Quarterly FCC PIU Officer Certification due by June 30th

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Pursuant to Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) regulations, all prepaid calling card providers must file quarterly Certifications with the FCC (“FCC Certification”) attesting to compliance with specific percentage of interstate usage (“PIU”) reporting and Universal Service Fund (“USF”) requirements. For more information regarding the Prepaid Calling Card Provider Quarterly FCC Certification, please refer to Background Information below.

The next-scheduled FCC Certification must be filed no later than June 30th. This FCC Certification covers the First Quarter of this year (January 1st – March 31st).

Prior to filing the FCC Certification for Q1 2009 by the June 30 deadline, providers must have already remitted Transport Provider PIU Reports to each underlying telecommunications transport service provider. These Transport Provider PIU Reports describe the PIU factor(s) in effect during Q1 2008, along with the call volumes on which the factor(s) was calculated. The Transport Provider PIU Report should have been submitted on or before May 15th of this year.

According to the FCC‘s regulations, filing the Transport Provider PIU Report is a prerequisite to filing the PIU Certification with the FCC. Therefore, we cannot file the FCC Certification unless or until our client has submitted their Transport Provider PIU Report(s) for the applicable quarter.

We remind clients that the next-scheduled PIU Report must be sent to underlying transport providers no later than August 15th. The next Transport Provider PIU Report covers the Second Quarter of this year (April 1st – June 30th).

CLIENT ACTION ITEMS:

C&R Subscribers: Clients currently subscribed to Compliance & Reporting Service (“C&R Service”) through our firm’s regulatory consulting affiliate, The Commpliance Group, should complete their FCC Certification reports on the forms we provide. No later than June 20th, please return completed reports to Chris Canter at ccanter@commpliancegroup.com.

If you have questions or require assistance, C&R Service clients should contact Mr. Canter.

Non-Subscribers: Law firm clients not presently subscribed to C&R Service, yet requiring assistance with the preparation and filing of the FCC Certification or who have questions about either of the FCC‘s quarterly prepaid calling card provider reports should contact Mr. Canter at ccanter@commpliancegroup.com.

You may disregard this notice if you have already taken the applicable, required actions.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Prepaid Calling Card Provider Quarterly FCC Reporting Requirements

Pursuant to its June 2006 Prepaid Calling Card Service Order, FCC regulations obligate prepaid calling card providers to file quarterly PIU Reports with each underlying telecommunications transport provider that supplied interstate or international transport services during the prior quarter (“Transport Provider PIU Report”). These same regulations obligate prepaid calling card providers to file a separate certification of compliance with the FCC each quarter.

A. Transport Provider PIU Report

Prepaid calling card providers must report PIU factors to all carriers from which they purchased telecommunications transport services. Specifically, a prepaid calling card provider must report prepaid calling card PIU factors and call volumes on which these factors were calculated, based on not less than a one-day representative sample.

PIU factors must be computed separately for originating and terminating traffic on a state-specific basis. This information must be provided to the transport provider no later than the 45th day of each calendar quarter. The transport provider may use the reported PIU in calculating any PIU factors it reports to LECs and may disclose the reported PIU upon request by such LECs.

If the prepaid calling card provider fails to provide the appropriate PIU information to the transport provider in a timely manner, the transport provider may treat the prepaid calling card provider‘s traffic as subject to a 50 percent default PIU. A transport provider also may audit the PIU reports it receives from a calling card provider if it has a reasonable basis to believe that such reports contain inaccurate or misleading data.

B. FCC Certification

Prepaid calling card providers are required to file Certifications with the FCC on a quarterly basis. Each quarterly FCC Certification must include:

  • The percentage of intrastate, interstate, and international calling card minutes of use for that reporting period;
  • The percentage of total prepaid calling card service revenues that are interstate and international and, therefore, subject to federal USF assessments for the reporting period; and
  • A statement that the company is making the required USF contribution based on the reported information.

The FCC Certification must be signed by an officer of the company, under penalty of perjury, stating that the calling card provider is in compliance with the FCC‘s quarterly reporting regulations.

Due Dates

Due dates for filing quarterly Transport Provider PIU Reports and FCC Certifications are as follows:

Reporting Period PIU Report Due FCC Certification Due
4th Quarter (Oct 1-Dec31) February 15 March 31
1st Quarter (Jan 1-Mar 31) May 15 June 30
2nd Quarter (Apr 1-Jun 30) August 15 September 30
3rd Quarter (Jul 1-Sept 30) November 15 December 31

FCC Enforcement

The FCC imposes steep fines against entities that fail to comply with its “reporting” regulations, which includes USF filings, CPNI Certifications, and prepaid calling card provider reports. These FCC fines frequently exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for a single offence. Examples of recent enforcement actions are available on the FCC‘s website: https://www.fcc.gov/eb/usfc/.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER: This information may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers

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