[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 47, Volume 3]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 47CFR63.16]

[Page 235-236]
 
                       TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION
 
        CHAPTER I--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED)
 
Sec.  63.16  Switched services over private lines.

    (a) Except as provided in Sec. Sec.  63.22 (e)(2) and 63.23(d)(2), a 
carrier may provide switched basic services over its authorized private 
lines if and only if the country at the foreign end of the private line 
appears on a Commission list of destinations to which the Commission has 
authorized the provision of switched services over private lines. The 
list of authorized destinations is available from the International 
Bureau's World Wide Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib.
    (b) An authorized carrier seeking to add a foreign market to the 
list of markets for which carriers may provide switched services over 
private lines must make the following showing:
    (1) If seeking a Commission ruling to permit the provision of 
international switched basic services over private lines between the 
United States and a WTO Member country, the applicant shall demonstrate 
either that settlement rates for at least 50 percent of the settled 
U.S.-billed traffic between the United States and the country at the 
foreign end of the private line are at or below the benchmark settlement 
rate adopted for that country in IB Docket No. 96-261 or that the 
country affords resale opportunities equivalent to those available under 
U.S. law (see paragraph (c) of this section).
    (2) If seeking a Commission ruling to permit the provision of 
international switched basic services over private lines between the 
United States and a non-WTO Member country, the applicant shall 
demonstrate that settlement rates for at least 50 percent of the settled 
U.S.-billed traffic between the United States and the country at the 
foreign end of the private line are at or below the benchmark settlement 
rate adopted for that country in IB Docket

[[Page 236]]

No. 96-261 that the country affords resale opportunities equivalent to 
those available under U.S. law (see paragraph (c) of this section).
    (c) With regard to showing under paragraph (b) of this section that 
a destination country affords resale opportunities equivalent to those 
available under U.S. law, an applicant shall include evidence 
demonstrating that equivalent resale opportunities exist between the 
United States and the subject country, including any relevant bilateral 
or multilateral agreements between the administrations involved. The 
applicant must demonstrate that the foreign country at the other end of 
the private line provides U.S.-based carriers with:
    (1) The legal right to resell international private lines, 
interconnected at both ends, for the provision of switched services;
    (2) Reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges, terms and conditions 
for interconnection to foreign domestic carrier facilities for 
termination and origination of international services, with adequate 
means of enforcement;
    (3) Competitive safeguards to protect against anticompetitive and 
discriminatory practices affecting private line resale; and
    (4) Fair and transparent regulatory procedures, including separation 
between the regulator and operator of international facilities-based 
services.
    (d) The showing required by paragraph (b) of this section may be 
made in a Section 214 application filed pursuant to Sec.  63.18 of this 
part or in a petition for declaratory ruling addressed to the attention 
of the International Bureau and indicating clearly the name of the party 
seeking the declaration and the destination points for which the 
declaration is sought. The Commission will issue public notice of the 
filing of the request and may, in each case, determine an appropriate 
deadline for filing comments. Unopposed requests may be granted by 
public notice.

    Note 1 to Sec.  63.16: The Commission's benchmark settlement rates 
are available in International Settlement Rates, IB Docket No. 96-261, 
Report and Order, FCC 97-280, 12 FCC Rcd 19,806, 62 FR 45758 (August 29, 
1997).

[64 FR 19063, Apr. 19, 1999, as amended at 64 FR 34741, June 29, 1999]