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In the Matter of AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO. (A.T.&T.) "Foreign Attachment" Tariff Revisions in

A.T. & T. Tariff FCC Nos. 263, 260, and 259

 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

 

15 F.C.C.2d 605 (1968); 15 Rad. Reg. 2d (P & F) 91

 

RELEASE-NUMBER: FCC 68-1234

 

December 24, 1968 Adopted

 


 

BY THE COMMISSION: COMMISSIONER COX CONCURRING IN THE RESULT; COMMISSIONER WADSWORTH ABSENT; COMMISSIONER JOHNSON DISSENTING AND ISSUING A STATEMENT.

 

[*605]  1.  We have before us new tariffs and supporting papers filed recently by the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. (A.T.&T.) in behalf of itself and other telephone companies wherein it is proposed to effectuate significant changes in the foreign attachment provisions now appearing in certain tariffs of .T.&T.  These provisions govern the connection or attachment of customer-provided facilities to common carrier-provided facilities used in furnishing interstate or foreign communications services to the public.  The particular services affected by these new tariffs are long-distance-message telecommunications service or message toll telephone service (tariff No. 263); private line service (tariff No. 260), and wide-area telecommunications service or WATS (tariff No. 259).  The new tariffs are published to become effective, in part, on January 1, 1969, and, in part, on January 1, 1970.  Appendix A hereof identifies the aforesaid new and revised schedules and supporting documents submitted by A.T.&T.  In addition, we have before us a number of formal and informal pleadings and comments that have been submitted in response to the new tariffs.  See appendix B.

 

2.  Many of the responsive pleadings request us to reject, suspend, or investigate the new tariffs in whole or in part.  Others submit comments and observations on the new tariffs without requesting any specific action by the Commission at this time.  A.T.&T. urges us to permit the new tariffs to go into effect as scheduled without hearing or investigation.  We believe that it will be useful to outline the salient features of the changes proposed by the new tariffs and the questions presented before stating our disposition of the matter before us.

 

 [*606]  3.  The pleadings and comments are addressed principally to the new tariffs as they affect A.T.&T.'s tariff FCC No. 263.  This tariff applies to the message toll telephone service, which is to be renamed "long-distance-message telecommunications service" under the new tariffs.

 

4.  The nature of the changes proposed for A.T. & T. tariff FCC No. 263 will be more easily understood by making clear at the outset the nature of the service offered by the telephone companies under this tariff.  This service utilizes the nationwide switched network of more than 2,000 cooperating telephone companies extending throughout the country.  The network consists of (1) the telephone set, usually located on the customer's premises; (2) the pair of wires, or loop, and its supporting structures, which connect the telephone set to the central office; (3) the switching equipment in the central office; and (4) the trunk facilities that connect central offices to each other.

 

5.  For years the tariffs on file with this Commission governing this service offering have made it clear that this service consists of the furnishing of facilities for the public to make interstate or foreign telephone calls between telephones, that is to say the service is now and has for many years been offered only as a complete service that includes the furnishing of the telephone itself with certain exceptions hereafter noted.  Thus, the presently effective Tariff 263 states that the service offered there under "is that of furnishing facilities for telephone communication between telephones in different local service areas" and that the interstate and foreign toll charges shown in the tariff "are in payment for all service furnished between the calling and called telephones" (2.1.1(A)).  (Our italic.)

 

6.  With respect to the revisions in the message toll tariff, several important features emerge.  First, the new tariffs would delete currently effective paragraph 2.6.1 which, in pertinent part, now reads as follows:

 

No equipment, apparatus circuit or device not furnished by the telephone company shall be attached to or connected with the facilities furnished by the telephone company, whether physically, by induction or otherwise * * *.

 

Also they would delete currently effective paragraph 2.6.9 which begins with the following language:

 

The provisions of paragraph 2.6.1 preceding shall not be construed or applied to bar * * *.

 

Second, in addition to canceling the above-cited paragraphs, the new tariffs would publish new provisions as follows:

 

2.6.1

Customer-provided terminal equipment may be used with the facilities furnished by the telephone company, for long-distance-message telecommunications service, as specified in 2.6.2 through 2.6.6 following;

 

2.7.1

Customer-provided communications systems may be connected with the facilities furnished by the telephone company for long-distance-message telecommunications service as specified in 2.7.2 through 2.7.10 following.  (Our italic.)

