FCC Announces May 15th Deadline for Rural Call Completion Intermediate Provider Registration

Continuing to implement the FCC’s rules to improve service to rural areas, the FCC announced that all intermediate providers” (i.e., entities that carry, but do not originate, long distance traffic) must register with the agency by May 15, 2019. The registration requirement stems from rules adopted by the FCC last summer designed to increase transparency and accountability in the rural call completion process and avoid dropped calls. Intermediate providers must register with the FCC by the deadline in order to continue to receive traffic from carriers that originate long distance calls (known as covered providers”). The registration requirement applies to all intermediate carriers, not just ones completing calls to rural areas. Covered providers will be prohibited from transmitting their traffic to unregistered intermediate providers beginning on August 13, 2019 (90 days after the registration deadline). Intermediate providers must register with the FCC online and the registration instructions may be found here.

Click here to read our full advisory on the registration requirement.