The Pay Telephone Reclassification and Compensation Provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

This document adopts new payphone compensation rules that place liability on the facilities-based long distance carrier to compensate payphone service providers (PSPs) for payphone-originated calls that are completed on that facilities-based long distance carrier's platform. The Commission also establishes a payment mechanism for switch-based resellers (SBRs) to compensate PSPs for this liability. In satisfying its liability obligation to a PSP, the SBR must establish its own call tracking system, have a third party attest that the system accurately tracks payphone calls to completion, and pay a PSP directly based on the SBR's own call tracking data. Other facilities-based long distance carriers in the call path, if any, must provide reports to the PSPs of payphone-originated calls switched to another facilities-based carrier's platform.