 

 [*607]  7.  As indicated above, the new tariffs will permit any kind of customer-provided communications system (e.g., a private microwave system) to be attached to or connected to the telephone company facilities subject to the specifications set forth in the new tariff.  Thus, an important feature of the revisions is the new set of conditions, referred to above, that are to govern the interconnection of such terminals and systems.

 

8.  In the case of both customer terminals and systems, it will be the general responsibility of the customer to assure that his terminal or system shall not interfere with any of the services offered by the telephone company, nor endanger the company's employees or the public, or damage or change the company's equipment or facilities (2.6.2 and 2.7.2).  Also in the case of both customer terminals and systems, all network control signaling functions are to be performed by equipment that is furnished, maintained, and instilled by the telephone company (2.6.3 and 2.7.3), with exceptions.  These exceptions, which have been in existence for some time, apply under limited conditions to systems of power, pipeline, and railroad companies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, and to systems or terminals of customers located in isolated, sparsely developed, hazardous, or inaccessible locations (2.7.4, 5, 6, and 7).  Network control signaling is defined in the new tariffs as the transmission of signals used in the telecommunications system which perform functions such as supervision (control, status, and charging signals), address signaling (e.g., dialing), calling and called number identification, audible tone signals (call progress signals indicating reorder or busy condition, alerting, coin denominations, coin collect and coin return tones) to control the operation of switching machines in the telecommunication systems.  The ordinary telephone set as used in the message toll service is a network control signaling unit.

 

9.  The new tariffs divide customer terminals into three categories: Data transmitting or receiving equipment (data), voice transmitting or receiving equipment (voice), and accessories.

 

10.  At the customer's option the aforementioned data terminals may be connected to the telephone company facilities either by direct electrical connection (i.e., physical connection of electrical conductors) or indirectly (i.e., acoustic or inductive connections).  If the option is for direct electrical connection, the data customer has a further choice of (a) using either the telephone company's dataphone set, which performs not only the network control signaling functions but also the functions of a modem (modulation and demodulation of signals), or (b) using an interface called a data access arrangement, furnished by the telephone company, 2n lieu of the dataphone.  Such an interface does not perform the modem function, so that this option allows the customer to provide his own modem rather than using that of the telephone company.  If the customer's option is for a direct electrical connection through a data access arrangement rather than through a dataphone, then the customer's data terminal must meet certain technical criteria that are set forth in detail in appendix C hereof.

 

11.  If instead of a direct connection, the data customer chooses to  [*608]  connect his data terminal indirectly, he may do so by acoustic or inductive connections made externally to the telephone company's network control signaling unit.  No telephone company interface is required therefore and no technical criteria are specified for such indirectly connected data terminals in the new tariffs published to be effective January 1, 1969.  However, the new tariffs specify that, effective a year later, on January 1, 1970, the technical criteria for such indirectly connected data terminals shall be as shown in appendix D hereof.

 

12.  The second, or voice, category of customer terminals may also be connected either directly or indirectly.  If direct connection is used, such a terminal must use a telephone company interface called a connecting arrangement, and the terminal must meet the technical criteria set forth in appendix C hereof.  If indirect connection is used, such connection must be made externally to the telephone company's network control unit.  However no other interface is required and no technical criteria will apply until January 1, 1970.  On and after that date the criteria shall be as shown in appendix D.

 

13.  Accessories are customer terminal devices of a mechanical nature that do not involve electrical connection, directly or indirectly, to the telephone company facilities.  These terminals are not subject to the technical criteria required for data and voice terminals, but are subject to the other requirements of the tariff applicable to all terminals.

 

14.  Insofar as the interconnection of customer systems is concerned, the new tariffs impose the same technical criteria on these customer-provided facilities as apply to terminals.  Thus, the new tariffs will permit either direct connection thereof through a connecting arrangement interface provided by the telephone company or through an indirect acoustic or inductive connection made externally to the telephone company's network control signaling unit.  If a customer system is to be interconnected directly, it must meet the technical criteria set forth in appendix C.  If it is to be connected indirectly by acoustic or inductive means, no technical criteria will apply until January 1, 1970, when the criteria shown on appendix D must be met.

