[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1423-1424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-529]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 61
[CC Docket No. 93-55; FCC 96-108]
Metric Conversion of Tariff Publications and Supporting
Information
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Termination of proposed rulemaking proceeding.
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SUMMARY: In a 1993 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission sought
comment on a proposal to amend Part 61 of its rules to mandate metric
conversion of common carrier tariff publications and supporting
information (``tariff materials''). The Commission made this proposal
to facilitate use of these materials in light of the increased
employment of metric units of measurement in this country and
Congressional policy that the metric system of measurement be employed
wherever possible. Based upon the comments received and its own
analysis, the Commission concluded, in this Report and Order, that it
would not be in the public interest to require common carriers to
convert to the metric system those units of measure appearing in their
tariff materials. Specifically, the Commission found that the benefits
to carriers and their customers of such mandatory metric conversion--or
of requiring that conversion tables be included in such materials--were
not clear enough to justify the carrier burdens involved. Accordingly,
the Commission declined to adopt any of the proposed conversion options
and, instead, terminated this proceeding.
DATES: The proposed rulemaking proceeding is terminated February 10,
1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allen A. Barna, Competitive Pricing
Division, Common Carrier Bureau, (202) 418-1530.
[[Page 1424]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission opened this docket with the
release of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Amendment to Part 61 of the
Commission's Rules Requiring Metric Conversion of Tariff Materials and
Supporting Information, CC Docket No. 93-55, 10 FCC Rcd 6483 (1993)
(1993 NPRM), 58 FR 26087, April 30, 1993. The 1993 NPRM was one of
several actions that the Commission took in response to the Metric
Conversion Act of 1975, Public Law 94-168, 89 Stat. 1007 (1975), as
amended by Public Law 100-418, 102 Stat. 1107 (1988) (codified at 17
U.S.C. Sec. 205 et seq.) (Metric Conversion Act). This is a summary of
the Commission's later Report and Order in this docket adopted March
12, 1996, and released March 29, 1996, 11 FCC Rcd 3617 (1996) (Report
and Order). The full text of this Report and Order is available for
inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Public
Reference Room (Room 239), 1919 M St., NW., Washington, DC. The
complete text of this Report and Order may also be purchased from the
Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription Service,
Suite 140, 2100 M Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Because the Commission did not impose any of the proposed metric
conversion options on common carriers and, instead, simply terminated
this proceeding, the Commission has determined that Section 605(b) of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), does not apply
to the adoption of this Report and Order because termination of this
proceeding does not have any significant economic impact on small
entities.
Summary of Report and Order
In the 1993 NPRM, the Commission expressed its belief that
distance-sensitive units in tariff filings under Part 61 of its rules
should be expressed in metric units. Accordingly, that NPRM proposed
three options for conversion of common carrier tariff materials to the
metric system. Under Option 1, the Conversion Table Option, carriers
would be required to include, in the general rules section of their
tariff materials, a table for converting non-metric units of
measurement to metric units. Under Option 2, carriers would be required
to include--in the applicable rate sections of their tariff materials--
the metric unit and corresponding rate in parenthesis beside the non-
metric unit and related rate (e.g., $4.00 per mile ($2.50 per
kilometer)). Under Option 3, carriers would be required to include only
the metric unit and related rate in the applicable rate sections of
their tariff materials. To aid tariff users not familiar with the
metric system, Option 3 would also require carriers to include
appropriate conversion tables in their tariff materials.
Most commenting parties urged the Commission not to adopt any rule
requiring metric conversion of common carrier tariff materials. Some
parties noted that the Metric Conversion Act does not obligate the
Commission to require metric conversion of such materials. A number of
parties argued that the anticipated costs for carriers to convert these
materials and the related administrative burdens on each carrier to
revise tariff materials far outweigh any benefits to those who use
these materials.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology at the U.S.
Department of Commerce (NIST) recommended that these tariff materials
include either (a) the metric unit and corresponding rate followed in
parenthesis by the non-metric unit and rate, or (b) the non-metric unit
and corresponding rate followed by the metric unit and rate. Thus, NIST
would allow carriers to choose which measurement system would be
dominant in their tariff materials and which would be included in
parenthesis. Should the Commission not adopt that approach, NIST urged
that common carriers be required to comply with Option 2 in the 1993
NPRM because, in the view of NIST, that option most closely met the
goals of the Metric Conversion Act. In addition, the Chairman of the
Standards and Metric Practices Subcommittee of the Metrification
Operating Committee of the Interagency Council on Metric Policy urged
the Commission to allow carriers to use only metric units in their
tariff materials because use of any other option would require carriers
to continue to use two sets of units in these materials.
The Commission found that the carrier burdens associated with both
Option 2 and Option 3 clearly outweigh the benefits to the public that
each offers. Although Option 1, the Conversion Table Option, would be
less burdensome than either of the other two options, the Commission
found that it, too, would impose additional burdens on carriers. While
the Commission recognized that inclusion of such conversion tables in
tariff materials would promote its metric conversion program and would
potentially benefit some tariff users, the Commission, nevertheless,
found that the benefits associated with such a requirement would be
outweighed by the estimated burdens on carriers.
Thus, in light of the record established in response to the 1993
NPRM, the Commission no longer found that the benefits of having metric
units or metric conversion tables in tariff materials exceeded the
related burdens on those carriers that filed these materials. Instead,
the Commission found that the benefits to carriers and their customers
of converting tariff materials to the metric system--or of including
conversion tables in such materials--were not sufficiently clear to
justify the burdens involved. Accordingly, the Commission declined to
adopt any of the conversion options proposed in the 1993 NPRM and
terminated this proceeding.
Ordering Clause
Accordingly, It is ordered, that the proceeding initiated in CC
Docket No. 93-55 Is terminated.
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 61
Communications common carriers, Metric system, Telecommunications.
Federal Communications Commission.
LaVera F. Marshall,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-529 Filed 1-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P