During the reporting period, the FCC's Reference Information Center (RIC) had 3,020 visitors requesting public Commission information. All visitors were met with an informed and courteous staff and were provided with information that was readily available within 30 minutes. In instances where the information was not available, customers were apprised of the status of their requests and were told when they could expect to receive their requested information.

Telephone Inquiries referred to the Consumer Information Bureau over the 1-888-CALL- FCC or TTY 1-888-TELL-FCC were handled by the Consumer Centers' staff. Consumers were given the utmost attention and consideration regarding their specific inquiry. During the reporting period, approximately 138,000 inquiries were received and resolved. Of these, 79,000 were resolved by the Consumer Centers' staff within two business days. The remaining 59,000 inquiries were handled by our automated response system.

The FCC tested final versions of the new, standardized web page template to be used as the basis for all FCC web pages starting on July 16, 2001. These tests measured the usability, accessibility, and compatibility of the new design, as well as the amount of customization each Bureau and Office could use while creating a uniform look-and-feel across the FCC web site. The final templates incorporated the recommendations from a third-party evaluation of the FCC web site. Accessibility and Content Management subcommittees of the Commission-wide Internet Working Group were formed to help implement and expand upon the recommendations of the formal evaluation. Arrangements were made so that all FCC webmasters would receive the professional training, hardware and software tools necessary for them to create and maintain web pages that provide straightforward, timely access to FCC information.

E-Mail inquiries sent to FCCINFO@FCC.GOV were immediately acknowledged by the Consumer Information Bureau with an automated response. During this reporting period 17,118 inquiries were received, the majority of which were resolved within 2 business days and the remaining completed within 20 business days. The Bureau is actively pursuing technology that will provide enhanced reporting capabilities and allow verification of our customer responses. The staff of other Bureaus/Offices acknowledged status inquiries within two business days 97% of the time, and provided full responses to complex inquiries within 20 business days 99% of the time.