 

15.  A.T.&T. states that the purpose of the 1-year postponement of the technical criteria in appendix D for indirect connections is to give customers having acoustic or inductive devices that do not currently meet the new criteria additional time to accommodate themselves to these criteria.

 

A.T.&T. TARIFF FCC NO. 259

 

16.  This tariff applies to wide-area telecommunications service or WATS.  It is a voice grade service that is provided over the same nationwide switched network used for message toll service.  The new and revised tariffs propose in substance to make the same revisions in WATS as outlined above for the message toll service.

 

A.T.&T. TARIFF FCC NO. 260

 

17.  This tariff applies to private-line service.  This is a separate service that does not use the switched telephone network.  Changes comparable  [*609]  to those referred to above for message toll and WATS are not being proposed at this time for the private-line service.  However, the private-line-service tariff is being revised, effective January 1, 1969, to make a new private-line offering whereby customers may obtain private lines of not more than 25 airline miles to connect their own voice grade private channels to the telephone company message toll telephone network.  These private-line facilities are called entrance facilities.  They may not be used to connect a customer terminal or system to private-line facilities of the telephone company.

 

18.  A.T.& T. has advised the Commission by letter dated December 6, 1968, that it expects to make further revisions in its private-line service tariff comparable to those made in the message toll and WATS tariffs, shortly after January 1, 1969.

 

II.  Questions Presented

 

19.  As heretofore stated, the objections that have been filed are aimed principally at the revisions in the message toll tariff No. 263.  The contention is made that these revisions do not comply with our Carterfone decision, In the Matter of Use of the Carterfone Device in Message Toll Telephone Service, 13 FCC 2d 420, 14 FCC 2d 571. Objections are also made to the revisions in the WATS and private-line tariff for the same reason.

 

20.  Accordingly the principal question raised by the pleadings and comments is whether the new and revised tariffs, in whole or in part, are in violation of our decision in Carterfone, and, if so, what action we should take with respect thereto.  In addition, the question is raised as to whether, apart from compliance or noncompliance with Carterfone, there appear to be any other question of lawfulness that would warrant suspension, investigation, or action by the Commission at this time and, if so, the nature thereof.

 

III.  Discussion

 

21.  The contention is made that the new and revised message toll tariffs do not comply with our decision in Carterfone because the new filings bar the use of any customer-provided network control signaling units irrespective of whether they are harmful or harmless to the rest of the message toll telephone system.  It is argued that such a bar is an a priori assumption of harm that we found in Carterfone to be unreasonable.

 

22.  We believe that this particular objection is based upon a misconstruction of what we decided in Carterfone.  We were concerned in that case with the lawfulness of tariff provisions that prohibit a customer from making harmless interconnection of his terminals or systems with the message toll telephone system of the telephone companies.  As we have heretofore stated, this telephone system includes the telephone instrument which performs the network control signaling functions for message toll telephone service.  We were therefore concerned with what could be connected or attached to this telephone system.  Our decision in Carterfone does not hold that a customer may substitute his own equipment or facilities (whether it be  [*610]  telephone instruments, loops, poles, or central office equipments) for that furnished by the telephone company in providing message toll telephone service as that service is defined in the tariff.  Our decision dealt with interconnections and not replacements of any part of the telephone system.  We emphasized this in our decision where we stated that "our conclusion here is that a customer desiring to use an interconnecting device to improve the utility to him of both the telephone system and a private radio system should be able to do so, so long as the interconnection does not adversely affect the telephone company's operation or the telephone system's utility to others." 13 FCC 2d at page 424. In denying petitions for reconsideration we again made this clear by stating that "General has contended that the Commission has 'opened the door to customer ownership of telephone handsets.' The facts of this case did not involve the furnishing of purely telephone system equipment telephone-to-telephone on the message toll telephone system." 14 FCC 2d 571 at page 572. (Our italic.)

