inspection and duplication in the Network Services Division Reference Room, 2025 M Street, N.W., Room 6220, Washington, D.C., Monday through Thursday, 8:30-3:00. Copies may also be obtained from International Transcription Service by calling (202) 857-3800. For further information, contact Scott Shefferman, (202) 418-2332, Common Carrier Bureau, Network Services Division.