Directory Assistance Reconsideration Order
In Order FCC 05-93, the Commission upheld and clarified its rules on the duty of local exchange carriers ("LECs") to grant competing carriers access to directory assistance information. The Commission denied a petition filed by BellSouth and SBC seeking reconsideration of rules that bar them from imposing restrictions on the use by competitors of directory assistance information competitors obtain from the LECs under the Communications Act.
Under Section 251(b)(3), which requires that LECs provide nondiscriminatory access to directory assistance, the Commission requires competitors to have the same access to directory assistance information that the LECs provide to themselves.
The Order clarified that a LEC must not provide access to numbers that are unlisted at the customer's request. Although competing directory assistance providers may be entitled to nondiscriminatory access to directory assistance information, they must adhere to the privacy requests made by LEC customers. The Order further clarified that competitors must comply with other state and federal laws and regulations governing use of these data. The Order rejected the SBC and BellSouth argument that LECs should not be required to provide access to local listings that were obtained from third parties.