PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 DA 98-112 News media information 202/418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202/418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov Released: January 22, 1998 BellSouth Petition to Establish New Rate Element to Recover Pay Telephone Digit Transmission Costs CCB/CPD File No. 98-4 Pleading Cycle Established COMMENTS: February 4, 1998 REPLY COMMENTS: February 11, 1998 On January 16, 1998, the BellSouth Telecommunications Inc. (BellSouth) filed a petition with the Commission requesting permission to establish a new rate element under Part 69 of the Commission's rules. Under the proposed element, BellSouth would collect a temporary recurring charge from pay telephone service providers (PSPs) to recover the costs associated with the provision of unique automatic number identification information indicators (ANI-ii) on calls from those PSPs' pay telephone lines. BellSouth states that Part 69, Section 69.4(g)(1)(i), of the Commission's rules provides that a local exchange carrier (LEC) subject to price cap regulation may establish a new rate element for a new service provided the carrier shows that the new element would be in the public interest. Citing the digit transmission requirements of the Commission's Payphone Orders, BellSouth states that the purpose of the payphone-specific coding digits is to facilitate per call compensation by interexchange carriers to PSPs for calls made by pay telephone users. BellSouth, in a September 1997 letter to the Common Carrier Bureau, contends that it is in the process of upgrading its switches to comply with such requirements. On October 7, 1997, the Commission granted BellSouth and other LECs a limited waiver of these requirements and extended until March 9, 1998, the date of the payphone- specific coding requirement for those LECs and PSPs not yet able to provide transmission of such digits. BellSouth asserts that it previously has amended the terms of its access tariff to note that such ANI-ii would be transmitted from pay telephone lines. In creating the proposed new element, BellSouth contends it merely would be establishing a recovery mechanism to ensure that PSPs and not interexchange carriers bear the costs that BellSouth incurs in transmitting coding digits from the PSPs' pay telephone lines to the interexchange carriers. BellSouth argues that the Commission should find the proposed new rate element to be consistent with the public interest because, in BellSouth's view, the new element conforms not only to the letter of the Payphone Orders but also to their intent. BellSouth further states, that once it has permission to establish the proposed new rate element, it plans to file a rate that would be assessed on a monthly basis on each access line provided to a PSP. The rate would be designed to recover the costs associated with making software changes, performing the necessary translations in end office and operator services switches as well as modifying other administrative functions such as billing. BellSouth estimates that the proposed charge would be collected only for a period of one year from the effective date of its proposed tariff revisions. Interested parties may file comments on BellSouth's petition no later than February 4, 1998. Replies must be filed by February 11, 1998. When filing comments and/or replies, please reference the internal file number: CCB/CPD 98-4. An original and four copies of all comments and replies must be filed in accordance with Section 1.51(c) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.51(c). In addition, one copy of each pleading must be filed with International Transcription Services, Inc. (ITS), the Commission's duplicating contractor, at its office at 1231 - 20th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 and one copy must be delivered to the Chief, Competitive Pricing Division, Room 518, 1919 M Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20554. For further information contact, Allen A. Barna or Wanda M. Harris, Competitive Pricing Division, Common Carrier Bureau, (202) 418-1530. - FCC -