 

23.  Although the tariff bar against any customer providing his own network control signaling unit is not in conflict with our Carterfone ruling, the question remains as to whether the telephone companies should make provision in their tariffs by which subscribers may have access to the so-called switched telephone network through the use of their own provided network control signaling equipment.  On the basis of the pleadings and comments before us, we are in no position to determine the extent to which any such provision may be consistent with efficient and economic telephone service and otherwise in the public interest.  In our opinion, these and other matters warrant further consideration by the Commission before it determines whether and what further action, if any, may be required.  We believe that we will be in a better position to make these determinations after we have had a reasonable opportunity to closely observe the effects of the substantial changes now being effectuated by the telephone companies in their interconnection tariffs, the extent to which such changes satisfy reasonable requirements of their subscribers for data transmission and other communication services or facilities, and the implementation by the telephone companies of their representations that they are actively engaged in devising equipment and operating procedures to meet the expressed needs of customers for flexible access to the switched network.  Thus, we will permit the tariff revisions to become effective as scheduled with the understanding that in doing so we are not giving any specific approval to the revised tariffs.

 

24.  We are also instructing the chief of the Common Carrier Bureau to initiate promptly a series of informal engineering and technical conferences with the telephone industry and interested manufacturers, user groups, and Government agencies to ascertain what further changes are necessary, desirable, and technically feasible in the various tariff offerings of the telephone companies.  It is our intent that these further informal proceedings shall be broad in scope and that they will provide a principal forum for the identification, examination, and, subject to Commission review, resolution of any questions presented by the tariff revisions.  We are aware, for example, that there  [*611]  are a number of unresolved specific questions, which we need not delineate herein, that are raised both in the pleadings and in the separate analysis of our own staff.  These may require further action by the Commission.  Some of these problems can reasonably be expected to be satisfied by further tariff amendments, such as additional revisions in the private-line tariffs which are scheduled to be made early in 1969, and provisions for unattended operation of a large variety of customer data terminals, which provisions, according to the telephone companies' commitment, will become possible by the middle of 1969 when appropriate equipment and arrangements therefore will have been developed.  Other tariff changes may be necessary or desirable, both of a substantive and clarifying nature, to respond to other questions that have arisen and that are likely to arise.  Accordingly, the further proceedings will include, among other things, consideration of what changes, if any, should be made in the technical criteria and other conditions for interconnection and other matters of clarity and substance raised by the pleadings and comments.  The staff will submit periodic reports to the Commission, with appropriate recommendations, and the Commission will be prepared to take such further action as it deems necessary or desirable to resolve outstanding issues.

 

25.  We are of the opinion that the further informal procedures that we are here initiating, together with the information gained from the pending computer inquiry (docket No. 16979), will greatly assist the Commission in carrying out its statutory obligations herein.  Through such procedures we expect to obtain valuable technical and operational information on a current and continuing basis and from a variety of sources that will aid us in our evaluation of the public interest factors involved in the new tariffs now being put into effect, as well as any new or revised tariffs that are expected to be proposed for the future or that may otherwise be required.

 

26.  We will also welcome the cooperation and participation in the further proceedings of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on behalf of the State regulatory commissions which have a substantial interest in the matters yet to be determined herein.

 

IV.  Conclusion

 

27.  In view of the foregoing, we conclude that we should permit the new and revised tariffs to go into effect, as now scheduled, on January 1, 1969, without scheduling a formal investigation or hearing at this time.  Our action is not to be construed as approval thereof and these tariffs are subject to such further action as the Commission may wish to take with respect thereto.

 

28.  Accordingly, it is ordered, That the various pleadings and requests for rejection and suspension or formal investigation of the aforementioned new and revised tariffs Are hereby dismissed without prejudice.

 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, BEN F. WAPLE, Secretary.

