NOTICES
PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION
Application of Verizon Pennsylvania Inc. for FCC Authorization to Provide In-Region, InterLATA Service in Pennsylvania; M-00001435; Joint Petition of NEXTLINK, et al.; P-00991643 Commissioners Present: John M. Quain, Chairperson; Robert K. Bloom, Vice Chairperson; Nora Mead Brownell; Aaron Wilson, Jr.; Terrance J. Fitzpatrick, Abstaining
[31 Pa.B. 1426] Public Meeting held
February 21, 2001
DSL Metrics Order By the Commission:
Before this Commission for disposition is the Stipulation of various active parties at this docket relative to digital subscriber line (DSL) metrics for use during the commercial availability period and thereafter as part of the PMO metrics established at Docket No. P-00991643.1
Background The PMO Proceeding, as it has evolved, established Carrier-to-Carrier Guidelines (referred to informally as metrics) that contain the measures, standards, and remedies applicable to various Operations Support Systems (OSS) transactions between Verizon Pennsylvania Inc. (Verizon PA) and the competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs).
Section 271(d)(1) of the Telecommunications Act2 (TA-96) provides Verizon PA with the opportunity to apply to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for authority to provide in-region interLATA service in this Commonwealth. Section 271(d)(2) of TA-96 additionally provides that the FCC, before making its decision on any similier application, is required to consult with the United States Department of Justice and this Commission to verify Verizon PA's compliance with the requirements of section 271(c) of TA-96 within this Commonwealth. In general, the requirements of section 271(c) include a 14-point competitive checklist for access and interconnection on fair and nondiscriminatory terms, as well as nondiscriminatory access to Verizon PA's OSS and the existence of appropriate OSS performance measures and remedies. This Commission's Global Order3 established, inter alia, a 90-day Commercial Availability Period, for Verizon PA's 271 process within which this Commission is conducting its review.
On December 28, 2000, Covad and Rhythms jointly filed a Petition for Verification of Verizon's DSL and UNE Sharing Compliance (Covad/Rhythms Petition). Covad and Rhythms petitioned the Commission to direct supplemental, independent third party testing of Verizon PA's OSS, specifically with respect to DSL loops and line sharing.
Having DSL metrics in place is an integral component of what this Commission is being called upon to review. To that end, various active parties4 in the 271 process have reached an agreement relative to DSL metrics which agreement has been memorialized in the following DSL Stipulation. The remaining active parties5 have chosen to remain silent as to the DSL Stipulation with the understanding that their silence means ''nonopposition'' to the DSL Stipulation.
Terms of the DSL Stipulation The DSL Stipulation,6 signed on or about February 15, 2001, provides as follows:
1. That the [signatory] parties either (a) will interpose no objection to the proposed use of the Pennsylvania Carrier-to-Carrier Guidelines Performance Standards and Reports circulated by Verizon PA on February 6, 2001, or (b) agree that the redline version of the Pennsylvania Carrier-to-Carrier Guidelines Performance Standards and Reports circulated by Verizon PA on February 6, 2001, is an accurate representation, appropriately adapted for use in this Commonwealth, of DSL metrics (including line sharing), as adopted by consensus in the New York collaborative process.
2. That these February 6, 2001, Guidelines shall be used for the purposes of the Commercial Availability Period analysis at this docket.
3. That these February 6, 2001, Guidelines shall be used for on-going commercial operations after completion or termination of the Commercial Availability Period analysis at this docket, subject to the reviews contemplated by the Performance Metrics Order, Docket No. P-00991643 (December 31, 1999), or other Commission processes as may be appropriate.
4. That by expressing no objection or by agreeing to the use of the February 6, 2001, Guidelines, no party relinquishes its position relative to Verizon Advanced Data Inc. or Verizon PA's compliance or noncompliance with the requirements of section 271 of TA-96, including arguments as to whether Verizon PA has an obligation to offer DSL for resale.
