Two years ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) started looking at 1-800 calling (referred to by the FCC as “8YY calling”) with the sensible motivation to close loopholes that might lead to abuse of the system. Unfortunately, along the way, the process devolved into an effort by some players to cut their own costs and get a leg up in the market by regulatory fiat.
Protecting Free Markets and Main Street opposes the current FCC 8YY Access Charge Reform Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking now on circulation.
The proposed Order attempts to curb 8YY-related fraud and abuse by proposing a transition of all 8YY-related charges to bill-and-keep and a cap of database query charges at a rate below the weighted national average. What this means in English is that the Order unfairly saddles small- and medium-sized businesses and American consumers already feeling the weight of the Covid-19 pandemic with costs associated with 1-800 calls that were previously free to them.
The proposed Order is a heavy-handed, overly broad reaction by the FCC in response to a small percentage of calls involving 1-800 numbers that are fraudulent and abusive. What the FCC is proposing as a solution to these cases is a blanket order that completely upends the 1-800 system as we know it.
This won’t harm Big Telecom companies, who lobbied for and will benefit from these changes, but it will hurt everyday Americans who have come to rely on 1-800 toll-free calling as a basic element of everyday life.
If were the Order were to fully take effect, Big Telecom would be able to hand off costs associated with 1-800 calls to small businesses and eventually American consumers in the middle of a global pandemic and during one of the worst economic crises in a generation. It’s no surprise that the companies which stand to gain the most from the Order – like AT&T – basically dictated the terms of the proposal to the FCC t. The result of the Order would be a pure windfall for Big Telecom against small and medium providers and their customers.
Should the Order take effect, Americans will have to foot the bill for critical, and currently toll-free, services such as the national domestic violence hotline, the national sexual assault hotline, and the national suicide hotline would be placed in jeopardy. Calls to such hotlines have increased by more than 60% during the Covid-19 pandemic and driving up the costs for these life-saving services may make it harder for Americans to use them.
Simply put, the FCC Order picks winners and losers, eliminates the basic notion of open, transparent competition in a free market, and favors big businesses against small and medium enterprises and disadvantaged Americans.The FCC must prioritize Americans over the big business interests of a handful of large telecom companies that seek only to increase their own profits through this Order.
Protecting Free Markets and Main Street’s opposition to this order comes from a desire to protect American consumers and small businesses, during a time when they need more support than ever.
