SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
_________________________________
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of earliest event reported: October 9, 1997
PEOPLES TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC.
---------------------------------------------------------------
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
NEW YORK 0-16479 13-2626435
------------------- ----------------- -----------------
(State or other juris- (Commission File (IRS Employer
diction of incorporation) Number) I.D. No.)
2300 N.W. 89th Place, Miami, Florida 33172
--------------------------------------------------------------
(Address of principal executive office) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (305) 593-9667
<PAGE>
Item 5. Other Events
On October 9, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") issued a
remand order with respect to the compensation which interexchange carriers must
pay to payphone providers, including the Company, for subscriber 800 and carrier
access code calls ("dial-around compensation"). The FCC had originally issued
its Payphone Implementation Orders in late 1996 requiring a flat monthly interim
dial-around compensation rate of $45.85 per payphone, beginning November 6,
1996, calculated at a rate of $.35 per call applied to an industry average 131
calls per payphone per month. This flat rate structure was then scheduled to be
replaced by a per-call compensation rate of $.35 beginning on October 7, 1997.
Those orders were remanded to the FCC for further consideration by the United
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the "Court") on
July 1, 1997, and subsequently vacated by the Court in a clarification order
issued on September 16, 1997. The FCC's latest order replaces the vacated orders
and prescribes a dial-around compensation rate of $.284 per call beginning
October 7, 1997.
While the FCC's latest order does not completely finalize the payment terms
for the initial interim compensation period of November 6, 1996 through October
6, 1997, the order does tentatively conclude that the new $.284 per-call rate
will apply to all applicable calls retroactively for this initial interim
period. The FCC further indicated in its latest order that it will finalize the
compensation obligations for this interim period in a subsequent order.
Accordingly, the Company is presently evaluating the impact of the FCC's
tentative conclusions on its financial results.
The foregoing contains forward looking statements which, given the
uncertainties of the regulatory process and the potential for court challenges
to any further FCC rulemaking, may not ultimately be realized.
<PAGE>
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
PEOPLES TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC.
Date: October 16, 1997 /s/ William A. Baum
------------------------------
William A. Baum
Chief Financial Officer