 


 

[*614]  DISSENTING OPINION OF COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS JOHNSON

 

The 11-year-long saga of the Carterfone case involves, in general, the competitive structuring of this country's communications network.  A small manufacturer, Tom Carter, sought to market an invention enabling the user to couple a telephone handset to a mobile radio transmitter.  The telephone company, through its jingoist-titled "foreign attachment" tariff, opposed his efforts.  For A.T. & T. has consistently held to the position that it is entitled to a monopoly not only of the Nation's switching system and communications lines, but of all consumer equipment "attached" to its system as well.  (A distant analogy might be suggested if an electric power company were to insist on a monopoly of the manufacture, installation, and repair of toasters, television sets, and all other electrical appliances that could be plugged into an electric wall socket.) Yielding not an inch, A.T. & T. has consistently and successfully fought off for years the Tom Carters of the communications industry.

 

 [*615]  But Tom Carter persisted.  For 11 long years he persisted.  And then, finally, earlier this year, the FCC held the foreign attachment tariffs illegal and authorized Tom Carter to go ahead with the sale of his device.  Carterfone, 13 FCC 2d 420 (1968). The Commission's opinion was heralded as a commendable effort to open up competition in the communications business.

 

As experienced reformers have long since discovered, however, the political victories that are won after long struggle under the light of public scrutiny can be very quickly lost in the dark backrooms of practical implementation.  The new legislation or agency decision is praised and then forgotten.  And when -- if ever -- anyone goes back to see how it all worked out he finds the situation very little changed from before.  The swamp waters have returned to their former level.

 

And so it was, shortly after the Commission's Carterfone decision, that A.T. & T. petitioned for a stay of its effectiveness and for a reconsideration of the decision.  The Commission's Common Carrier Bureau did not oppose the stay, and the Commission granted it until November 1, 1968 -- over the dissents of Commissioner Cox and myself.  Carterfone, 14 FCC 2d 149, 151 (1968). When the Commission affirmed its decision on reconsideration, Carterfone, 14 FCC 2d 571 (1968), the telephone company went to court.  Subsequently, A.T. & T. asked for and was granted, another extension of the stay of the effective date of the decision from November 1, 1968, to January 1, 1969.  Carterfone, 15 FCC 2d 31 (1968).

 

All these delaying tactics are well known, and fully exercised by A.T. & T.  What A.T. & T. had not counted on, however, was that its first tariff proposal would be watched by small businessmen from across the country in addition to Mr. Carter -- and that they would send up howls of protest when they saw what A.T. & T. was trying to do.  For A.T. & T.'s first proposals were designed to be drawn very narrowly in an effort to render this landmark decision of limited practical effect.

 

Having been publicly caught in this untenable posture, Bell quickly shifted to its present position.  It has now offered tariffs which are somewhat more liberal -- but it insists that from now on all proceedings be conducted off the record.

 

These new tariffs raise three separate questions.  First, who is to own and control the network signaling device -- the dial mechanism that imparts control signals to the telephone system?  Bell argues that only it can control this part of the overall telephone system.  International Telephone & Telegraph sees no reason why the domestic telephone handset market should be a virtual monopoly.  The Department of Justice believes the Commission should formally investigate this question.  The majority concludes that a tariff bar against a customer provided network control device is not in violation of the Carterfone ruling.  It is my view that such a bar does violate the spirit of Carterfone and its reasonableness should be investigated in a formal proceeding.

 

Secondly, there is the question of how well these new tariff provisions are going to work, what their effect will be, and what the literal words of the tariff mean operationally.  This is the arena, of course,  [*616]  in which this ballgame will ultimately be won or lost.  Disagreement between the parties is most likely in view of the past history of the foreign attachment question.

 

Finally, a number of parties have raised specific questions about parts of the tariffs Bell has filed.  Arguments are made that specific provisions are unnecessarily rigid, too tightly drawn, or exclude equipment arbitrarily.  The majority is allowing these tariffs to go into effect without approving them and says that these specific questions on the tariffs will be taken up in the informal proceedings.  But a tariff is an application by Bell to do business in a certain way.  The majority may not be giving its legal imprimatur to the Bell tariffs, but the fact remains that Bell is now free to do business under these tariffs until it decides to make a change, or the Commission again is forced to institute formal proceedings.  I would prefer to have Bell respond formally to each objection to the tariffs posed by private groups, and would hope that the Common Carrier Bureau would make its own evaluation of the public interest factors on a formal record to be presented to the Commission.

