The Council's Charter was revised, and its title changed to the present "Network Reliability and Interoperability Council," by the FCC in April of 1996 to advise the FCC on how Section 256 of the Telecommunications Act -- "Coordination for Interconnectivity" -- should be implemented.
The NRIC's amended Charter asked the Council to provide recommendations both for the FCC and for the telecommunications industry that, when implemented, would assure optimal reliability and interoperability of, and accessibility and interconnectivity to, public telecommunications networks. The objective of the recommendations was to ensure the ability of users and information providers to seamlessly and transparently transmit and receive information between and across telecommunications networks.
The Charter also asked the Council to provide recommendations on how the Commission most efficiently could conduct effective oversight of coordinated telecommunications network planning and design, as required by Section 256.
Finally, the Charter asked the Council to assess the Commission's role in the development of telecommunications standards by appropriate industry standards-setting bodies. The intent of Section 256 is to ensure the development of standards that promote access to public telecommunications networks providing telecommunications service, standards that promote access to information services by subscribers of rural telephone companies, and standards that promote access to network capabilities and services by individuals with disabilities.
Charter
- Term: January 6, 1996 - January 6, 1998
- Charter
Contacts
- Jim Keegan, Designated Federal Officer
- Ivan Seidenberg, NRIC Chair
Final Report
- NRIC III
NRIC Network Interoperability: The Key to Competition
Report (Word) | Report (PDF) | News Release | FCC Chairman's Remarks