FCC Shouldn't Act on Iconectiv Petition Before NPRM, Somos Says

The FCC can't “lawfully” act on an iconectiv petition seeking a competitive bidding process for selecting a toll-free numbering administrator (see 2006300003) without first issuing an NPRM, Somos said. Somos representatives spoke with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai and staffers from the Wireline Bureau and Office of General Counsel, said a Tuesday posting in docket 20-174. “Neither the NPRM issued in 2017 (which primarily dealt with a prospective Toll-Free Number auction) nor the comments filed in response to that earlier NPRM addressed the issues that the iconectiv petition seeks to raise,” Somos said. “The current mechanisms for promoting competition in the Toll-Free Number ecosystem and for ensuring just and reasonable rates for the tariffed services that Somos provides have been effective.” Somos is "attempting to divert the Commission's attention from the foundation of iconectiv’s petition," a spokesperson for iconectiv emailed Wednesday: "Eliminating the existing tariff would lead to significant cost-savings for the telecommunications industry and consumers in that it will reduce the rate burden on the entire toll-free ecosystem and add critical transparency around service quality, transition preparedness, system security and similar issues, all of which are hallmarks of modern government contracts."