 

We are now confronted with a proceeding in which virtually every party -- other than the telephone company and the Common Carrier Bureau -- opposes part or all of these tariffs.  And yet they are allowed to go into effect, with differences to be resolved in informal closed-door sessions.

 

I cannot agree that the validity of the telephone company's refusal to permit subscribers to provide their own telephones purchased in a free market is a question which can appropriately be determined through informal discussions.  The Carterfone case is a testimony to the tenacity of the little fellow who won out over a procedural system which for years permitted the telephone companies to monopolize the connection of private communications systems with the telephone network.  While the Carterfone decision does much good in permitting beneficial interconnection, the Commission's present treatment of a far more important question will result only in unnecessary delay before it can be resolved.  It is tough enough for the little operator to win out in formal proceedings before this Commission and the courts.  It is virtually impossible without such protections.

 

No one will disagree with the importance of the issue presented by the insistence of A.T. & T. and the other telephone companies that they must be the sole provider of all equipment which initiates signaling.  But this issue, of such great importance to every telephone company subscriber, is now on the road to being settled through a process in which the ordinary person will have no effective voice and of which, indeed, he is likely to be totally unaware.  The telephone companies will be well represented.  Large corporations seeking more flexibility in the use of telephone facilities will be well represented.  The ordinary person who cannot understand why he should not be permitted to buy his own telephone will not be represented at all, except indirectly by some other party or by the "referee" Commission staff.

 

I recognize that the entire process of reviewing telephone company tariffs is not conducive to ordinary consumer participation.  This makes it all the more important that a question so vitally affecting the ordinary  [*617]  consumer be examined and decided under the light of day in fully public proceedings rather than in informal negotiations.  It seems highly unlikely that negotiations can lead to any substantial changes in the telephone company's position on this issue.  Therefore, if there is any doubt as to whether the proposed tariff provisions are unreasonable, the question must be explored in a full hearing under section 205 of the communications act, since Commission action to remedy an unreasonable tariff must be after hearing.  There is no point in not instituting such a hearing at the outset, and the failure to do so can only result in unnecessary delay.  Informal procedures have no advantage over the formal hearing process in this situation.  This is not a negotiation among sovereigns where forcing a party to take a public position may make it more difficult for him to back off gracefully.  It is a matter for decision by a public body entrusted with the duty to make a decision, and with the power to enforce it.  Furthermore, the Carterfone proceeding furnishes ample evidence that the hearing process is an excellent means of testing technical claims.

 

I do not urge that the proposed tariffs must necessarily be rejected or suspended.  I do urge that it is a great mistake to enter upon this new exploration to which Carterfone was a prelude in a semiprivate bargaining session rather than in the full hearing process in which the public may justifiably have confidence.

 


 

APPENDIX:

 

APPENDIX A

 

TARIFFS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

 

1.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10240, dated September 13, 1968 (relating to proposed revisions in A.T. & T. tariff FCC No. 263).

 

2.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10249, dated October 2, 1968 (relating to proposed revisions in A.T. & T. tariff FCC No. 263).

 

3.  A.T. & T. (unnumbered) letter to FCC, dated October 4, 1968, stating, among other things, intent to offer in future station equipment to permit unattended operation of data terminal (i.e., automatic calling and answering), and to require A.T. & T. dataphone sets to meet tariff technical criteria (relating to proposed revisions in tariff FCC No. 263).

 

4.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10267, dated October 18, 1968 (relating to proposed revisions in A.T. & T. tariff FCC No. 263).

 

5.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10270, dated October 22, 1968 (relating to proposed revisions in A.T. & T. tariff FCC Nos. 263 and 260).

 

6.  A.T. & T. (unnumbered) letter to FCC, dated October 29, 1968, stating intent to offer facilities by middle of 1969 to permit automatic connection of customer provided PBX and intercom-type system to the long-distance telecommunication network (tariff FCC No. 263).

 

7.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10281 to FCC, dated October 30, 1968 (relating proposed revisions in tariff FCC Nos. 263 and 260).

