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Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT), Co-Chairmen of the Rural Telecommunications Working Group, today introduced a bipartisan resolution that outlines steps the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can take to improve telephone service in rural areas.

“Uncompleted calls to rural areas continue to be a problem for many of the constituents we represent,” said Latta and Welch. “While the FCC is taking action to pursue those entities responsible, this bipartisan resolution highlights the lingering prevalence of the problem and emphasizes the need for sustained efforts by the Commission to aggressively pursue those who violate call completion rules. We must protect the communications needs of our rural economies, public safety officials, families and all others residing in rural areas who depend on and deserve reliable telephone service.”

Reliable telephone service is vital to keeping rural parts of the United States competitive in the national economy. One of the main causes of poor rural call completion stems from retail long-distance providers’ increasing use of third parties to deliver calls to rural areas at reduced rates. 

Latta and Welch’s resolution expresses a sense of Congress that telephone service must be improved in rural areas of the country. It states that no entity should unreasonably discriminate against telephone users in these areas. It also encourages the FCC to aggressively pursue entities that violate FCC call completion rules and contribute to poor quality telecommunications service in rural areas.

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