FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 11, Pages 8850 to 9847, July 30 - August 17, 2012 Page: 9,184
x, 8850-9847 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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u PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission News Media Information 2021418-0500
445 12" St, S.W. Internet: http www.fcc.gov
Washington, D.C. 20554 0: 1.8884354322
DA 12-1286
Release Date: August 8, 2012
WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU APPROVES THE COMPLIANCE PLANS OF BIRCH
COMMUNICATIONS, BOOMERANG WIRELESS, IM TELECOM, Q LINK WIRELESS AND
TAG MOBILE
WC Docket Nos. 09-197 and 11-42
The Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) approves the compliance plans of five carriers: Birch
Communications, Inc. (Birch); Boomerang Wireless, LLC (Boomerang); IM Telecom, LLC (IM); Q Link
Wireless, LLC (Q Link); and TAG Mobile, LLC (TAG). The compliance plans were filed pursuant to the
Lifeline Reform Order as a condition of obtaining forbearance from the facilities requirement of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), for the provision of Lifeline service.'
The Act provides that in order to be designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier for the
purpose of universal service support, a carrier must "offer the services that are supported by Federal
universal service support mechanisms . .. either using its own facilities or a combination of its own
facilities and resale of another carrier's services ... .'" The Commission recently amended its rules to
define voice telephony as the supported service and removed directory assistance and operator services,
among other things, from the list of supported services.3 As a result of these amendments, many Lifeline-
only ETCs that previously met the facilities requirement by providing operator services, directory
assistance or other previously supported services no longer meet the facilities requirement of the Act.4 In
the Lifeline Reform Order, the Commission found that a grant of blanket forbearance of the facilities
requirement, subject to certain public safety and compliance obligations, is appropriate for carriers
' See Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization et al, WC Docket No.11-42 et al., Report and Order and
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 27 FCC Rcd 6656, 6816-17 at paras. 379-380 (2012) (Lifeline Reform
Order). A list of the compliance plans approved through this Public Notice can be found in the Appendix to this
Public Notice.
2 47 U.S.C. 214(e)()(A).
See Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, 26 FCC Rcd 17663, 17692-93, paras. 77-78, 80 (2011); pets. for review pending sub nom. In re. FCC
11-161, No. 11-9900 (10th Cir. filed Dec. 8, 2011); Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Order on
Reconsideration, 26 FCC Rcd 17633, 17634-35, para. 4 (2011) (USF/ICC Transformation Order on
Reconsideration).
4See Lifeline Reform Order, 27 FCC Red 6812, at para. 366, App. A; USF/ICC Transformation Order on
Reconsideration at para. 4. Some ETCs have included language in their compliance plans indicating that they have
facilities or plan to acquire facilities in the future. See, e.g., Blanket Forbearance Compliance Plan, WC Docket
Nos. 09-197 and 11-42, Q Link Wireless, LLC's Third Amended Compliance Plan at 4 n. 2 (filed July 30, 2012).
To the extent ETCs seek to avail themselves of the conditional forbearance relief established in the Lifeline Reform
Order, we presume they lack facilities to provide the supported service under section 54.101 and 54.401 of the
Commission's rules. See 47 C.F.R. 54.101 and 54.401. Such ETCs must comply with the compliance plan
approved herein in each state or territory where they are designated as an ETC, regardless of their claim of facilities
for other purposes, such as eligibility for state universal service funding.9184
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 11, Pages 8850 to 9847, July 30 - August 17, 2012, book, August 2012; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc133015/m1/351/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.