PRICING POLICY DIVISION

The Pricing Policy Division is responsible for administering the provisions of the Communications Act requiring that the charges, practices, classifications, and regulations of common carriers providing interstate and foreign services are just and reasonable. The Division develops competitive pricing policies and rules for the retail and wholesale interstate rates charged by price-cap carriers and rate-of-return carriers; the intercarrier compensation rates that carriers charge each other; and the rates for resale of local exchange services, unbundled network elements and interconnection that incumbent carriers charge competitive carriers. The Division also ensures compliance with Commission pricing rules and conducts formal or informal investigations of carrier charges, practices, classifications and regulations, and recommends appropriate action. The Division also develops rules and polices relating to the Uniform System of Accounts, affiliate transactions, regulated/non-regulated cost allocations, and depreciation rates. In conjunction with the Competition Policy Division, this Division reviews applications from Bell operating companies for authority to provide in-region interLATA services.

6/4/2009
Order Hawaiian Telcom, Inc. Petition For Waiver Of Section 61.42(G) Of The Commission's Price Cap Rules For Advanced Services Formerly Offered By Verizon Hawaii, Inc. Granted Hawaiian a waiver of rule 61.42(g). [Word] [Acrobat]

6/4/2009
Order AT&T, Inc. Petition For Waiver Of Section 61.42(G) Of The Commission's Rules. Granted AT&T's Petition for Waiver. (Dkt No. 09-05 ). [Word] [Acrobat]

5/28/2009
Public Notice: National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. 2009 Modification Of Average Schedules. Response to the NECA, Inc. 2009 Modification of its Average Schedules. (Dkt No. 08-248 ). [Word] [Acrobat]

4/24/2009
Public Notice: Pleading Cycle Established For Iowa Telecommunications Services, Inc., Petition For Waiver Of The Section 61.41 Of The Commission's Rules. (DA No. 09-581). (Dkt No 09-25). Comments Due: 05/15/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/26/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]

4/24/2009
Public Notice: Comments Sought On Hawaiian Telcom, Inc. Petition For Waiver Of Section 61.42(G) Of The Commission's Rules. Comments Due: 05/14/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/26/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]

4/24/2009
Public Notice: Comments Sought On AT&T Petition For Waiver Of Section 61.42(G) Of The Commission's Rules. Comments Due: 05/14/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/26/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]

4/24/2009
Public Notice: Annual Adjustment Of Revenue Thresholds. [Word] [Acrobat]

4/17/2009
Order: Centurytel, Inc. Petition For Conversion To Price Cap Regulation And Limited Waiver Relief. Granted price cap conversion request. (Dkt No. 08-191). [Word] [Acrobat]

4/17/2009
Order: ACS Petition For Conversion To Price Cap Regulation And Limited Waiver Relief. Granted price cap conversion request. (Dkt No. 08-220). [Word] [Acrobat]

4/3/2009
Public Notice: Comment Cycle Established For Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Separations Freeze Extension. (Dkt No 80-286). Comments Due: 04/17/2009. Reply Comments Due: 04/24/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]

3/26/2009
Order: Procedures for the 2009 filing of annual access charge tariffs and Tariff Review Plans for incumbent local exchange carriers subject to price cap regulation and those ILECs subject to section 61.38 of the Commission's Rules. WCB/Pricing File No. 09-02 [Word] [Acrobat]

3/26/2009
Order: Tariff Review Plans regarding the 2009 Annual Access Charge Tariff Filings. Sets forth the Tariff Review Plans that all incumbent local exchange carriers should file to support the annual revisions to the rates in their interstate access service tariffs. WCB/Pricing File No. 09-03 [Word] [Acrobat] [TRP Short Form] [TRP Long Form] [Rate of Return]

3/26/2009
Public Notice: Annual Files Update Cost Allocation Manual Revision. Comments Due: 04/27/2009. Reply Comments Due: 05/12/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]

3/5/2009
Letter: Request For Clarification Of RAO 21 With Respect To Installation Of Emergency Standalone Routers In Remote Terminals. Clarified that the installation of emergency standalone routing capability at a terminal classified as a remote concentrator prior to installation of such capability shall not alter the classification of that terminal or location as a remote terminal. (Dkt No. 08-235). [Word] [Acrobat]

2/25/2009
Public Notice: Pleading Cycle Established For Petition Of BLUE CASA Communications, Inc., For Declaratory Ruling Concerning Intercarrier Compensation For ISP-Bound VNXX Traffic. (DA No. 09-467). (Dkt No 09-8). Comments Due: 03/12/2009. Reply Comments Due: 03/23/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]

2/2/2009
Public Notice: Petition Of Verizon New England For Forbearance. Extended the forbearance date to May 15, 2009. (Dkt No. 08-24). [Word] [Acrobat]

1/30/2009
Public Notice: National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc'S Proposed 2009 Modification Of Average Schedule Formulas. (Dkt No 08-248). Comments Due: 02/17/2009. Reply Comments Due: 02/27/2009. [Word] [Acrobat]

1/21/2009
Order: Feature Group IP Petition For Forbearance From Section 251 (G) Of The Communications Act And Section 51.701(B)(1) And 69.5(B) Of The Commission's Rules. Denied a petition filed by Feature Group IP requesting that the Commission forbear from section 251(g) of the Communications Act and sections 51.701(b)(1) and 69.5(b). (Dkt No. 07-256). [Word] [Acrobat]  McDowell Statement: [Word] [Acrobat]

1/9/2009
Order: Petition Of The Embarq Local Operating Companies For Limited Forbearance Under 47 U.S.C. Section 160(C) From Enforcement Of Rule 69.5(A), ET AL. Extended by 90 days Embarq's Forbearance Deadline. (Dkt No. 08-8). [Word] [Acrobat]

Pricing Flexibility
In the Access Charge Reform Fifth Report and Order, the Commission established the parameters for granting flexibility in the pricing of interstate access services by incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) subject to price cap regulation. The pricing flexibility framework the Commission adopted in the Access Charge Reform Fifth Report and Order is designed to grant greater flexibility to price cap LECs as competition develops, while ensuring that: (1) price cap LECs do not use pricing flexibility to deter efficient entry or engage in exclusionary pricing behavior; and (2) price cap LECs do not increase rates to unreasonable levels for customers that lack competitive alternatives. In addition, the reforms were designed to facilitate the removal of services from price cap regulation as competition develops in the marketplace, without imposing undue administrative burdens on the Commission or the industry.

The Wireline Competition Bureau has released several orders granting petitions of price cap LECs seeking pricing flexibility in accordance with the rules adopted in the Access Charge Reform Fifth Report and Order.

CALLS MADE FROM PAYPHONES
Section 276 of the Act directs the Commission to take a number of actions to promote competition among payphone services and the widespread deployment of payphone services to the general public. The FCC has taken steps also to ensure fair compensation to payphone service providers for each and every call placed from payphones.

A payphone service provider is the person or entity who owns the payphone instrument, such as the local telephone company, an independent company, or the owner of the premises where the payphone is located. [Consumer Fact Sheet]