ASTCA Has Another Problem — Federal Law Requires Subscriber Listings

Dear Editor, Recent headlines have focused considerable attention on ASTCA, its Board of Directors and its relationship with the Governor and Fono. There is another ASTCA matter that deserves public attention, and this one does not involve politics. It involves federal telecommunications law. I have been publishing telephone directories in American Samoa since 1967, when I published my first directory for the American Samoa Government. Over the decades I produced a number of directories, including substantial editions containing residential, government, business and ASTCA postpaid cellular listings. I am now bringing that service into the 21st century. I operate pagopago. com and I have developed a modern online telephone directory and companion application for American Samoa. I am not asking ASTCA or the American Samoa Government for a contract. I am not asking them to buy anything from me.

I am not asking the government to finance the project. I am asking ASTCA for its current subscriber-list information so that I can publish an accurate directory. Federal law addresses that request directly. Section 222(e) of the federal Communications Act provides that a telecommunications carrier providing telephone exchange service shall provide subscriber list information to a person requesting it for the purpose of publishing directories in any format. The information must be supplied on a timely and unbundled basis and under nondiscriminatory and reasonable rates, terms and conditions. The FCC has adopted regulations implementing that requirement. Under 47 C. F. R. §64. 2309, a carrier providing telephone exchange service must provide qualifying subscriber-list information to a requesting directory publisher. And there should be no question that an Internet directory qualifies.…