(a) Basis. The rules in this subpart are issued pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

(b) Purpose. The purpose of these rules is to facilitate the timely and accurate establishment, termination, and billing of customer telephone service accounts.

Terms in this subpart have the following meanings:

(a) Automatic number identification (ANI). The term automatic number identification refers to the delivery of the calling party's billing telephone number by a local exchange carrier to any interconnecting carrier for billing or routing purposes.

(b) Billing name and address (BNA). The term billing name and address means the name and address provided to a [LEC] by each of its local exchange customers to which the [LEC] directs bills for its services.

(c) Customer. The term customer means the end user to whom a local exchange carrier or interexchange carrier is providing local exchange or telephone toll service.

(d) Interexchange carrier (IXC). The term interexchange carrier means a telephone company that provides telephone toll service. An interexchange carrier does not include commercial mobile radio service providers as defined by federal law.

(e) Local exchange carrier (LEC). The term local exchange carrier means any person that is engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service or exchange access. Such term does not include a person insofar as such person is engaged in the provision of a commercial mobile service under § 332(c), except to the extent that the Commission finds that such service should be included in the definition of that term.

(f) Preferred interexchange carrier (PIC). The term preferred interexchange carrier means the carrier to which a customer chooses to be presubscribed for purposes of receiving intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international toll services.

To the extent that the information is reasonably available to a LEC, the LEC shall provide to an IXC the customer account information described in this section consistent with § 64.4004. Nothing in this section shall prevent a LEC from providing additional customer account information to an IXC to the extent that such additional information is necessary for billing purposes or to properly execute a customer's PIC order.

(a) Customer-submitted PIC order. Upon receiving and processing a PIC selection submitted by a customer and placing the customer on the network of the customer's preferred interexchange carrier at the LEC's local switch, the LEC must notify the IXC of this event. The notification provided by the LEC to the IXC must contain all of the customer account information necessary to allow for proper billing of the customer by the IXC including but not limited to:

(1) The customer's billing telephone number, working telephone number, and billing name and address;

(2) The effective date of the PIC change;

(3) A statement describing the customer type (i.e., business or residential);

(4) A statement indicating, to the extent appropriate, that the customer's telephone service listing is not printed in a directory and is not available from directory assistance or is not printed in a directory but is available from directory assistance;

(5) The jurisdictional scope of the PIC installation (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international);

(6) The carrier identification code of the IXC; and

(7) If relevant, a statement indicating that the customer's account is subject to a PIC freeze. The notification also must contain information, if relevant and to the extent that it is available, reflecting the fact that a customer's PIC selection was the result of:

(i) A move (an end user customer has moved from one location to another within a LEC's service territory);

(ii) A change in responsible billing party; or

(iii) The resolution of a PIC dispute.

(b) Confirmation of IXC-submitted PIC order. When a LEC has placed a customer on an IXC's network at the local switch in response to an IXC-submitted PIC order, the LEC must send a confirmation to the submitting IXC. The confirmation provided by the LEC to the IXC must include:

(1) The customer's billing telephone number, working telephone number, and billing name and address;

(2) The effective date of the PIC change;

(3) A statement describing the customer type (i.e., business or residential);

(4) A statement indicating, to the extent appropriate, if the customer's telephone service listing is not printed in a directory and is not available from directory assistance, or is not printed in a directory but is available from directory assistance;

(5) The jurisdictional scope of the PIC installation (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international); and

(6) The carrier identification code of the IXC. If the PIC order at issue originally was submitted by an underlying IXC on behalf of a toll reseller, the confirmation provided by the LEC to the IXC must indicate, to the extent that this information is known, a statement indicating that the customer's PIC is a toll reseller.

(c) Rejection of IXC-submitted PIC order. When a LEC rejects or otherwise does not act upon a PIC order submitted to it by an IXC, the LEC must notify the IXC and provide the reason(s) why the PIC order could not be processed. The notification provided by the LEC to the IXC must state that it has rejected the IXC-submitted PIC order and specify the reason(s) for the rejection (e.g., due to a lack of information, incorrect information, or a PIC freeze on the customer's account). The notification must contain the identical data elements that were provided to the LEC in the original IXC-submitted PIC order (i.e., mirror image of the original order), unless otherwise specified by this paragraph. If a LEC rejects an IXC-submitted PIC order for a multi-line account (i.e., the customer has selected the IXC as his PIC for two or more lines or terminals associated with his billing telephone number), the notification provided by the LEC rejecting that order must explain the effect of the rejection with respect to each line (working telephone number or terminal) associated with the customer's billing telephone number. A LEC is not required to generate a line-specific or terminal-specific response, however, and may communicate the rejection at the billing telephone level, when the LEC is unable to process an entire order, including all working telephone numbers and terminals associated with a particular billing telephone number. In addition, the notification must indicate the jurisdictional scope of the PIC order rejection (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international). If a LEC rejects a PIC order because:

