mbw@idis.lis.pittsburgh.edu (fac martin weiss) (04/11/89)
Attached is the text of HR 971, a bill submitted by Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn) regarding the AOS industry. I would like to make it available to the telecom bulletin board. BTW - thanks for posting the text of the FCC decision --Martin Weiss University of Pittsburgh mbw@idis.lis.pittsburgh.edu ============================ Cut here 8< ============== 8< ============ 101st Congress 1st Session H.R. 971 To require the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe rules to protect consumers from unfair practices in the provision of operator services, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 9, 1989 Mr. Cooper (for himself, Mr. Swift, and Mr. Leland) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe rules to protect consumers from unfair practices in the provision of operator services, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE This Act may be cited as the "Telephone Operator Service Consumer Protection Act of 1989". SEC. 2. FINDINGS The Congress hereby finds that -- (1) the divestiture of AT&T and decision allowing open entry for competitors in the telephone marketplace produced a variety of new services and many new providers of existing telephone services; (2) the growth of competition in the telecommunications market makes it essential to ensure that safeguards are in place to assure fairness for consumers and service providers alike; (3) a variety of providers of operator services now compete to win contracts to provide operator services to hotels, hospitals, airports, and other aggregators of telephone business from consumers; (4) the mere existence of a variety of service providers in the operator services marketplace is significant in making that market competitive only when consumers are able to make informed choices from among those service providers; (5) however, often consumers have no choices in selecting a provider of operator services, and often customers' attempts to reach their preferred long distance carrier by a telephone billing card, credit card, or prearranged access number are blocked; (6) a number of state regulatory authorities have taken action to protect consumers using intrastate operator services; (7) from January 1988 through February 1989, the Federal Communications Commission received over 2000 complaints about operator services; (8) these consumers have complained that they are denied access to the interexchange carrier of their choice, that they are deceived about the identity of the company servicing their calls and the rates being charged, that they lack information on what they can do to complain about unfair treatment by an operator service provider, and that they are, accordingly, being deprived of the free choice essential to the operation of a competitive market; and (9) a combination of industry self-regulation and government regulation is required to ensure that competitive operator services are provided in a fair and reasonable manner. SEC. 3. DEFINITION As used in this Act: (1) The term "Commission" means the Federal Communications Commission. (2) The term "the Act" means the Communications Act of 1934. (3) The term "consumer" means a person initiating any interstate telephone call using operator services. (4) The term "operator services" means any interstate telecommunications service that includes, as a component, any automatic or live assistance to a consumer to arrange for billing or completion, or both, of an interstate telephone call through a method other than automatic completion with billing to the telephone from which the call originated. (5) The term "aggregator" means any person, that, in the ordinary course of its operations, makes telephones available to the public or to transient users of its premises for interstate telephone calls using a provider of operator services. SEC. 4. RULEMAKING REQUIRED (a) INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS. - The Commission shall, within 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, initiate a proceeding pursuant to title II of the Act to establish regulations to protect consumers whose use operator services to place interstate telephone calls from unfair and deceptive practices and to ensure that consumers have the opportunity to make informed choices in making such calls. (b) TIMING AND CONTENTS OF REGULATION. - The regulation required by subsection (a) shall -- (1) be prescribed not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act; (2) contain provisions to implement each of the requirements of section 5; (3) for purposes of administration and enforcement, be treated as regulations prescribed by the Commission pursuant to title II of the Act; and (4) take effect not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act. SEC. 5. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS The regulations required by section 4 shall, at a minimum -- (1) require that the provider of the operator services identify itself, audibly and distinctly, to the consumer prior to the consumer incurring any charges and permit the consumer to terminate the telephone call at no charge; (2) require that the provider of operator services ensure, by contract, that each aggregator post on or near the telephone instrument, in plain view of consumers -- (A) the name, address, and toll-free telephone number of the provider, and (B) a written disclosure that consumers have a right to obtain access to the interstate common carrier or their choice and may contact their preferred interstate common carriers for information on accessing that carrier's service using that telephone; (3) require that the provider of operator services disclose immediately to the consumer upon request -- (A) a quote of its rates or charges for the call; (B) methods by which such rates or charges will be collected; and (C) the methods by which complaints concerning such rates, charges, or collection practices will be resolved; (4) require that the provider of operator services -- (A) neither require nor participate in the blocking of any consumer's access to the interstate common carrier of the consumer's choice; and (B) assure, by contract, that its aggregators neither require nor participate in the blocking of access to such interstate common carriers; (5) require that the provider of operator services charge rates which are just and reasonable as required by title II of the Act, which requirement shall include, at a minimum -- (A) prohibiting the provider of operator services for knowingly charging for uncompleted calls; (B) ensuring that, in charging for distance, the provider of operator services charge for no more than the distance, in a straight line, between the points of origination and termination of telephone calls; and (C) ensuring that any consumer billing a telephone call on a billing card provided by an interstate common carrier is billed at the rate of that common carrier for that call; (6) establish minimum standards for providers of operator services to use in the routing and handling of emergency telephone calls; and (7) establish a policy for requiring common carriers to make public information about recent changes in operator services and choices available to consumers in the market. [Moderator's Note: Regrettably, I am not certain if this was the intended ending of Martin's submission, or if it got truncated en-route. As Milton Berle used to say, "...a funny thing happened on the way to the Telecom mailbox today...." It seems an abrupt ending. Hopefully I got it all. PT]