Technologie i telekomunikacja · 5.04.1999

Defining Primary Lines

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a location- based definition of ``primary residential line.'' Under this definition, one residential line that a price cap local exchange carrier (LEC) provides to a particular location will be considered primary. Any other residential lines the price cap LEC provides to the same location shall be deemed non-primary residential lines. This definition will facilitate implementation of the Commission's access charge rules, which set higher caps for the subscriber line charges (SLCs) and presubscribed interexchange carrier charges (PICCs) that price cap LECs may assess on non-primary residential lines and multi- line business lines than on primary residential lines and single line business lines. The Commission issues a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which we tentatively conclude that individuals with speech or hearing disabilities should have access at primary-line rates to one residential line per location for use with a TTY, regardless of whether another line at the location is also treated as primary for residents without such disabilities. We seek comment on this tentative conclusion, and several proposals for implementi