The FCC has released a Public Notice announcing that an earlier Report and Order modifying requirements for conducting queries of the number portability database, and, extending to CLECs forbearance from toll interexchange dialing parity rules, has received OMB approval and was published in the Federal Register. Specifically, the following provisions will take effect: (1) CLECs will receive the same forbearance from the toll interexchange dialing parity requirements that ILECs received in 2015; (2) rules that existed solely to implement the above dialing parity requirements are eliminated; and (3) carriers are now expressly allowed to query the number portability database even if they are not the second-to-last carrier to handle the call. The new rules will become effective on Wednesday, September 19, 2018.
