Rural Call Quality Bill Increases Reliability for Consumers

Press Release

Congressman Kevin Cramer said a bill passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee today is another effort to address rural call completion and quality concerns in rural areas.

Cramer is a co-sponsor of H.R. 2566, the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act. It requires intermediate providers to register with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and comply with the service quality standards set by the agency in order to improve call quality from long distance or wireless calls in rural areas throughout the country.

"This bill further protects consumers by holding all providers accountable for their services," said Cramer. "It establishes call quality standards and prohibits providers from using any intermediary routing services not registered with the FCC."

Cramer said dropped or poor quality calls can be an especially serious problem in rural areas. "Families and businesses rely heavily on consistent phone service for their businesses and to respond to emergencies," he said.

The bill now advances to full House for consideration. An identical bill, S. 827, has been introduced in the Senate.

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