FCC Unveils Proposed Wireless Calling Party Pays Rules

The FCC recently released the text of its Calling Party Pays Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, one of the major initiatives at its June "Wireless Day" meeting. Calling Party Pays ("CPP") is a service option under which the party calling a wireless subscriber is billed for the call. Most wireless subscribers in the US are currently billed for both incoming and outgoing calls. The widespread use of CPP in many other countries throughout the world, in which wireless subscribership is much higher, had a considerable influence on the FCC’s decision to propose a limited regulatory framework to eliminate existing barriers to utilization of CPP in the US.