5. That the February 6, 2001, Guidelines do not include metrics regarding line splitting, and that by expressing no objection or by agreeing to the use of the February 6, 2001, Guidelines, no party relinquishes its position concerning whether Verizon PA is in compliance with its obligations relative to line splitting.
6. That by expressing no objection or by agreeing as described herein to the use of these February 6, 2001, Guidelines, no party relinquishes its position relative to the pending Commonwealth Court appeals in Verizon PA v. PaPUC, No. 1902 C.D. 2000; WorldCom, Inc. v. PaPUC, No. 2011 C.D. 2000; AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2028 C.D. 2000; and AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2797 C.D. 2000.
7. That the pending Commonwealth Court appeals in Verizon PA v. PaPUC, No. 1902 C.D. 2000; WorldCom, Inc. v. PaPUC, No. 2011 C.D. 2000; AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2028 C.D. 2000; and AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2797 C.D. 2000, do not preclude the Commission from entering an order adopting the February 6, 2001, Guidelines for the use as described herein.
8. That DSL performance under the February 6, 2001, Guidelines will be reported manually via a special report until reporting can be automated under and consistent with existing change control management procedures.
9. That this Stipulation resolves the pending Petition filed by Covad/Rhythms relative to DSL and line sharing.
This Stipulation may be signed in counterpart and shall be effective as of January 1, 2001, regardless of when signed. The signatures below indicate the parties' agreement with the general terms (¶¶ 2--8) of this Stipulation and a particular designation as to ¶ 1. If no communication relative to this Stipulation is received from an active party, that party's position will be represented to the Commission as ''nonopposition with no preference regarding 1(a) or 1(b).''
Discussion For the purposes of the Commercial Availability Period, in the absence of any opposition to the DSL Stipulation, we find that it is appropriate to authorize use of the metrics circulated on February 6, 2001, effective as of January 1, 2001, which date marks the start of the Commercial Availability Period herein.
For the on-going commercial operations, we shall publish this Order in the Pennsylvania Bullet in as notice of our intention to adopt the DSL metrics circulated on February 6, 2001, for on-going commercial operations. This is to give those parties who are not participating in the 271 process but who did participate in the PMO Proceeding an opportunity to comment. The comment period shall be 10 days. Comments shall be filed at Docket No. P-00991643.
Several of the stipulating parties herein are the participants in the pending Commonwealth Court appeals in Verizon PA v. PaPUC, No. 1902 C.D. 2000; WorldCom, Inc. v. PaPUC, No. 2011 C.D. 2000; AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2028 C.D. 2000; and AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2797 C.D. 2000, and they agree that said appeals do not preclude the Commission from entering an order adopting the February 6, 2001, Guidelines for the use as described herein.
It is expressly noted that the on-going use of the DSL metrics will be subject to the reviews contemplated by the PMO Proceeding, or such other Commission processes as may be appropriate. Further, inasmuch as linesharing was not part of the PMO Proceeding, by expressing no objection or by agreeing as described herein to the use of these February 6, 2001, Guidelines, no party relinquishes its position relative to the pending Commonwealth Court appeals in Verizon PA v. PaPUC, No. 1902 C.D. 2000; WorldCom, Inc. v. PaPUC, No. 2011 C.D. 2000; AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2028 C.D. 2000; and AT&T. v. PaPUC, No. 2797 C.D. 2000.
Accordingly, the DSL Stipulation is approved, and the Covad/Rhythms Petition is deemed moot.
Conclusion This Order shall become effective as of the date of entry with respect to the Commercial Availability Period except that this Order is tentative as to the use of the DSL metrics for on-going operations at P-00991643. For on-going, post-commercial availability operations, this Order shall be effective 10 days after publication without further action by the Commission. A copy of this Order shall be served on all the parties at this docket and the PMO Proceeding docket. We emphasize that the performance measures and standards as well as the remedies provisions established in our PMO Proceeding constitute the final dispositive action on the compliance issues until changed by subsequent Commission directive;
Therefore, it is Ordered That:
1. The Petition of Covad Communications, Inc., and Rhythms Links, Inc., filed on December 28, 2000, relative to DSL and UNE line sharing is deemed moot.