(1) The customer's telephone number has been ported to another LEC; or

(2) The customer has otherwise changed local service providers, the LEC must include in its notification, to the extent that it is available, the identity of the customer's new LEC.

(d) Customer contacts LEC or new IXC to change PIC(s) or customer contacts LEC or current IXC to change PIC to No-PIC. When a LEC has removed at its local switch a presubscribed customer from an IXC's network in response to a customer order, upon receipt of a properly verified PIC order submitted by another IXC, or in response to a notification from the customer's current IXC relating to the customer's request to change his or her PIC to No-PIC, the LEC must notify the customer's former IXC of this event. The LEC must provide to the IXC the customer account information that is necessary to allow for proper final billing of the customer by the IXC including but not limited to:

(1) The customer's billing telephone number, working telephone number, and billing name and address;

(2) The effective date of the PIC change;

(3) A description of the customer type (i.e., business or residential);

(4) The jurisdictional scope of the lines or terminals affected (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international); and

(5) The carrier identification code of the IXC. If a customer changes PICs but retains the same LEC, the LEC is responsible for notifying both the old PIC and new PIC of the PIC change. The notification also must contain information, if relevant and to the extent that it is available, reflecting the fact that a customer's PIC removal was the result of:

(i) The customer moving from one location to another within the LEC's service territory, but where there is no change in local service provider;

(ii) A change of responsible party on an account; or

(iii) A disputed PIC selection.

(e) Particular changes to customer's local service account. When, according to a LEC's records, certain account or line information changes occur on a presubscribed customer's account, the LEC must communicate this information to the customer's PIC. For purposes of this paragraph, the LEC must provide to the appropriate IXC account change information that is necessary for the IXC to issue timely and accurate bills to its customers including but not limited to:

(1) The customer's billing telephone number, working telephone number, and billing name and address;

(2) The customer code assigned to that customer by the LEC;

(3) The type of customer account (i.e., business or residential);

(4) The status of the customer's telephone service listing, to the extent appropriate, as not printed in a directory and not available from directory assistance, or not printed in a directory but available from directory assistance; and

(5) The jurisdictional scope of the PIC installation (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international);

(6) The effective date of any change to a customer's local service account; and

(7) The carrier identification code of the IXC. If there are changes to the customer's billing or working telephone number, customer code, or customer type, the LEC must supply both the old and new information for each of these categories.

(f) Local service disconnection. Upon receipt of an end user customer's request to terminate his entire local service account or disconnect one or more lines (but not all lines) of a multi-line account, the LEC must notify the PIC(s) for the billing telephone number or working telephone number on the account of the account termination or lines disconnected. In conjunction with this notification requirement, the LEC must provide to a customer's PIC(s) all account termination or single/multi-line disconnection change information necessary for the PIC(s) to maintain accurate billing and PIC records, including but not limited to:

(1) The effective date of the termination/disconnection; and

(2) The customer's working and billing telephone numbers and billing name and address;

(3) The type of customer account (i.e., business or residential);

(4) The jurisdictional scope of the PIC installation (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international); and

(5) The carrier identification code of the IXC.

(g) Change of local service provider. When a customer changes LECs, the customer's former LEC must notify the customer's PIC(s) of the customer's change in LEC and, if known, the identity of the customer's new LEC. If the customer also makes a PIC change, the customer's former LEC must also notify the customer's former PIC(s) of the change. When a customer only changes LECs, the new LEC must notify the customer's current PIC(s) that the customer's PIC selection has not changed. If the customer also makes a PIC change, the new LEC must notify the customer's new PIC of the customer's PIC selection. If the customer's former LEC is unable to identify the customer's new LEC, the former LEC must notify the customer's PIC(s) of a local service disconnection as described in paragraph (f).

