Sec.  52.15   Central office code administration.

   (a) Central Office Code Administration shall be performed by the NANPA, or
   another entity or entities, as designated by the Commission.

   (b)  Duties  of  the entity or entities performing central office code
   administration may include, but are not limited to:

   (1) Processing central office code assignment applications and assigning
   such codes in a manner that is consistent with this part;

   (2) Accessing and maintaining central office code assignment databases;

   (3) Contributing to the CO Code Use Survey (COCUS), an annual survey that
   describes the present and projected use of CO codes for each NPA in the
   NANP;

   (4) Monitoring the use of central office codes within each area code and
   forecasting the date by which all central office codes within that area code
   will be assigned; and

   (5) Planning for and initiating area code relief, consistent with  Sec. 52.19.

   (c)  Any  telecommunications  carrier  performing  central office code
   administration:

   (1) Shall not charge fees for the assignment or use of central office codes
   to other telecommunications carriers, including paging and CMRS providers,
   unless the telecommunications carrier assigning the central office code
   charges  one  uniform  fee  for all carriers, including itself and its
   affiliates; and

   (2) Shall, consistent with this subpart, apply identical standards and
   procedures for processing all central office code assignment requests, and
   for   assigning   such  codes,  regardless  of  the  identity  of  the
   telecommunications carrier making the request.

   (d) Central Office (CO) Code Administration functional requirements. The
   NANPA shall manage the United States CO code numbering resource, including
   CO code request processing, NPA code relief and jeopardy planning, and
   industry  notification  functions. The NANPA shall perform its CO Code
   Administration functions in accordance with the published industry numbering
   resource administration guidelines and Commission orders and regulations at
   47 CFR chapter I. Subject to the approval of the Commission, the NANPA shall
   develop a transition plan to transfer CO code assignment from the current
   administrators to itself and shall submit this plan to the Commission within
   90 days of the effective date of a Commission order announcing the selection
   of the NANPA. The NANPA shall complete the transfer of CO code assignment
   functions from existing administrators to itself no more than 18 months
   after  the NANPA has assumed all of said administrators' current NANPA
   function.

   (e) The new NANPA shall perform the numbering administration functions
   currently performed by Bellcore, and the CO code administration functions
   currently performed by the eleven CO code administrators, at the price
   agreed to at the time of its selection. The new NANPA may request from NANC,
   with subsequent approval by the Commission, an adjustment in this price if
   the actual number of CO Code assignments made per year, the number of NPAs
   requiring relief per year or the number of NPA relief meetings per NPA
   exceeds 120% of the NANPA's stated assumptions for the tasks at the time of
   its selection.

   (f) Mandatory reporting requirements—(1) Number use categories. Numbering
   resources must be classified in one of the following categories:

   (i) Administrative numbers are numbers used by telecommunications carriers
   to perform internal administrative or operational functions necessary to
   maintain reasonable quality of service standards.

   (ii) Aging numbers are disconnected numbers that are not available for
   assignment to another end user or customer for a specified period of time.
   Numbers previously assigned to residential customers may be aged for no more
   than 90 days. Numbers previously assigned to business customers may be aged
   for no more than 365 days.

   (iii) Assigned numbers are numbers working in the Public Switched Telephone
   Network under an agreement such as a contract or tariff at the request of
   specific end users or customers for their use, or numbers not yet working
   but  having a customer service order pending. Numbers that are not yet
   working and have a service order pending for more than five days shall not
   be classified as assigned numbers.

   (iv) Available numbers are numbers that are available for assignment to
   subscriber access lines, or their equivalents, within a switching entity or
   point of interconnection and are not classified as assigned, intermediate,
   administrative, aging, or reserved.

   (v) Intermediate numbers are numbers that are made available for use by
   another telecommunications carrier or non-carrier entity for the purpose of
   providing telecommunications service to an end user or customer. Numbers
   ported for the purpose of transferring an established customer's service to
   another service provider shall not be classified as intermediate numbers.

   (vi) Reserved numbers are numbers that are held by service providers at the
   request of specific end users or customers for their future use. Numbers
   held for specific end users or customers for more than 180 days shall not be
   classified as reserved numbers.

   (2)  Reporting  carrier.  The  term  “reporting  carrier”  refers to a
   telecommunications carrier that receives numbering resources from the NANPA,
   a Pooling Administrator or another telecommunications carrier.

   (3)  Data  collection  procedures. (i) Reporting carriers shall report
   utilization and forecast data to the NANPA.

   (ii) Reporting shall be by separate legal entity and must include company
   name, company headquarters address, Operating Company Number (OCN), parent
   company OCN, and the primary type of business in which the reporting carrier
   is engaged. The term “parent company” refers to the highest related legal
   entity located within the state for which the reporting carrier is reporting
   data.

   (iii) All data shall be filed electronically in a format approved by the
   Common Carrier Bureau.

