Persistent phone call completion problems in rural areas are creating major inconveniences for families, hurting businesses, and threatening public safety

The Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act, which was signed into law in February, directs the Federal Communications Commission to establish basic quality standards for providers that transmit voice calls to help ensure businesses, families, and emergency responders can count on phone calls being completed 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Thune (R-SD), and Jon Tester (D-MT) today announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is establishing a registry for intermediate service providers to increase accountability in rural calls—a step called for in the senators’ Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act, which was signed into law in February. Persistent phone call completion problems in rural communities are creating major inconveniences for families, hurting businesses, and threatening public safety. The bipartisan Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act directs the FCC to require providers that transmit voice calls to register with the agency and establish quality standards for transmitting voice calls. These reforms will help ensure small businesses, families, and emergency responders in rural America can once again rely upon their telephone calls being completed.

“For years, rural communities across Minnesota have been plagued by unreliable phone service and chronic call completion problems. Putting in place these commonsense standards for providers will help ensure that people can stay connected, run their businesses, and reach emergency services during a crisis,” Klobuchar said. “Implementing this law is a critical investment in the safety and strength of rural America.”

“Ensuring that calls to rural areas are connected is essential for the safety and economic well-being of South Dakotans and rural America generally. With this week’s order, the Federal Communications Commission took an important step in meeting the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act’s requirements for restoring the integrity of telephone service in rural America,” Thune said.

“If we can send a man to the moon, we should be able to connect a call in Big Sandy, Montana. That’s why I fought to pass the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act, so folks in rural America can always pick up the phone and hear a voice on the other end. These reforms will hold out-of-state phone service providers accountable and improve service for families and small businesses across Montana,” Tester said.

###