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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 96-1461

NOTICES

PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION

Bell Atlantic Corporation; Adoption of Motion; Doc. No. M-960840

[26 Pa.B. 4298]

   The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, at a public meeting held August 8, 1996, adopted a motion by Commissioner David W. Rolka, which is set forth as follows. Comments that are filed, original and ten copies, should be submitted to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, P. O. Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265. An additional two copies of the comments filed should be served to each Commissioner. The 10 day deadline referenced in paragraph 5 will be strictly enforced. Written requests must be received within that timeframe.

   Alternate formats of this document are available to persons with disabilities and may be obtained by contacting Shirley M. Leming, Regulatory Coordinator, Law Bureau, at (717) 772-4597.

   The contact person is John L. Dial, Executive Director, (717) 783-5331.

Motion of Commissioner David W. Rolka

   The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (act) provides for the entry of Bell Atlantic Corporation (BA) into the interLATA long distance market in its own region once it has met a number of conditions specified in sections 271 and 272 of the act. Within 90 days of the receipt of an application from BA for entry, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in consultation with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC or Commission) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), must determine whether Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania (BA-PA) has met the requirements of section 271 including what is referred to as a competitive checklist of 14 requirements directed at the development of competition in the local exchange market; whether there is in existence a predominately facilities based competitor providing residential and business service in BA-PA's service territory; and that BA's entry into the long distance market in its region is in the public interest.

   Each of these matters will be subject to interpretation and debate by BA, competitor service providers and other parties interested in BA's entry into long distance service. For example, there may be little of substance to guide our interpretation of the phrase ''providing telephone service to residential and business customers predominately over its own facilities.'' Some urge that this is already the case. Others suggest that there needs to be a specific level of usage of a competitor's own facilities or a significant minimum number of access lines served before qualification can occur. Similarly, there is no clear agreement as to when BA's long distance entry would be in the public interest or how that would be evaluated.

   With respect to the competitive checklist, BA-PA has informally indicated its belief that it has already met many of the items and that it expects to complete the requirements, and file for in-region interLATA entry, near the end of this year or very early next year.

   In anticipation of the RBOC's respective section 271 applications, the FCC hosted a meeting with state regulators and representatives of the United States Department of Justice earlier this summer. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the necessity for state commissions to initiate dockets to examine the RBOC's status of progress toward meeting the checklist prior to an official filing. The obvious need to develop an evidentiary record upon which to base the state consultations was also discussed. Both the FCC and the DOJ expressed the perspective that the prompt initiation of a state proceeding in advance of the RBOC's formal 271 application was imperative, and that they would assist and cooperate with such efforts. This type of dialogue was complementary to the language of our Implementation Order at M-960799, wherein we stated that our section 271 consultative role should be interpreted in a cooperative manner with our Federal colleagues.

   On August 1, 1996, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) sent a letter to each of the Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) Chairperson and Chief Executive Officers requesting RBOC cooperation in the State commission review of RBOC section 271 applications so as to facilitate FCC disposition of these applications. The FCC chairperson has issued a press release in support of the NARUC letter. The DOJ has prepared a draft enumeration of issues and information to be considered in evaluating RBOC section 271 applications for in-region interLATA entry to assist state review of the 271 criteria.

   The NARUC specifically requires that the RBOC report to state commissions on four general topics:

   * Evidence to be relied on showing that the RBOC has met either the requirements of section 271(c)(1)(A) relating to the presence of a facilities-based carrier or section 271(c)(1)(B) relating to a statement of terms and conditions.

   * Evidence to be relied upon showing that each requirement of the section 271 checklist has been met.

   * Evidence to be relied upon showing the extent to which the RBOC is providing access and interconnection to its network facilities for the network facilities of one or more unaffiliated competing providers of telephone exchange service to residential and business subscribers.

   * Evidence to be relied upon showing compliance with the public interest requirement in section 271. (To insure a complete record, the RBOC should include evidence on issues that may be relevant to the FCC's decision, including the extent of competition or special unforeseen circumstances.)

   In anticipation of Bell Atlantic's section 271 application to the FCC, and to provide a sufficient foundation for this agency to consult with the FCC, we should initiate a proceeding and invite comments from interested parties at this time. The Commission should also request BA-PA to report on its intentions with respect to an application for entry into the in-region long distance market and direct BA-PA to report on its progress toward compliance with each of the requirements of section 271 and the subjects identified by NARUC so that we can efficiently and promptly develop a comprehensive record. In initiating this proceeding, Pennsylvania would join the ranks of the state regulatory commissions of Florida, Illinois, New York and Ohio, each of which has already initiated its own 271 related docket.

   I Therefore Move That:

   1.  A proceeding be initiated to begin an evaluation of compliance with the provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 regarding the provision of in-region interLATA long distance telephone service by Bell Atlantic;

   2.  Bell Atlantic is requested to provide a report, by no later than 30 days after publication of this Motion in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, on its intentions and an anticipated schedule of activity with respect to an application for interLATA entry into the Pennsylvania long distance market;

   3.  Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania is directed to file, by no later than 30 days after publication of this Motion in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, a report and comments on its progress toward compliance with each of the section 271 criteria and the four subjects identified by NARUC as set forth in the body of this Motion;

   4.  Interested parties and competitors are invited to present their views regarding Bell-Atlantic's compliance with the section 271 criteria and information provided by Bell as set forth in Ordering Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Motion by no later than 45 days after publication of this Motion in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;

   5.  Parties wishing to receive copies of comments and reports shall notify the Secretary in writing no later than 10 days after publication of this Motion in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. A list of such parties shall be maintained by the Secretary, and BA-PA and other parties shall be required to serve copies of their documents on all parties on the list;

   6.  The Law Bureau and the Secretary shall cause this Motion to be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin at the earliest possible date, and the contact person should be identified as the PUC's Executive Director;

   7.  All parties shall serve each Commissioner's office and the Commission's Secretary with their respective comments and reports submitted under this Motion; and

   8.  Further action in this proceeding shall be directed by the Commission.

JOHN G. ALFORD,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-1461. Filed for public inspection August 30, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]


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