FCC 43.51 Revised as of October 1, 2007
Goto Year:2006 |
2008
Sec. 43.51 Contracts and concessions.
(a)(1) Any communication common carrier described in paragraph (b) of this
section must file with the Commission, within thirty (30) days of execution,
a copy of each contract, agreement, concession, license, authorization,
operating agreement or other arrangement to which it is a party and
amendments thereto with respect to the following:
(i) The exchange of services; and,
(ii) The interchange or routing of traffic and matters concerning rates,
accounting rates, division of tolls, or the basis of settlement of traffic
balances, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section.
(2) If the contract, agreement, concession, license, authorization,
operating agreement or other arrangement and amendments thereto is made
other than in writing, a certified statement covering all details thereof
must be filed by at least one of the parties to the agreement. Each other
party to the agreement which is also subject to these provisions may, in
lieu of also filing a copy of the agreement, file a certified statement
referencing the filed document. The Commission may, at any time and upon
reasonable request, require any communication common carrier not subject to
the provisions of this section to submit the documents referenced in this
section.
(b) The following communication common carriers must comply with the
requirements of paragraph (a) of this section:
(1) A carrier that is engaged in domestic communications and has not been
classified as non-dominant pursuant to Sec. 61.3 of this Chapter,
(2) A carrier that is engaged in foreign communications and that has been
classified as dominant for any service on any of the U.S.-international
routes included in the contract, except for a carrier classified as dominant
on a particular route due only to a foreign carrier affiliation under Sec. 63.10
of this chapter, or
(3) A carrier, other than a provider of commercial mobile radio services,
that is engaged in foreign communications and enters into a contract,
agreement, concession, license, authorization, operating agreement or other
arrangement and amendments thereto with a foreign carrier that does not
qualify for the presumption, set forth in Note 3 to this section, that it
lacks market power on the foreign end of one or more of the
U.S.-international routes included in the contract, unless the route appears
on the Commission's list of U.S.-international routes that the Commission
has exempted from the international settlements policy set forth in Sec. 64.1002
of this chapter.
(c) With respect to contracts coming within the scope of paragraph
(a)(1)(ii) of this section between subject telephone carriers and connecting
carriers, except those contracts related to communications with foreign or
overseas points, such documents shall not be filed with the Commission; but
each subject telephone carrier shall maintain a copy of such contracts to
which it is a party in appropriate files at a central location upon its
premises, copies of which shall be readily accessible to Commission staff
and members of the public upon reasonable request therefor; and upon request
by the Commission, a subject telephone carrier shall promptly forward
individual contracts to the Commission.
(d) Any U.S. carrier that interconnects to the U.S. public switched network
an international private line that extends between the United States and a
country that the Commission has not exempted from the international
settlements policy shall file annually with the Chief of the International
Bureau a certified statement containing the number and type ( e.g. , a
64-kbps circuit) of private lines interconnected at the carrier's own
switch, including any switch in which the carrier holds a leasehold
interest. The certified statement shall specify the number and type of
interconnected private lines on a country specific basis. The identity of
the customer need not be reported, and the Commission will treat the country
of origin information as confidential. Carriers need not file their
contracts for such interconnections, unless they are specifically requested
to do so. These reports shall be filed on a consolidated basis on February 1
(covering international private lines interconnected during the preceding
January 1 to December 31 period) of each year. International private lines
to countries which the Commission has exempted from the international
settlements policy, set forth in Sec. 64.1002 of this chapter, at any time
during a particular reporting period are exempt from this filing
requirement.
(e) Other filing requirements for carriers providing service on
U.S.-international routes that are subject to the international settlements
policy.
(1) For routes subject to the international settlements policy set forth in
Sec. 64.1002 of this chapter, if a U.S. carrier files an operating or other
agreement with a foreign carrier pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section
to begin providing switched voice, telex, telegraph, or packet-switched
service between the United States and a foreign point, the carrier must also
file with the International Bureau a modification request under Sec. 64.1001 of
this chapter. The operating or other agreement cannot become effective until
the modification request has been granted under paragraph Sec. 64.1001(e) of
this chapter.
(2) For routes subject to the international settlements policy, if a carrier
files an amendment, pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, to an
existing operating or other agreement with a foreign carrier to provide
switched voice, telex, telegraph, or packet-switched service between the
United States and a foreign point, and the amendment relates to the exchange
of services, interchange or routing of traffic and matters concerning rates,
accounting rates, division of tolls, the allocation of return traffic, or
the basis of settlement of traffic balances, the carrier must also file with
the International Bureau a modification request under Sec. 64.1001 of this
chapter. The amendment to the operating or other agreement cannot become
effective until the modification request has been granted under Sec. 64.1001(e)
of this chapter.
(f) Confidential treatment. (1) A carrier providing service on an
international route that is exempt from the international settlements policy
under paragraph (e)(3) of this section, but that is otherwise required by
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section to file a contract covering service
on that route with the Commission, may request confidential treatment under
Sec. 0.457 of this Chapter for the rates, terms and conditions that govern the
settlement of U.S. international traffic.
(2) Carriers requesting confidential treatment under this paragraph must
include the information specified in Sec. 64.1001(c) of this Chapter. Such
filings shall be made with the Commission, with a copy to the Chief,
International Bureau. The transmittal letter accompanying the confidential
filing shall clearly identify the filing as responsive to Sec. 43.51(f).
Note 1 to Sec. 43.51: For purposes of this section, affiliated and foreign
carrier are defined in Sec. 63.09 of this chapter.
Note 2 to Sec. 43.51: To the extent that a foreign government provides
telecommunications services directly through a governmental organization,
body or agency, it shall be treated as a foreign carrier for the purposes of
this section.
Note 3 to Sec. 43.51: Carriers shall rely on the Commission's list of foreign
carriers that do not qualify for the presumption that they lack market power
in particular foreign points for purposes of determining which of their
foreign carrier contracts are subject to the contract filing requirements
set forth in this section. The Commission's list of foreign carriers that do
not qualify for the presumption that they lack market power in particular
foreign points is available from the International Bureau's World Wide Web
site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib. The Commission will include on the list of
foreign carriers that do not qualify for the presumption that they lack
market power in particular foreign points any foreign carrier that has 50
percent or more market share in the international transport or local access
markets of a foreign point. A party that seeks to remove such a carrier from
the Commission's list bears the burden of submitting information to the
Commission sufficient to demonstrate that the foreign carrier lacks 50
percent market share in the international transport and local access markets
on the foreign end of the route or that it nevertheless lacks sufficient
market power on the foreign end of the route to affect competition adversely
in the U.S. market. A party that seeks to add a carrier to the Commission's
list bears the burden of submitting information to the Commission sufficient
to demonstrate that the foreign carrier has 50 percent or more market share
in the international transport or local access markets on the foreign end of
the route or that it nevertheless has sufficient market power to affect
competition adversely in the U.S. market.
Note 4 to Sec. 43.51: The Commission's list of international routes exempted
from the international settlements policy is available on the International
Bureau's World Wide Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib .
[ 66 FR 16879 , Mar. 28, 2001, as amended at 69 FR 23153 , Apr. 28, 2004]
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