FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 2, Pages 937 to 1877, February 6 - February 17, 2012 Page: 1,358
vii, 937-1877 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Federal Communications Commission
rural areas) may, in the absence of a persuasive explanation, constitute unjust or unreasonable
discrimination in practices, facilities, or services and violate section 202 of the Act. Although there may
be valid reasons for discrepancies in performance, such discrepancies would be subject to examination to
determine whether they are unjustly or unreasonably discriminatory." Service problems could be
particularly problematic for TTY and amplified telephones used by persons with hearing disabilities.
Carriers that fail to ensure that services are usable by and accessible to individuals with disabilities may
be in violation of section 255 of the Act.45 Accordingly. practices that result in disparate quality of
service delivered to rural areas could be found unlawful under sections 202 and 255 of the Act.46
15. Role of Agents. Section 217 of the Act states that a carrier is liable for the acts,
omissions, or failures of its agent or other person acting for or employed by the carrier.47 Therefore, if an
underlying provider is blocking, choking, or otherwise restricting traffic, employing other unjust or
unreasonable practices in violation of section 201, engaging in unjust or unreasonable discrimination in
violation of section 202, or otherwise not complying with the Act or Commission rules, the carrier using
that underlying provider to deliver traffic is liable for those actions if the underlying provider is an agent
or other person acting for or employed by the carrier.48
16. Enforcement. If a carrier engages in any of the prohibited activities described above, the
Commission can take appropriate enforcement action pursuant to the remedies available under statutory
44 NTCA argues that consumers in rural communities deserve at least the same level of network reliability as urban
consumers. See September 2011 NTCA Letter at 2. Unsound routing practices are also contrary to the universal
service principle of access in rural and high cost areas set forth in section 254(b)(3) of the Act. 47 U.S.C.
254(b)(3) ("Consumers in all regions of the Nation, including low-income consumers and those in rural, insular,
and high cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and infonnation services, including interexchange
services and advanced telecommunications and information services, that are reasonably comparable to those
services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for
similar services in urban areas.").
4s 47 U.S.C. 255(c) ("A provider of telecommunications service shall ensure that the service is accessible to and
usable by individuals with disabilities, if readily achievable.").
46 Additionally, each telecommunications carrier has the duty to interconnect directly or indirectly with the facilities
and equipment of other telecommunications carriers and '"not to install network features, functions, or capabilities"
that do not comply with the guidelines and standards established pursuant to section 256 of the Act. 47 U.S.C.
251(a). One purpose of section 256 of the Act is to ensure the ability of users and information providers to
seamlessly and transparently transmit and receive information between and across telecommunications networks.
47 U.S.C. 256(a)(2).
47 47 U.S.C. 217 ("[T]he act, omission, or failure of any officer, agent, or other person acting for or employed by
any common carrier or user, acting within the scope of his employment, shall in every case be also deemed to be the
act, omission, or failure of such carrier or user as well as that of the person."). See also Silv Communication, Inc.,
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 25 FCC Rcd 5178, 5180-82, 5185 (2010) (holding a carrier responsible
for the failures of its telemarketers and third party verification companies to obtain proper authorization and
verification for changes made to consumers' primary carriers pursuant to section 217 of the Act: also finding willful
and repeated violations of sections 258 and 201(b) of the Communications Act where the carrier apparently changed
the preferred carrier of consumers without proper authorization, failed to follow Commission rules with respect to
the third party verifications, and engaged in unjust and unreasonable marketing practices); Eure Family Limited
Partnership, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 17 FCC Red 21861, 21863-21864 (2002) (citing American Paging.
Inc. of Virginia, 12 FCC Red 10417, 10420 (Wireless Bur., Enf. And Cons. Inf. Div. 1997), quoting Triad
Broadcasting Company, Inc., 96 FCC 2d 1235, 1244 (1984)).
48 NTCA asserts that retail interexchange carriers have committed to deliver calls for their customers and they are in
the best position to police the conduct of those to whom they hand calls for routing and termination, and to require
that those providers in turn do the same with respect to any subsequent hand-off of calls. September 2011 NTCA
Letter at 3.1358
DA 12-154
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 2, Pages 937 to 1877, February 6 - February 17, 2012, book, February 2012; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc94251/m1/436/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.