Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 1.djvu/1022

 104 STAT. 988 PUBLIC LAW 101-435—OCT. 17, 1990 "(A) identify itself, audibly and distinctly, to the consumer at the beginning of each telephone call and before the consumer incurs any charge for the call; "(B) permit the consumer to terminate the telephone call at no charge before the call is connected; "(C) disclose immediately to the consumer, upon request and at no charge to the consumer— "(i) a quote of its rates or charges for the call; "(ii) the methods by which such rates or charges will be collected; and "(iii) the methods by which complaints concerning such rates, charges, or collection practices will be resolved; "(D) ensure, by contract or tariff, that each aggregator for which such provider is the presubscribed provider of operator services is in compliance with the requirements of subsection (c) and, if applicable, subsection (e)(1); "(E) withhold payment (on a location-by-location basis) of any compensation, including commissions, to aggregators if such provider reasonably believes that the aggregator (i) is blocking access by means of "950" or "800" numbers to interstate common carriers in violation of subsection (c)(1)(B) or (ii) is blocking access to equal access codes in violation of rules the Commission may prescribe under subsection (e)(1); "(F) not bill for unanswered telephone calls in areas where equal access is available; "(G) not knowingly bill for unanswered telephone calls where equal access is not available; "(H) not engage in call splashing, unless the consumer requests to be transferred to another provider of operator services, the consumer is informed prior to incurring any charges that the rates for the call may not reflect the rates from the actual originating location of the call, and the consumer then consents to be transferred; "(I) except as provided in subparagraph (H), not bill for a call that does not reflect the location of the origination of the call; and "(J) not bill an interexchange telephone call to a billing card number which— "(i) is issued by another provider of operator services, and "(ii) permits the identification of the other provider, unless the call is billed at a rate not greater than the other provider's rate for the call, the consumer requests a special service that is not available under tariff from the other provider, or the consumer expressly consents to a rate greater than the other provider's rate. "(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST 3 YEARS.— In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraph (1), during the 3- year period beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this section, each presubscribed provider of operator services shall identify itself audibly and distinctly to the consumer, not only as required in paragraph (1)(A), but also for a second time before connecting the call and before the consumer incurs any charge. " (c) REQUIREMENTS FOR AGGREGATORS.—

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