§ 43.51   Contracts and concessions.

   (a)(1) Any communication common carrier described in paragraph (b) of this
   section must file with the Commission, within thirty (30) days of execution,
   a copy of each contract, agreement, concession, license, authorization,
   operating  agreement  or  other arrangement to which it is a party and
   amendments thereto (collectively hereinafter referred to as “agreement” for
   purposes of this rule) with respect to the following:

   (i) The exchange of services; and,

   (ii) The interchange or routing of traffic and matters concerning rates,
   accounting rates, division of tolls, or the basis of settlement of traffic
   balances, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section.

   (2)  If  the  contract, agreement, concession, license, authorization,
   operating agreement or other arrangement and amendments thereto is made
   other than in writing, a certified statement covering all details thereof
   must be filed by at least one of the parties to the agreement. Each other
   party to the agreement which is also subject to these provisions may, in
   lieu of also filing a copy of the agreement, file a certified statement
   referencing the filed document. The Commission may, at any time and upon
   reasonable request, require any communication common carrier not subject to
   the provisions of this section to submit the documents referenced in this
   section.

   (b)  The  following communication common carriers must comply with the
   requirements of paragraph (a) of this section:

   (1) A carrier that is engaged in domestic communications and has not been
   classified as non-dominant pursuant to § 61.3 of this Chapter; or

   (2) A carrier that is engaged in foreign communications and that has been
   classified as dominant for any service on any of the U.S.-international
   routes included in the contract, except for a carrier classified as dominant
   on a particular route due only to a foreign carrier affiliation under § 63.10
   of this chapter.

   (c)  With  respect  to  contracts coming within the scope of paragraph
   (a)(1)(ii) of this section between subject telephone carriers and connecting
   carriers, except those contracts related to communications with foreign or
   overseas points, such documents shall not be filed with the Commission; but
   each subject telephone carrier shall maintain a copy of such contracts to
   which it is a party in appropriate files at a central location upon its
   premises, copies of which shall be readily accessible to Commission staff
   and members of the public upon reasonable request therefor; and upon request
   by  the Commission, a subject telephone carrier shall promptly forward
   individual contracts to the Commission.

   (d) Any U.S. carrier, other than a provider of commercial mobile radio
   services, that is engaged in foreign communications, and enters into an
   agreement with a foreign carrier, is subject to the Commission's authority
   to require the U.S. carrier providing service on any U.S.-international
   routes to file, on an as-needed basis, a copy of each agreement to which it
   is a party.

   Note 1 to § 43.51: For purposes of this section, affiliated and foreign
   carrier are defined in § 63.09 of this chapter.

   Note  2  to  § 43.51:  To the extent that a foreign government provides
   telecommunications services directly through a governmental organization,
   body or agency, it shall be treated as a foreign carrier for the purposes of
   this section.

   [ 66 FR 16879 , Mar. 28, 2001, as amended at  69 FR 23153 , Apr. 28, 2004;  78 FR 11112 , Feb. 15, 2013]

   Effective Date Note: At  78 FR 11112 , Feb. 15, 2013, § 43.51 was amended by
   revising paragraph (d). This paragraph (d) contains information collection
   and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval
   has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.

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