 

8.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10291, dated November 12, 1968, and revised pages to A.T. & T. tariff FCC No. 263 submitted therewith; reissuing and revising tariffs submitted under transmittal Nos. 10240, 10249, 10267, 10270, and 10281.

 

9.  A.T. & T. letter (unnumbered) of November 15, 1968, to FCC and enclosed statement in support of provision in new and revised tariffs that connection of customer-provided terminal and systems shall be made through a network control signaling unit furnished, installed, and maintained by the telephone company.

 

10.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10293, dated November 15, 1968, and revisions submitted therewith in A.T. & T.'s tariff FCC No. 259 (wide-area telecommunication service).

 

11.  A.T. & T. transmittal letter No. 10294, dated November 18, 1968, and revisions submitted therewith in A.T. & T.'s tariff FCC No. 260 (private-line service) re entrance facilities for use in customer connection's to the switched telephone network.

 

12.  A.T. & T. letter (unnumbered), dated December 6, 1968, advising it as to when further revisions will be made in A.T. & T. tariff FCC No. 260 (private line service).

 

13.  A.T. & T. letter (unnumbered), dated December 13, 1968, in reply to pleadings and comments filed in response to aforementioned new and revised tariffs.

 

APPENDIX B

 

Tel-Plan, Inc. -- Comments on the proposed tariff revisions in tariff Nos. 259, 260, and 263, filed December 10, 1968.

 

Aeronautic Radio, Inc. (ARINC). -- Comments on the proposed tariff revisions in tariff No. 260, filed December 6, 1968.

 

Charles W. Schweizer Associates, Inc. -- Comments on the proposed tariff revisions in tariff No. 263, filed December 11, 1968.

 

The Data and Graphic Communications Section of the Electronics Industries Association petition. -- Protesting and opposing proposed tariff revisions in tariff 263 and for investigation, filed December 2, 1968.

 

National Retail Merchants Association (NRMA). -- Comments on the proposed tariff revisions in tariff No. 263, and request for acceptance of the tariff filing, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Bethlehem Steel Corp. et al. -- Revised petition to reject certain tariff provisions in tariff No. 263, filed November 26, 1968, and supplemental petition to reject tariff filing, filed December 2, 1968.

 

TELCON Associates, Inc. -- Comments on the proposed tariff revision in tariff No. 263, filed November 15, 1968, and a supplemental statement commenting on the proposed tariff revisions in tariff Nos. 259, 260, and 263, filed December 4, 1968.

 

Computer Security Systems. -- Petition objecting to certain revisions in tariff No. 263 and asking that they be rejected, filed December 3, 1968.

 

Photo Magnetic Systems, Inc. -- Letter objecting to certain revisions in tariff No. 263, filed November 22, 1968, and a petition to reject certain provisions of tariff No. 263, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Ripley Co. -- Comments on the proposed tariff revisions of tariff No. 263 and request for appropriate relief, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Small Business Administration. -- Statement supporting the suspension and investigation of certain revisions in tariff No. 263, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Aerospace Industries Association of America, Inc. (AIA). -- Petition for rejection of certain revisions of tariff No. 263 and for other relief, filed December 3, 1968.

 

United States. -- Memorandum requesting investigation of a specific revision in tariff No. 263, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Altone Systems, Inc.  -- Petition for rejection of certain revisions in tariff No. 263, filed October 15, 1968, and a supplemental letter, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Xerox Corp. -- Supplemental pleading withdrawing objection to certain revisions in tariff No. 263 and additional comments, filed November 29, 1968.

 

Microwave Communications, Inc. (MCI). -- Petition to reject certain tariff revisions in tariff No. 263 and for other relief, filed December 3, 1968.

 

Thomas F. Carter, Carter Electronics Corp. and Carterfone Communications Corp. -- Petition for rejection of tariff revisions or, in the alternative, for suspension, investigation, and hearing, and for other relief, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Plessey, Inc. -- Petition for investigation of tariff Nos. 259, 260, and 263, filed December 4, 1968.

 

Marcom, Inc. -- Supplemental petition to reject certain revisions in tariff No. 263 and comments on network control signaling, filed December 2, 1968.

