WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American PrePaid Phonecall Association, APPPA, has filed comments with the FCC supporting full Commission review of a staff Declaratory Ruling on Payphone Compensation (WC Docket No. 11-141). APPPA believes that the ruling, issued by the Wireline Competition Bureau earlier this year, is inconsistent with the Commission's obligation to promote the widespread deployment of payphone services to the general public, and is legally incorrect. APPPA believes that the full Commission should reverse the decision of the Wireline Bureau and focus on identifying and mandating an evenhanded and cohesive method going forward.
"We are very concerned about the impact of the Wireline Bureau's decision on some of the most vulnerable consumers," said Pete Pattullo, Chairman of APPPA. "Low income people often use public payphones to access affordable long distance services to call loved ones abroad, and the Bureau's decision does nothing more than push prepaid service providers toward blocking calls from payphones."
At issue is an FCC rule that requires prepaid service providers to compensate payphone operators for coinless calls made from their telephones. The FCC originally mandated the use of signaling information digits to identify compensable calls, but the signals have proved to be unreliable, and service providers sometimes do not receive them. Some payphone operators have retroactively billed prepaid service providers for calls made from payphones, long after the prepaid call has been made, making it impossible for prepaid service providers to charge the consumer.
GCB, a payphone operator, had sued US South, a prepaid service provider, saying that, even though the calls were not properly identified to the prepaid operator, the operator was obligated to pay for the calls anyway. The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau earlier this year issued a ruling unaccountably agreeing with GCB. US South is appealing this decision to the full Commission. While APPPA supports payphone providers being compensated for calls from their payphones, it firmly believes this misguided position by the FCC Bureau will result in an accelerated demise of payphones from the American landscape.
About APPPA
The group of industry leaders represents the majority of the prepaid calling market in the U.S. and created an association to protect the industry's interests, good name and public trust by providing best practices, and to speak with one voice for the industry and its consumers. Prepaid phone call providers who want more information about joining APPPA should contact Gene Retske, Executive Director, at (703) 552-2874 or by email, execdir@apppa.us.
The American PrePaid Phonecall Association logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=12043