2. The DSL Stipulation of the signatory parties is approved.
3. The Pennsylvania Carrier-to-Carrier Guidelines Performance Standards and Reports circulated by Verizon PA on February 6, 2001, shall be used for the purposes of the Commercial Availability Period analysis at this docket.
4. These February 6, 2001, Guidelines shall be used for on-going commercial operations after completion or termination of the Commercial Availability Period analysis at this docket, subject to the reviews contemplated by the Performance Metrics Order, Docket No. P-00991643 (December 31, 1999), or such other Commission processes as may be appropriate.
5. The February 6, 2001, Guidelines do not include metrics regarding line splitting, and that by expressing no objection or by agreeing to the use of the February 6, 2001, Guidelines, no party relinquishes its position concerning whether Verizon PA is in compliance with its obligations relative to line splitting.
6. A copy of this Order shall be served on all the parties at this docket and the PMO Proceeding, Docket No. P-00991643. This Order shall also be filed of record at the PMO Proceeding. Notice of this Order shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
7. February 6, 2001, Guidelines shall be effective as of January 1, 2001, for the Commercial Availability Period except that this Order is tentative as to the use of the DSL metrics for on-going operations at P-00991643. For on-going, post-commercial availability operations, this Order shall be effective 10 days after publication without further action by the Commission.
JAMES J. MCNULTY,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 01-425. Filed for public inspection March 9, 2001, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 Joint Petition of NEXTLINK, et al., Docket No. P-00991643, (Performance Metrics Order or PMO Proceeding).
2 Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56, codified at 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, et seq., (TA-96).
3 Joint Petition of NEXTLINK PA, et al., for Adoption of Partial Settlement Resolving Pending Telecommunications Issues and Joint Petition of BA-PA, et al., for Resolution of Global Telecommunications Proceedings, Docket Nos. P-00991648 and P-00991649 (Sept. 30, 1999, as clarified by Order entered Nov. 5, 1999) (Global Order).
4 Verizon PA; MCI WorldCom Communications, Inc. (MCIW); the Pennsylvania Cable & Telecommunications Assn. (PCTA); AT&T Communications of Pennsylvania, Inc. (AT&T); the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA); Covad Communications Company (Covad); ACSI Local Switched Services, Inc. d/b/a e.spire Communications, Inc. (e.spire); Rhythms Links, Inc. (Rhythms); Z-Tel Communications, Inc. (Z-Tel); the Office of Trial Staff (OTS); and Penn Telecom, Inc. (Penn Telecom).
5 XO Communications Inc. (XO); Senators Mary Jo White and Roger A. Madigan (Senators); CTSI, Inc. (CTSI); Winstar Wireless of Pennsylvania, LLC (Winstar); Conectiv Communications, Inc. (Conectiv); the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA); ACSI Local Switched Services, Inc. d/b/a e.spire Communications, Inc. (e.spire); Cavalier Telephone Mid-Atlantic, LLC (Cavalier); Sprint Communications Company, LP (Sprint); The United Telephone Company of Pennsylvania (United); ATX Licensing, Inc. (ATX); RCN Telecom Services of Philadelphia, Inc. (RCN); Assn. of Communications Enterprises (ASCENT); Conestoga Communications, Inc. (Conestoga); TeleBeam, Inc., t/a CEI Networks (TeleBeam); Full Service Computing Corp., t/a Full Service Network (FSN); Metropolitan Telecommunications (MetTel); Essential.com, Inc. (Essential); and the Central Atlantic Payphone Assn. (CAPA).
6 The February 6, 2001 Guidelines change the existing metrics adopted in the PMO Proceeding only to the extent of adding DSL linesharing metrics and recognizing Verizon PA's name change from Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania, Inc.
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