   (4) Forecast data reporting. (i) Reporting carriers shall submit to the
   NANPA a five-year forecast of their yearly numbering resource requirements.

   (ii) In areas where thousands-block number pooling has been implemented:

   (A) Reporting carriers that are required to participate in thousands-block
   number pooling shall report forecast data at the thousands-block (NXX-X)
   level per rate center;

   (B)  Reporting  carriers  that  are  not  required  to  participate in
   thousands-block number pooling shall report forecast data at the central
   office code (NXX) level per rate center.

   (iii)  In  areas  where  thousands-block  number  pooling has not been
   implemented, reporting carriers shall report forecast data at the central
   office code (NXX) level per NPA.

   (iv)  Reporting  carriers shall identify and report separately initial
   numbering resources and growth numbering resources.

   (5) Utilization data reporting. (i) Reporting carriers shall submit to the
   NANPA  a  utilization  report  of their current inventory of numbering
   resources. The report shall classify numbering resources in the following
   number  use  categories:  assigned, intermediate, reserved, aging, and
   administrative.

   (ii) Rural telephone companies, as defined in the Communications Act of
   1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 153(37), that provide telecommunications service
   in areas where local number portability has not been implemented shall
   report utilization data at the central office code (NXX) level per rate
   center in those areas.

   (iii) All other reporting carriers shall report utilization data at the
   thousands-block (NXX-X) level per rate center.

   (6) Reporting frequency. (i) Reporting carriers shall file forecast and
   utilization reports semi-annually on or before February 1 for the preceding
   reporting period ending on December 31, and on or before August 1 for the
   preceding reporting period ending on June 30. Mandatory reporting shall
   commence August 1, 2000.

   (ii) State commissions may reduce the reporting frequency for NPAs in their
   states to annual. Reporting carriers operating in such NPAs shall file
   forecast and utilization reports annually on or before August 1 for the
   preceding reporting period ending on June 30, commencing August 1, 2000.

   (iii) A state commission seeking to reduce the reporting frequency pursuant
   to  paragraph  (f)  (6)(ii)  of this section shall notify the Wireline
   Competition Bureau and the NANPA in writing prior to reducing the reporting
   frequency.

   (7) Access to data and confidentiality—States shall have access to data
   reported to the NANPA provided that they have appropriate protections in
   place to prevent public disclosure of disaggregated, carrier-specific data.

   (g) Applications for numbering resources—(1) General requirements. All
   applications for numbering resources must include the company name, company
   headquarters address, OCN, parent company's OCN(s), and the primary type of
   business in which the numbering resources will be used.

   (2)  Initial  numbering  resources. Applications for initial numbering
   resources shall include evidence that:

   (i) The applicant is authorized to provide service in the area for which the
   numbering resources are being requested; and

   (ii) The applicant is or will be capable of providing service within sixty
   (60) days of the numbering resources activation date.

   (3)  Growth numbering resources. (i) Applications for growth numbering
   resources shall include:

   (A) A Months-to-Exhaust Worksheet that provides utilization by rate center
   for the preceding six months and projected monthly utilization for the next
   twelve (12) months; and

   (B) The applicant's current numbering resource utilization level for the
   rate center in which it is seeking growth numbering resources.

   (ii)  The  numbering resource utilization level shall be calculated by
   dividing  all assigned numbers by the total numbering resources in the
   applicant's inventory and multiplying the result by 100. Numbering resources
   activated in the Local Exchange Routing Guide (LERG) within the preceding 90
   days of reporting utilization levels may be excluded from the utilization
   calculation.

   (iii)  All  service  providers shall maintain no more than a six-month
   inventory of telephone numbers in each rate center or service area in which
   it provides telecommunications service.

   (iv) The NANPA shall withhold numbering resources from any U.S. carrier that
   fails  to comply with the reporting and numbering resource application
   requirements established in this part. The NANPA shall not issue numbering
   resources to a carrier without an OCN. The NANPA must notify the carrier in
   writing of its decision to withhold numbering resources within ten (10) days
   of receiving a request for numbering resources. The carrier may challenge
   the NANPA's decision to the appropriate state regulatory commission. The
   state commission may affirm or overturn the NANPA's decision to withhold
   numbering  resources  from  the  carrier based on its determination of
   compliance  with  the  reporting  and  numbering  resource application
   requirements herein.

   (4) Non-compliance. The NANPA shall withhold numbering resources from any
   U.S. carrier that fails to comply with the reporting and numbering resource
   application requirements established in this part. The NANPA shall not issue
   numbering resources to a carrier without an Operating Company Number (OCN).
   The NANPA must notify the carrier in writing of its decision to withhold
   numbering  resources  within  ten (10) days of receiving a request for
   numbering resources. The carrier may challenge the NANPA's decision to the
   appropriate state regulatory commission. The state commission may affirm, or
   may overturn, the NANPA's decision to withhold numbering resources from the
   carrier based on its determination that the carrier has complied with the
   reporting and numbering resource application requirements herein. The state
   commission also may overturn the NANPA's decision to withhold numbering
   resources from the carrier based on its determination that the carrier has
   demonstrated a verifiable need for numbering resources and has exhausted all
   other available remedies.

