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Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs - 47 USC Section 201
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01/19/04 Sec. 201. Service and charges
(a) It shall be the duty of every common carrier engaged in
interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio to furnish
such communication service upon reasonable request therefor; and,
in accordance with the orders of the Commission, in cases where the
Commission, after opportunity for hearing, finds such action
necessary or desirable in the public interest, to establish
physical connections with other carriers, to establish through
routes and charges applicable thereto and the divisions of such
charges, and to establish and provide facilities and regulations
for operating such through routes.
(b) All charges, practices, classifications, and regulations for
and in connection with such communication service, shall be just
and reasonable, and any such charge, practice, classification, or
regulation that is unjust or unreasonable is declared to be
unlawful: Provided, That communications by wire or radio subject to
this chapter may be classified into day, night, repeated,
unrepeated, letter, commercial, press, Government, and such other
classes as the Commission may decide to be just and reasonable, and
different charges may be made for the different classes of
communications: Provided further, That nothing in this chapter or
in any other provision of law shall be construed to prevent a
common carrier subject to this chapter from entering into or
operating under any contract with any common carrier not subject to
this chapter, for the exchange of their services, if the Commission
is of the opinion that such contract is not contrary to the public
interest: Provided further, That nothing in this chapter or in any
other provision of law shall prevent a common carrier subject to
this chapter from furnishing reports of positions of ships at sea
to newspapers of general circulation, either at a nominal charge or
without charge, provided the name of such common carrier is
displayed along with such ship position reports. The Commission may
prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary in the
public interest to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
AMENDMENTS
1938 - Subsec. (b). Act May 31, 1938, inserted proviso relating
to reports of positions of ships at sea.
TELEPHONE RATES FOR MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES DEPLOYED ABROAD
Pub. L. 102-538, title II, Sec. 213, Oct. 27, 1992, 106 Stat.
3545, provided that:
"(a) In General. - The Federal Communications Commission shall
make efforts to reduce telephone rates for Armed Forces personnel
in the following countries: Germany, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia,
Great Britain, Italy, Philippines, Panama, Spain, Turkey, Iceland,
the Netherlands, Greece, Cuba, Belgium, Portugal, Bermuda, Diego
Garcia, Egypt, and Honduras.
"(b) Factors To Consider. - In making the efforts described in
subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission, in
coordination with the Department of Defense, Department of State,
and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
shall consider the cost to military personnel and their families of
placing telephone calls by -
"(1) evaluating and analyzing the costs to Armed Forces
personnel of such telephone calls to and from American military
bases abroad;
"(2) evaluate methods of reducing the rates imposed on such
calls;
"(3) determine the extent to which it is feasible for the
Federal Communications Commission to encourage the carriers to
adopt flexible billing procedures and policies for members of the
Armed Forces and their families for telephone calls to and from
the countries listed in subsection (a); and
"(4) advise executive branch agencies of methods for the United
States to persuade foreign governments to reduce the surcharges
that are often placed on such telephone calls."
Last modified: June 19, 2006
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