FCC to Allow Customers in Katrina-Affected Areas to Reinstate Disconnected Telephone Numbers

The FCC waived its rules for aging residential numbers in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The current rules allow carriers to age numbers previously assigned to residential customers for no more than 90 days before making them available for assignment to another customer. Waiver of this rule will allow carriers to disconnect temporarily customers' telephone service, upon request, to avoid billing issues, and to reinstate the same number when the service is reconnected in the future. The FCC has also already granted a waiver to allow carriers to port telephone numbers geographically outside of rate centers affected by the disaster.
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