Intercarrier Compensation: One Component of Telecom Reform (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
April 28, 2005 |
| Report Number |
RL32889 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Charles B. Goldfarb, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Nondiscriminatory intercarrier compensation - the payments thatinterconnected carriers make to one another when more than one carrier's networkmust be used to complete a telephone call or other electronic communication - isthe linchpin of a competitively neutral regulatory regime. Under current statutoryrequirements and regulatory rules, these payments vary widely (from 0.1 cents to 5.1cents per minute), depending on whether the interconnecting party is a localexchange carrier, a long distance carrier, a wireless carrier, or an information serviceprovider, and whether the service is classified as telecommunications or information,local or long distance, or interstate or intrastate - even though in each case basicallythe same transport and switching functions are provided.
