Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A. Verification of a customer's opt-out
approval must be obtained within one year. Verification of the customer's
approval shall be obtained in accordance with the procedures set forth below.
Carriers may request an extension of the verification time period subject to
Commission approval.
B.
Verification of the customer's approval may be obtained through written, oral,
or electronic methods. All verification methods shall be conducted in the same
languages that were used in the initial notification and shall elicit at a
minimum:
1. The identity of the
customer;
2. Confirmation that the
person responding to the verification request is authorized to make CPNI
available to the telecommunications company;
3. Confirmation that the customer wants to
make the CPNI release verification;
4. The telephone numbers for which CPNI
information release is authorized; and
5. The types of service involved.
C. Written verification obtained
by a telecommunications carrier shall:
1. Be
a separate document having the sole purpose of authorizing a telecommunications
company to use the customer's CPNI in accordance with this Article;
2. Be signed and dated by the customer
authorizing the use of the customer's CPNI; and
3. Not be combined with any
inducement.
D.
Electronic verification obtained by a telecommunications carrier shall:
1. Include electronically signed letters of
authority;
2. Be a separate
document having the sole purpose of authorizing a telecommunications company to
use the customer's CPNI in accordance with this Article; and
3. Not be combined with any
inducement.
E. Oral
verification obtained by a telecommunications carrier shall:
1. Be recorded; and
2. Not be combined with any
inducement.
F. If a
telecommunications company fails to obtain verification within one year of
obtaining a customer's opt-out approval, the authorization to use, disclose, or
permit access to that customer's CPNI is no longer valid. If verification from
the customer is not received within one year as required, the company shall
direct any entities (affiliates, joint-venture partners, or independent
contractors) to whom it has released CPNI to stop using the CPNI.
G. As a result of failure to obtain
verification within one year, the company and any other entities (affiliates,
joint-venture partners, or independent contractors) may not use, disclose, or
permit access to that customer's CPNI until verification is obtained.
H. Carriers may request an extension of the
verification time period subject to Commission approval.
I. The Commission may grant an extension(s)
of time to complete the verification process if the applicant demonstrates
items 1 through 4 below:
1. The applicant has
used its best efforts to obtain customer verification of their CPNI sharing
preference. One means of demonstrating this would be for the applicant to show
that it has achieved verification with respect to a minimum of one-third of its
customers during the initial or extension period for which the company used the
opt-out approval mechanism; and
2.
The applicant has contacted each of its customers (for whom it has used an
opt-out approval mechanism) at least once in the first half of the verification
period and at least once during the second half of the verification period (if
it was unsuccessful in obtaining the customer's verification during its initial
contact) to verify the customer's CPNI sharing preference; and
3. To the extent practicable, one of the
applicant's contacts to the customer should be by phone to the customer's
primary residence or telephone number by a person speaking the customer's
language preference (English or Spanish). If the customer is not there, it
should allow, if technically feasible, the customer the option of responding
via message return; and
4. The
applicant presents a plan for achieving verification for its remaining
customers. In its plan, the applicant must demonstrate that the additional time
it is requesting is no longer than in reasonably necessary to complete items 1
and 3 again for any customers it was unsuccessful in contacting during the
initial verification period, and to complete any additional measures designed
to ensure customer contact during the extension period.
