Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2016

Bill 114 s 827, also known as the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2016, aims to address the issue of poor call quality and reliability in rural areas of the United States. The bill was introduced in the Senate in March 2016 and was sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The main purpose of the bill is to improve the quality and reliability of calls made to and from rural areas by requiring intermediate providers to register with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and comply with service quality standards. Intermediate providers are companies that carry and route calls between local phone companies and long-distance carriers.

The bill also requires the FCC to establish a registry of intermediate providers and to monitor and enforce compliance with the new standards. Additionally, the FCC is directed to collect data on call completion rates in rural areas and to report on the effectiveness of the new regulations. Overall, the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2016 seeks to ensure that residents of rural areas have access to reliable and high-quality phone service, addressing a longstanding issue that has affected many communities across the country.