   (5) State access to applications. State regulatory commissions shall have
   access to service provider's applications for numbering resources. The state
   commissions should request copies of such applications from the service
   providers operating within their states, and service providers must comply
   with  state  commission  requests  for  copies  of  numbering resource
   applications. Carriers that fail to comply with a state commission request
   for numbering resource application materials shall be denied numbering
   resources.

   (h) National utilization threshold. All applicants for growth numbering
   resources  shall  achieve  a  60% utilization threshold, calculated in
   accordance with paragraph (g)(3)(ii) of this section, for the rate center in
   which they are requesting growth numbering resources. This 60% utilization
   threshold shall increase by 5% on June 30, 2002, and annually thereafter
   until the utilization threshold reaches 75%.

   (i)  Reclamation of numbering resources. (1) Reclamation refers to the
   process  by  which  service providers are required to return numbering
   resources to the NANPA or the Pooling Administrator.

   (2)  State  commissions  may investigate and determine whether service
   providers have activated their numbering resources and may request proof
   from all service providers that numbering resources have been activated and
   assignment of telephone numbers has commenced.

   (3) Service providers may be required to reduce contamination levels to
   facilitate reclamation and/or pooling.

   (4) State commissions shall provide service providers an opportunity to
   explain the circumstances causing the delay in activating and commencing
   assignment of their numbering resources prior to initiating reclamation.

   (5)  The  NANPA and the Pooling Administrator shall abide by the state
   commission's determination to reclaim numbering resources if the state
   commission is satisfied that the service provider has not activated and
   commenced assignment to end users of their numbering resources within six
   months of receipt.

   (6) The NANPA and Pooling Administrator shall initiate reclamation within
   sixty days of expiration of the service provider's applicable activation
   deadline.

   (7) If a state commission declines to exercise the authority delegated to it
   in this paragraph, the entity or entities designated by the Commission to
   serve as the NANPA shall exercise this authority with respect to NXX codes
   and the Pooling Administrator shall exercise this authority with respect to
   thousands-blocks. The NANPA and the Pooling Administrator shall consult with
   the Wireline Competition Bureau prior to exercising the authority delegated
   to it in this provision.

   (j) Sequential number assignment. (1) All service providers shall assign all
   available  telephone  numbers  within an opened thousands-block before
   assigning telephone numbers from an uncontaminated thousands-block, unless
   the available numbers in the opened thousands-block are not sufficient to
   meet a specific customer request. This requirement shall apply to a service
   provider's  existing  numbering resources as well as any new numbering
   resources it obtains in the future.

   (2) A service provider that opens an uncontaminated thousands-block prior to
   assigning all available telephone numbers within an opened thousands-block
   should be prepared to demonstrate to the state commission:

   (i)  A genuine request from a customer detailing the specific need for
   telephone numbers; and

   (ii) The service provider's inability to meet the specific customer request
   for  telephone  numbers  from the available numbers within the service
   provider's opened thousands-blocks.

   (3)  Upon  a  finding  by  a  state commission that a service provider
   inappropriately  assigned  telephone  numbers  from  an uncontaminated
   thousands-block,  the NANPA or the Pooling Administrator shall suspend
   assignment or allocation of any additional numbering resources to that
   service  provider  in  the  applicable  NPA until the service provider
   demonstrates that it does not have sufficient numbering resources to meet a
   specific customer request.

   (k) Numbering audits. (1) All telecommunications service providers shall be
   subject to “for cause” and random audits to verify carrier compliance with
   Commission  regulations and applicable industry guidelines relating to
   numbering administration.

   (2)  The  Enforcement Bureau will oversee the conduct and scope of all
   numbering  audits  conducted  under the Commission's jurisdiction, and
   determine the audit procedures necessary to perform the audit. Numbering
   audits performed by independent auditors pursuant to this section shall be
   conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and the
   American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' standards for compliance
   attestation engagements, as supplemented by the guidance and direction of
   the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau.

   (3) Requests for “for cause” audits shall be forwarded to the Chief of the
   Enforcement Bureau, with a copy to the Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau.
   Requests  must state the reason for which a “for cause” audit is being
   requested and include documentation of the alleged anomaly, inconsistency,
   or  violation of the Commission rules or orders or applicable industry
   guidelines. The Chief of the Enforcement Bureau will provide carriers up to
   30 days to provide a written response to a request for a “for cause” audit.

   [ 61 FR 47353 , Sept. 6, 1996, as amended at  62 FR 55182 , Oct. 23, 1997;  65 FR 37707 , June 16, 2000;  66 FR 9531 , Feb. 8, 2001;  67 FR 6434 , Feb. 12, 2002;
    67 FR 13226 , Mar. 21, 2002;  68 FR 25843 , May 14, 2003]