NOTICES
PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC
UTILITY COMMISSION
Cancelation of Certificates of Public Convenience for Telecommunication Utilities; Failure to Operate or Report Any Intrastate Operating Revenue
[53 Pa.B. 2276]
[Saturday, April 22, 2023]Public Meeting held
March 16, 2023Commissioners Present: Gladys Brown Dutrieuille, Chairperson; Stephen M. DeFrank, Vice Chairperson; Ralph V. Yanora; Kathryn L. Zerfuss; John F. Coleman, Jr.
Cancelation of Certificates of Public Convenience for Telecommunication Utilities; Failure to Operate or Report Any Intrastate Operating Revenue; M-2022-3037353
Tentative Order By the Commission:
The Public Utility Code (Code) requires that by March 31st of each year, every public utility must file a report detailing its total gross intrastate operating revenue for the preceding calendar year. 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(b). This report is essential for the Commission to fund its operations and to properly allocate assessment costs among the regulated utility community. Id. Commission regulations authorize the cancelation of a telecommunication utility's Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) for failure to comply with applicable reporting requirements such as the filing of annual financial reports. See 52 Pa. Code § 63.36.
The Commission has undertaken a review of its records which has revealed that a significant number of telecommunication utilities have repeatedly failed to file the required annual assessment report or have continually reported zero intrastate operating revenue in their filed annual assessment report. Specifically, each telecommunication utility listed in Appendix A, attached hereto, has failed to report any intrastate operating revenue to the Commission since calendar year 2019. The telecommunication utilities listed in Appendix B have either reported zero intrastate revenue since 2019 or reported zero intrastate revenue in any year since 2019 in combination with not reporting intrastate operating revenue.
The Commission's Bureau of Administration sent a final warning letter to each individual telecommunication utility listed in Appendix A and Appendix B, requesting that they either file an assessment report detailing their annual intrastate operating revenue for the applicable period or notify the Commission of their desire to abandon their CPCs. The telecommunication utilities were provided twenty (20) days to comply. The letter further warned the telecommunication utilities that their failure to comply with the filing directive would result in the Commission taking appropriate action to cancel their CPCs. None of the telecommunication utilities listed in Appendix A or Appendix B responded to the warning letter.
The Public Utility Code requires each telecommunications public utility to operate continuously and without unreasonable interruptions of service. 66 Pa.C.S. § 1501, 52 Pa. Code §§ 63.24. Section 510(b) of the Code requires these public utilities to file a report detailing their total gross intrastate operating revenue for the preceding calendar year based on the intrastate revenues it generates from the jurisdictional telecommunications services it offers within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(b). Under the present circumstances, the failure of the telecommunication utilities listed in Appendix A to file an annual assessment report for various years has created a rebuttable presumption that they are not operating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Additionally, the continual filing of zero intrastate operating revenue in their annual assessment form by the telecommunication utilities listed in Appendix B has created a rebuttable presumption that they are not providing jurisdictional telecommunications services in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
As such, we determine that the actions of failing to file an annual assessment report with the Commission or reporting zero intrastate operating revenue in each successive calendar year since 2019 indicates that there is no need for these non-reporting or zero reporting telecommunications utilities to possess a CPC in Pennsylvania. These carriers are not in compliance with the reporting requirements of 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(b) nor are they in compliance with the operational requirements of 66 Pa.C.S. § 1501, 52 Pa. Code §§ 63.24. Based on their failure to cure these deficiencies in a timely manner, we tentatively conclude that it is in the public interest to initiate the process for canceling the telecommunication utilities' CPCs listed in Appendix A and Appendix B; Therefore,
It Is Ordered:
1. That cancelation of the Certificates of Public Convenience of each telecommunication utility listed in Appendix A and Appendix B is hereby tentatively approved as being in the public interest.
2. That all parties listed in Appendices A and B, to the extent they challenge the rebuttable presumption created by their actions and inactions which led to the conclusion that cancelation of their CPC remains appropriate and in the public interest, must file comments in support of their challenge no later than 20 days after publication of this Tentative Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The comments shall be sent to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Attn: Secretary Rosemary Chiavetta, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 2nd Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120.
3. Alternatively, the telecommunication utilities listed in Appendices A and B may file an Assessment Report with the Commission's Fiscal Office reflecting their total gross intrastate operating revenues for calendar years 2019, 2020 and 2021, no later than 20 days after publication of this Tentative Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
4. That absent the timely filing of any comment challenging cancelation of the CPC, or the timely reporting of a telecommunication utility's gross intrastate operating revenues from calendar years 2019, 2020 and 2021, the Law Bureau shall prepare a Final Order for entry by the Secretary canceling the telecommunication utility's CPC.
5. That upon entry of the Final Order described in Ordering Paragraph No. 4 above, the CPC of each non-compliant carrier shall be canceled, and each non-compliant carrier listed in Appendix A and Appendix B will be stricken from all active utility lists maintained by the Commission's Bureau of Technical Utility Services and the Fiscal & Assessments Section of the Bureau of Administration.
6. That upon entry of the Final Order described in Ordering Paragraph No. 4 above canceling the CPC of each non-compliant carrier listed in Appendix A and Appendix B, all rights and privileges existing under the CPC subject to cancelation, including but not limited to all rights and privileges with eminent domain authority, zoning exemptions, and public right-of-way occupancy, shall be revoked.
7. That the Law Bureau shall publish a copy of this Tentative Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
ROSEMARY CHIAVETTA,
SecretaryORDER ADOPTED: March 16, 2023
ORDER ENTERED: March 16, 2023
Appendix A
Carriers Not Reporting Revenue Since 2019
Utility Code Utility Name Application Number 310507 American Telecommunications Systems A-310507 3110196 Momentum Telecom, Inc. A-2008-2045159, A-2008-2046169 3110551 Total Holdings, Inc. A-2008-2069549
Appendix B
Carriers Reporting Zero Revenue Since 2019 or Reporting Zero Revenue in
Combination With Not Reporting Revenue In Any Year Since 2019
Utility Code Utility Name Application Number 310197 Nosva Limited Partnership A-310197 3111047 Broadvox-Clec, LLC A-2009-2104391, A-2009-2104393 3111706 Airus, Inc. A-2010-2152263, A-2010-2152282, A-2010-2152284, A-2010-2152286 3111908 Worldwide Marketing Solutions, Inc. A-2010-2165627 3114607 Peg Bandwidth PA, LLC A-2012-2301870 3116309 RCLEC, Inc. A-2014-2403435 3119113 Correct Solutions, LLC A-2016-2562526 3119947 ITC Global Networks, LLC A-2017-2607469 3119952 Pennsylvania MSA, LLC A-2017-2607866, A-2017-2607867 3119957 Consolidated Telecom, Inc. A-2017-2608094 3120378 Time Clock Solutions, LLC A-2017-2632817, A-2017-2632820 3121484 Delta Telecom of PA, Inc. A-2018-3005390 3122100 NGA 911, LLC A-2019-3009273, A-2019-3009292 311391 Euro Connect, Inc. A-311391 3115091 Local Access, LLC A-2012-2322682, A-2012-2322693, A-2012-2322696 3120524 IRU Networks, LLC A-2017-2638921, A-2017-2638923, A-2017-2638926
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 23-552. Filed for public inspection April 21, 2023, 9:00 a.m.]
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