CPNI

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Enforcement Bureau issued a reminder that annual CPNI certifications for calendar year 2013 must be filed with the FCC by March 1, 2014.

The FCC requires telecommunications service providers (including paging providers, commercial mobile radio services providers, and calling card providers) and interconnected VoIP service providers to file an

Telecommunications carriers and providers of interconnected VoIP service with access to certain kinds of customer information collected through mobile devices are subject to existing privacy rules governing their use and disclosure of that information, the Federal Communications Commission announced in a declaratory ruling adopted at its June 27 meeting.  Significantly, the decision makes clear that third-party applications, device manufacturers and operating system developers are not covered.

The ruling addresses the scope of the FCC’s rules governing Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI). A federal statute — Section 222 of the Communications Act — requires carriers “to protect the confidentiality of proprietary information” relating to customers, which is defined as information in customers’ bills and other information “that relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and amount of use of a telecommunications service subscribed to by any customer of a telecommunications carrier, and that is made available to the carrier by the customer solely by virtue of the carrier-customer relationship.” This includes information about numbers dialed and received, the length and frequency of calls, and the locations where calls are made.
Continue Reading FCC: Customer Data Carriers Obtain Through Mobile Devices Subject to Existing Privacy Rules

As a reminder, telecommunications carriers must submit their annual certifications regarding customer proprietary network information (CPNI) by March 1.  CPNI is private customer information concerning telecommunications. Telecommunications carriers and providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) must certify annually to the FCC that they comply with their obligations to protect and limit disclosure of CPNI. 
Continue Reading CPNI Certifications Due on March 1