§1006 Technical Requirements and Standards; Extension of Compliance Date

Summary

The Attorney General must work with federal, state, and local law enforcement and talk with telecom industry groups, users of telecom services, and state utility commissions so the rules in section 1002 can be put into place across the industry. A phone or internet company, a maker of switching or transmission gear, or a support service is treated as following the rules if it uses public technical standards made by industry groups or by the Commission under paragraph (b). If no standards exist, companies can still roll out technology, but they still must meet the obligations in sections 1002 and 1005. If industry groups don’t make standards, or someone says the standards are not good enough, the Commission can be asked to create them. Any standards the Commission makes must meet the section 1002 goals in a cost-effective way, protect the privacy and security of communications, keep costs low for residential customers, support new technologies, and give reasonable time and rules for switching to the new standard. A carrier that had equipment, facilities, or services in place before section 1002 took effect can ask the Commission for one or more deadline extensions. The Commission may grant an extension, after talking with the Attorney General, if meeting the rules is not reasonably possible with available technology. Any extension can last only as long as the Commission says is needed or no more than 2 years from the grant, and it applies only to the part of the carrier’s business that uses the affected equipment, facility, or service.