We have measured the critical current density parallel (jc) and normal to the plane of monofilamentary (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 silver-sheathed tapes prepared on the laboratory scale (l ≤ 10 m) by the powder-in-tube technique with rolling as the only tape-forming process. For the range of critical current densities along the tape jc(T = 77 K, B = 0 T) = 20…30 kA/cm2 we obtain normal to the tape plane. We have a directly measured the current-transfer length Lc, i.e. the length along the tape that is necessary for the distribution of the current over the filament cross-section. As an upper limit we find Lc ≤ 2 mm at T = 77 K for tapes with jc(T = 77 K, B = 0 T) > 20 kA/cm2. Transmission electron microscopy of the polycrystalline (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 filament confirms the dominant role of the frequent small-angle c-axis tilt grain boundaries (“railway switches”) for the current transport, and the observed low anisotropy ratio as well as the magnetic-field dependence agree well with the “railway-switch” model.