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                            Before the
                FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION DA 97-959
                     Washington, D.C.  20554


In the Matter of                   )
                              )
Part 68 Waiver Request of               )
                              )         
Lucent Technologies, Inc.               )    NSD No. 97 - 17     
                              )
                              
                                   
                              ORDER


          Adopted: May 6, 1997               Released: May 9, 1997

By the Chief, Network Services Division, Common Carrier Bureau:

     1.   Lucent Technologies, Inc. (hereinafter "Petitioner") has filed a request for waiver
of Section 68.312(k) of the Commission's Rules so that it may register, under Part 68 of the
Commission's Rules, three devices that detect the presence of a stutter dial tone.  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.  The petitioner's devices
automatically check for the presence of stutter dial tone and, if detected, cause a light to blink to
alert the subscriber of the waiting voice mail message.  For the reasons discussed below, we
grant Petitioner's waiver requests.

     2.   All terminal equipment sold in the United States and connected to the public
switched telephone network must be registered under Part 68 of the Commission's Rules.  The
Part 68 registration process requires vigorous testing of the device to demonstrate that it
conforms to Part 68 requirements.  Once the equipment tests show that the applicant's device
meets Part 68's requirements, a registration number is issued and the device may be sold in the
United States.  A waiver of one or more portions of Part 68 does not excuse an applicant from
this vigorous testing process, and the waiver of Section 68.312(k) sought by the Petitioner would
allow it to submit its stutter dial tone device for Part 68 testing, pursuant to the terms and
conditions listed in this Order.




     3.   On September 28, 1995, the Commission's Common Carrier Bureau released an 
order granting eight parties waivers of Section 68.312(k) of the Commission's Rules to offer
similar devices.  The waivers were granted subject to eight conditions.  In the Alameda Order,
the Common Carrier Bureau invited other parties able to meet these conditions to file petitions
for waiver of Section 68.312(k) for their stutter dial tone detection devices.  Since the Alameda
Order was released, we have granted waivers to fifteen other parties.  

     4.   The Commission may waive any provision of its Rules if good cause for a waiver
is shown.  Judicial interpretation of applicant's burden to show good cause for a waiver is clear. 
"[A]n applicant [for a waiver] faces a high hurdle even at the starting gate."  Nevertheless, an
agency must take a "hard look" at meritorious applications for waiver,and consider all relevant
factors.  An agency may adhere strictly to its rules unless a party can show "reasons why in the
public interest the rule should be waived."  Finally, "[t]he agency must explain why deviation
better serves the public interest and articulate the nature of the special circumstances to prevent
discriminatory application and to put future parties on notice as to its operation."  

     5.   We stated in the Alameda Order that the introduction of innovative customer
premises equipment that increases choice for consumers and improves the value to the customer
of a particular service is in the public interest. The Petitioner has certified that its devices will
conform to the eight conditions enumerated in the Alameda Order.  In its certification, the
devices for which Petitioner seeks waiver are similar to the devices manufactured by the parties
granted waivers in the Alameda Order.  Thus, we conclude that Petitioner's waiver application is
meritorious.  Since Petitioner has certified that the devices it has designed using stutter dial tone
detection will conform to the conditions enumerated in that order, we conclude that those devices
should be submitted for Part 68 conformance testing to prove that they will pose no harm to the
public switched telephone network.  We further conclude that Petitioner has shown good cause,
for the same reasons that were contained in the Alameda Order, for granting the waiver that
Petitioner has requested.

     6.   We note, however, that VoiceWaves, Inc. and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
(SWBT) filed petitions for reconsideration of the Alameda Order.  Thus, while we grant the
petitioner's waiver request, we subject the authorization to any changes that may be required 
by the Commission's decision on reconsideration.  Parties failing to comply with the
Commission's reconsideration order may have their stutter dial tone registration revoked.

                         ORDERING CLAUSES
     7.   Accordingly, pursuant to authority delegated in Section 0.291 of the
Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.291, and pursuant to Section 1.3 of the Commission's Rules,
47 C.F.R.  1.3, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that the request for waiver of Section 68.312(k) of
the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  68.312(k), by Lucent Technologies, Inc. IS GRANTED to
the extent stated herein.

     8.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the petition for waiver IS GRANTED
SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: the stutter dial tone detection devices (1)
perform no periodic testing for stutter dial tone; (2) make an off-hook stutter dial tone check no
more than once after a subscriber completes a call, and completes the check no earlier than 4
seconds and no later than 30 seconds after the subscriber hangs-up; (3) make an off-hook stutter
dial tone check after an unanswered call no more than once and does so within 4 minutes after
the call; (4) perform no off-hook stutter dial tone checks after an 
unanswered incoming call if the visual message indicator is already lit; (5) take the line off-hook
for no more than 2.1 seconds per stutter dial tone check; (6) synchronize off-hook checks when
multiple stutter dial tone detection and visual signalling devices are attached to the same line so
that only one check is made per calling event for a single line; (7) do not block dial tone to a
subscriber attempting to initiate a call as an off-hook stutter dial tone detection check is
occurring; and (8) do not use more than 8 micro-amps of direct current (DC) from subscriber line
loop, except that the devices may draw loop DC sufficient to make 
authorized off-hook checks.






     9.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the petition for waiver IS GRANTED
SUBJECT TO THE COMMISSION'S DECISION ON RECONSIDERATION of the Alameda
Order, 10 FCC Rcd 12135 (1995).

                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                         Geraldine A. Matise
                         Chief, Network Services Division
                         Common Carrier Bureau