§ 64.1320   Payphone call tracking system audits.

   (a) Unless it has entered into an alternative compensation arrangement
   pursuant to § 64.1310(a) that relieves it of its § 64.1310(a)(1) tracking
   system obligation, each Completing Carrier must undergo an audit of its
   § 64.1310(a)(1) tracking system by an independent third party auditor whose
   responsibility  shall be, using audit methods approved by the American
   Institute for Certified Public Accountants, to determine whether the call
   tracking system accurately tracks payphone calls to completion.

   (b)  By  the effective date of these rules, each Completing Carrier in
   paragraph (a) of this section must file an audit report from the auditor
   (the “System Audit Report”) regarding the Completing Carrier's compliance
   with § 64.1310(a)(1) as of the date of the audit:

   (1) With the Commission's Secretary in CC Docket No. 96-128;

   (2) With each payphone service provider for which it completes calls and a
   Completing Carrier may comply with this paragraph's requirement to file
   copies of the System Audit Report with each payphone service provider by
   posting the System Audit Report on its website or a clearinghouse website;
   and

   (3) With each facilities-based long distance carrier from which it receives
   payphone calls.

   (c) The Completing Carrier must comply with, and the third-party auditor
   must verify, the Completing Carrier's compliance with the following factors
   in establishing a call tracking system pursuant to § 64.1310(a)(1):

   (1) Whether the Completing Carrier's procedures accurately track calls to
   completion;

   (2) Whether the Completing Carrier has a person or persons responsible for
   tracking, compensating, and resolving disputes concerning payphone completed
   calls;

   (3) Whether the Completing Carrier has effective data monitoring procedures;

   (4) Whether the Completing Carrier adheres to established protocols to
   ensure that any software, personnel or any other network changes do not
   adversely affect its payphone call tracking ability;

   (5) Whether the Completing Carrier has created a compensable payphone call
   file by matching call detail records against payphone identifiers;

   (6) Whether the Completing Carrier has procedures to incorporate call data
   into required reports;

   (7) Whether the Completing Carrier has implemented procedures and controls
   needed to resolve payphone compensation disputes;

   (8)  Whether the independent third-party auditor can test all critical
   controls and procedures to verify that errors are insubstantial; and

   (9) Whether the Completing Carriers has in place adequate and effective
   business rules for implementing and paying payphone compensation, including
   rules used to:

   (i) Identify calls originated from payphones;

   (ii) Identify compensable payphone calls;

   (iii) Identify incomplete or otherwise noncompensable calls; and

   (iv) Determine the identities of the payphone service providers to which the
   Completing Carrier owes compensation.

   (d) Consistent with standards established by the American Institute of
   Certified Public Accountants for attestation engagements, the System Audit
   Report shall consist of:

   (1) The Completing Carrier's representation concerning its compliance; and

   (2) The independent auditor's opinion concerning the Completing Carrier's
   representation of compliance. The Completing Carrier's representation must
   disclose

   (i) Its criteria for identifying calls originating from payphones;

   (ii) Its criteria for identifying compensable payphone calls;

   (iii) Its criteria for identifying incomplete or otherwise noncompensable
   calls;

   (iv) Its criteria used to determine the identities of the payphone service
   providers to which the completing carrier owes compensation;

   (v) The identity of any clearinghouses the Completing Carrier uses; and

   (vi) The types of information that the Completing Carrier needs from the
   payphone service providers in order to compensate them.

   (e) At the time of filing of a System Audit Report with the Commission, the
   Completing Carrier shall file with the Commission's Secretary, the payphone
   service providers and the facilities-based long distance carriers identified
   in paragraph (b) of this section, a statement that includes the name of the
   Completing Carrier, and the name, address and phone number for the person or
   persons  responsible  for  handling  the Completing Carrier's payphone
   compensation and for resolving disputes with payphone service providers over
   compensation, and this statement shall be updated within 60 days of any
   changes of such persons. If a Completing Carrier chooses to notify payphone
   service providers of this statement and its System Audit Report by posting
   these two documents on its website or a clearinghouse website, then this
   statement shall include the web address for these two documents.

   (f) One year after the filing of the System Audit Report, and annually
   thereafter, the Completing Carrier shall engage an independent third-party
   auditor to:

   (1) Verify that no material changes have occurred concerning the Completing
   Carrier's compliance with the criteria of the prior year's System Audit
   Report; or

   (2) If a material change has occurred concerning the Completing Carrier's
   compliance  with the prior year's System Audit Report, verify that the
   material changes do not affect compliance with the audit criteria set forth
   in paragraph (c) of this section. The Completing Carrier must fully disclose
   any  material  changes  concerning  its  call  tracking  system in its
   representation to the auditor. The Completing Carrier shall file and provide
   copies of all System Audit Reports pursuant to the procedures set forth in
   paragraph (b) of this section.

   (g) Subject to protections safeguarding the auditor's and the Completing
   Carrier's confidential and proprietary information, the Completing Carrier
   shall provide, upon request, to the payphone service provider for inspection
   any documents, including working papers, underlying the System Audit Report.

   [ 68 FR 62756 , Nov. 6, 2003, as amended at  70 FR 723 , Jan. 5, 2005]

   return arrow Back to Top