 

Secretary of Defense (DOD). -- Petition for suspension and investigation of certain tariff revision in tariff No. 263, filed December 2, 1968.

 

ACTION!  Systems Co. -- Comments on the proposed revisions in tariff No. 263, filed November 29, 1968.

National Committee for Utilities Radio (NCUR). -- Supplemental petition for rejection of certain revisions in tariff No. 263, filed December 3, 1968.

 

International Telephone & Telegraph Corp. (ITT). -- Supplemental petition for rejection in certain tariff revisions or, in the alternative, suspension, investigation, and hearing, filed November 29, 1968.

Magnavox Co. -- Petition to reject certain revisions in tariff No. 263, and for other relief, filed November 27, 1968.

 

American Trucking Association (ATA). -- Petition to reject certain proposed tariff revisions in tariff No. 263, filed November 29, 1968.

 

Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA). -- Supplemental petition to reject certain proposed tariff revisions in tariff No. 263, filed November 27, 1968.

 

American Petroleum Institute. -- Comments on proposed tariff revisions and requests for acceptance of the tariff filing, filed November 27, 1968.

 

The American Bankers Association. -- Comments concerning the revisions in tariff No. 263, filed November 27, 1968.

Western Data Products, Inc. -- Letter commenting on the proposed tariff revisions, filed November 22, 1968.

American Trucking Association, Inc. -- Petitions to reject proposed tariff revisions to tariff Nos. 259 and 260, filed December 12, 1968.

 

Magnavox Co. -- Petition to reject proposed revisions in tariff No. 259, filed December 17, 1968.

Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA). -- Comments on the proposed revisions to tariff Nos. 259 and 260, filed December 18, 1968.

 

Bethlehem Steel Corp. et al. -- Petitions to reject proposed revisions in tariff Nos. 259 and 260, filed December 17, 1968.

 

APPENDIX C

 

TECHNICAL CRITERIA FOR ALL TERMINALS AND SYSTEMS CONNECTED BY DIRECT ELECTRICAL CONNECTION, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 1969

 

i.  The power of the signal at the central office shall not exceed 12 db below 1 mw when averaged over any 3-second interval.

 

ii.  The signal at the telephone company interface located on the customers' premises shall be controlled so that:

 

1.  The power in the band from 3,995 to 4,005 Hz shall be at least 18 db below the power of the signal as specified in i., above.

2.  The power in the band from 4,000 to 10,000 Hz shall not exceed 16 db below 1 mw.

3.  The power in the band from 10,000 to 25,000 Hz shall not exceed 24 db below 1 mw.

4.  The power in the band from 25,000 to 40,000 Hz shall not exceed 36 db below 1 mw.

5.  The power in the band above 40,000 Hz shall not exceed 50 db below 1 mw.

6.  The signal shall at no time have energy solely in the 2450-2750 Hz band and any signal power in such band shall not exceed the power present at the same time in the 800-2450 Hz band.

 

APPENDIX D

 

TECHNICAL CRITERIA FOR ALL TERMINALS AND SYSTEMS CONNECTED BY ACOUSTIC OR INDUCTIVE MEANS, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 1970

 

i.  The power of the signal at the output of the network control signaling unit shall not exceed 9 db below 1 mw when averaged over any 3-second interval, and such signal at such output point shall be controlled so that:

 

1.  The power in the band from 3,995 to 4,005 Hz shall be at least 18 db below the power of the signal as specified in i., above.

2.  The power in the band from 4,000 to 10,000 Hz shall not exceed 16 db below 1 mw.

3.  The power in the band from 10,000 to 25,000 Hz shall not exceed 24 db below 1 mw.

4.  The power in the band from 25,000 to 40,000 Hz shall not exceed 36 db below 1 mw.

5.  The power in the band above 40,000 Hz shall not exceed 50 db below 1 mw.

6.  The signal shall at no time have energy solely in the 2450-2750 Hz band and any signal power in such band shall not exceed the power present at the same time in the 800-2450 Hz band.

 

Carterfone Tariffs

 

(In the matter of A.T. & T. "Foreign Attachment" tariff revisions -- Nos. 259, 260, 263)

        


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