(1) The required notifications also must contain information, if relevant and to the extent that it is available, reflecting the fact that an account change was the result of:

(i) The customer porting his number to a new LEC;

(ii) A local resale arrangement (customer has transferred to local reseller); or

(iii) The discontinuation of a local resale arrangement;

(2) The notification provided by the LEC to the IXC must include:

(i) The customer's billing telephone number, working telephone number, and, billing name and address;

(ii) The effective date of the change of local service providers or PIC change;

(iii) A description of the customer type (i.e., business or residential);

(iv) The jurisdictional scope of the lines or terminals affected (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international); and

(v) The carrier identification code of the IXC.

(h) IXC requests for customer BNA information. Upon the request of an IXC, a LEC must provide the billing name and address information necessary to facilitate a customer's receipt of a timely, accurate bill for services rendered and/or to prevent fraud, regardless of the type of service the end user receives/has received from the requesting carrier (i.e., presubscribed, dial-around, casual). In response to an IXC's BNA request for ANI, a LEC must provide the BNA for the submitted ANI along with:

(1) The working telephone number for the ANI;

(2) The date of the BNA response;

(3) The carrier identification code of the submitting IXC; and

(4) A statement indicating, to the extent appropriate, if the customer's telephone service listing is not printed in a directory and is not available from directory assistance, or is not printed in a directory but is available from directory assistance. A LEC that is unable to provide the BNA requested must provide the submitting carrier with the identical information contained in the original BNA request (i.e., the mirror image of the original request), along with the specific reason(s) why the requested information could not be provided. If the BNA is not available because the customer has changed local service providers or ported his telephone number, the LEC must include the identity of the new provider when this information is available.

To the extent that the information is reasonably available to an IXC, the IXC shall provide to a LEC the customer account information described in this section consistent with § 64.4004. Nothing in this section shall prevent an IXC from providing additional customer account information to a LEC to the extent that such additional information is necessary for billing purposes or to properly execute a customer's PIC Order.

(a) IXC-submitted PIC Order. When a customer contacts an IXC to establish interexchange service on a presubscribed basis, the IXC selected must submit the customer's properly verified PIC Order (see 47 CFR 64.1120(a)) to the customer's LEC, instructing the LEC to install or change the PIC for the customer's line(s) to that IXC. The notification provided by the IXC to the LEC must contain all of the information necessary to properly execute the Order including but not limited to:

(1) The customer's billing telephone number or working telephone number associated with the lines or terminals that are to be presubscribed to the IXC;

(2) The date of the IXC-submitted PIC Order;

(3) The jurisdictional scope of the PIC Order (i.e, intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international); and

(4) The carrier identification code of the submitting IXC.

(b) Customer contacts IXC to cancel PIC and to select no-PIC status. When an end user customer contacts an IXC to discontinue interexchange service on a presubscribed basis, the IXC must confirm that it is the customer's desire to have no PIC and, if that is the case, the IXC must notify the customer's LEC. The IXC also is encouraged to instruct the customer to notify his LEC. An IXC may satisfy this requirement by establishing a three-way call with the customer and the customer's LEC to confirm that it is the customer's desire to have no PIC and, where appropriate, to provide the customer the opportunity to withdraw any PIC freeze that may be in place. The notification provided by the IXC to the LEC must contain the customer account information necessary to properly execute the cancellation Order including but not limited to:

(1) The customer's billing telephone number or working telephone number associated with the lines or terminals that are affected;

(2) The date of the IXC-submitted PIC removal Order;

(3) The jurisdictional scope of the PIC removal Order (i.e., intraLATA and/or interLATA and/or international); and

(4) The carrier identification code of the submitting IXC.

Carriers subject to the requirements of this section shall provide the required notifications promptly and without unreasonable delay.

To the extent that a carrier incurs costs associated with providing the notifications required by this section, the carrier may recover such costs, consistent with federal and state laws, through the filing of tariffs, via negotiated agreements, or by other appropriate mechanisms. Any cost recovery method must be reasonable and must recover only costs that are associated with providing the particular information. The imposition of unreasonable terms or conditions on the provision of information required by this section may be considered an unreasonable carrier practice under section 201(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and may subject the carrier to appropriate enforcement action.

A carrier that receives customer account information under this section shall use such information to ensure timely and accurate billing of a customer's account and to ensure timely and accurate execution of a customer's preferred interexchange carrier instructions. Such information shall not be used for marketing purposes without the express consent of the customer.