Advanced Telecom Services - 900 Caller Paid Service - LEC Restrictions / Program Content Guidelines

900 Caller Paid Service - LEC Restrictions / Program Content Guidelines

MCI uses Local Exchange Carriers (LEC's) as an agent to provide billing & collection service for 900 services. As such, the company is obligated to abide by the restrictions that LEC's place on Billing & Collections (B&C) for 900 services. Below are the examples of restrictions from the four largest LEC's.

MCI is unable to provide billing and collections service to programs that do not comply with the LEC restrictions. THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF ALL LEC RESTRICTIONS. NOR IS IT INTENDED TO MODIFY THE TERMS OF THE 900 CALLER PAID SERVICE BILLING AND COLLECTION AGREEMENT OR THE EXHIBIT C PROGRAM CONTENT GUIDELINES.

General Requirements - 900 Caller Paid Service

All Audiotext Or Pay-Per-Call Services And/Or Information Services Must Be Assigned A 900 Access Code Only. Customers Must Obtain And Follow All Local, Federal And State Laws And Regulations Covering Service. WorldCom is Not Responsible for Providing Said Documents to Customers. Jurisdiction Must Be Domestic. Agrees To Submit 900 Service Messages So That The Presentation Of Such Messages On The End User's Bill Appears With The Same 900 Number The End User Actually Dialed.

Pay-Per-Call Service Invoice Literals Must Be In A Format That Clearly Identifies Such Charges To End Users. This Identification Should Be In A Form Easily Recognizable By End Users, E.G., Sportsphone, Horoscope, Etc. They should be Minimum of five characters, maximum of ten. They should not contain any punctuation.

General Advertising Guidelines

-Must Follow The Rules Of TDDRA
-Cannot Be Misleading, Confusing Or Offensive
-Cannot Target Or Exploit Minors Or Those Who Are Developmentally Or Mentally Incompetent;
-18 or older age disclaimer must be shown
-Program cost must be clearly and accurately defined
-Must show Sponsor Info (city, state, zip)
-Must show Sponsor Customer Service Number
-Cannot Include Negative Presubscription (I.E. - "Opt Out")

Disclosure

At LEC's Request, 900 Customer May Be Required To Provide The Following Information At Any Time:

-Advertised Name Of The PPC Service
-900 Customer Name
-Contact Phone Number For Customer Service Related Issues
-Telephone Number Dialed By The End User To Reach 900 Customer, And -Appears On End-User Bill
-The PPC Service Name That Is Displayed With The Charge Amount On The End-User Bill
-A Brief Description Of The Service Content
-Identification Of The Price As A Flat Rate Or Time Sensitive; If Time Sensitive, -The Rate And The Time
-Segment (E.G. Per Minute) In Which The Rate Is Applied.

LEC 900 Service Limitations

Programming And Applications Will Not Be Accepted:
-Involves Providing The Caller With NonTelecom Merchandise
-Will Be Manually Transferred Or Re-Originated
-Involve Caller Or Other Parties Receiving Goods And/Or Services After Call
-Involves The End User Dialing A Toll Free Number And Then Calling The End -User Back On A Collect
-Basis At A Per Call Or Per-Time-Interval Charge.
-Applications That Adversely Impacts Reputation Of LEC
-Solicits Political/Charitable Contributions
-Live Psychic Programs
-Use Of Telegrams To Receive Fulfillment
-Provide Toll-Free Number For Inquiries
-Programming that Creates Undue Burden on The Caller or the LEC
-Programming Non-Compliant With TDDRA
-Condones, Describes Or Refers To Obscene Or Explicit Programming, Including All Sexual Acts
-Markets Travel Programs
-Job Lines
-Targets Children or Contains Programming Specifically Geared Towards Children
-Condones, Describes Or Refers To Unlawful Conduct Or Acts Of Violence
-Uses Vulgar Language
-Games, Sweepstakes, Contests Or Lotteries
-Use Of Autodialers Or Computerized Dialing Systems And Or Voice Recordings To Solicit Calls
-Generates High Number Of Complaints Or Adjustments
-Service Accessed By Means Other Than A 900 Number
-Any Phone Number Advertised Or Widely Understood As Toll-Free That Results In A Charge To The End User
-Marketing Practices That Exploit Or Are Misleading, Confusing Or Offensive
-PIN For Future Services Not Rendered Rendered On First Call
-Referral To Another Number
-Calls That May Result In Nuisance Calls To LEC
-Information Regarding Credit Cards, Credit Repair Or Related To Credit
Services Which Allude To Discrimination Based On Race, Gender, Ethnic Origin, Religion, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Or Veteran Status
-Group Access Bridged Gab (Chat Lines)
-False, Untimely Or Misleading Information
-Confusing Or Offensive Information
-Programming Charges That Include The Cost Of Anything Other Than A Recorded Announcement Or Interactive Communication, Which May Include, But Are Not Limited To, Goods, Products, Samples, Services, And/Or Informational Material Provided After The Conclusion Of The Call,
Fees & Services On The Internet - Including, But Not Limited To Yellow Pages Directory Advertising,
-Web Page Design And Creation.
-Voting, Polling or Survey Applications - effective 2/15/03

900 Caller Paid Service - LEC Restrictions / Program Content Guidelines

900 Numbers Facts & Information