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TR's State NewsWire . . .daily intelligence on communications industry news and policy from the editors of Telecommunications Reports. . . ====================================================== *Table of Contents* November 27, 2001 STATES HAWAII -- Gov. Cayetano nominates new commissioner FLORIDA -- Staff proposes default LCA definition MASSACHUSETTS -- E911 bill passes Senate FLORIDA -- Staff rules against ILECs in POI dispute NEW YORK -- Reporting requirements reinstated CONNECTICUT -- AT&T Broadband investigation to continue WISCONSIN -- PSC approves use of '211' for health, human services DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- Committee mulls electronic signature bill ALASKA -- ACS-F must defend termination penalty CALIFORNIA -- Verizon, CWA reach tentative agreement WISCONSIN -- PSC extends Viroqua's 'alt reg' plan MINNESOTA -- PUC approves Qwest's wholesale discount settlement OHIO -- Carriers must file TRS outreach plans PENNSYLVANIA -- AG appoints head of Bureau of Consumer Protection WASHINGTON -- Gov. Locke, AG propose antiterrorism legislation DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- Verizon deploys DSL to area apartments CALIFORNIA -- Leap offer service in Modesto, Merced IDAHO -- Verizon Wireless completes network upgrade ILLINOIS -- Verizon expands Central Illinois service IOWA -- Mandatory'563' dialing to begin REGIONAL Ameritech to pay $863,000 in penalties Forsee to head new BellSouth domestic unit ______________________________________________________ HAWAII -- Gov. Cayetano nominates new commissioner Gov. Benjamin Cayetano (D.) has nominated State Comptroller Wayne Kimura to the Public Utilities Commission. Before becoming state comptroller, Mr. Kimura was the deputy director of finance in the Department of Budget and Finance for two-and-a-half years. Gov. Cayetano said, "Wayne Kimura has been extremely effective as state comptroller, implementing changes to increase efficiency within the department. He spent 23 years in public service at all levels of state government. Over than time, he has amassed a great amount of knowledge and experience that will serve as a good foundation for his term at the Public Utilities Commission." His nomination requires Senate confirmation, and he will go before the Senate during the next legislative session. In the meantime, he will take up his new post Dec. 1. Mr. Kimura will succeed former Commissioner David Morihara, who left to work for the University of Hawaii. ______________________________________________________ FLORIDA -- Staff proposes default LCA definition The Public Service Commission staff has proposed a default LCA (local calling area) definition in interconnection agreements to determine reciprocal compensation. Incumbents and competitors should be permitted to negotiate the LCA definition in their interconnection agreements but, if negotiations fail, the LCA should be defined as "all calls that originate and terminate in the same LATA [local access and transport area]," the staff said. The staff rejected Verizon Florida, Inc.'s request to base the LCA definition on incumbents' LCAs. "A broader definition of local calling area for the purposes of reciprocal compensation should be established, if for no other reason than administrative ease," the staff said. The commission is scheduled to vote on the recommendation Dec. 5. (Docket 000075-TP) ______________________________________________________ MASSACHUSETTS -- E911 bill passes Senate A bill that would establish a statewide E911 (emergency "911") service has passed the Senate and is now being considered in the House. SB 1920, introduced by the Committee on Government Regulations, would establish a board to "coordinate and effect the implementation of wireline enhanced 911 service." The board would be charged with establishing E911 standards, administering E911 services, and working with cities and towns to make emergency service available to persons with disabilities. The bill would also establish monthly 30-cent surcharge per wireless telephone number. The surcharge could be raised to a maximum 75-cents per month at the board's discretion. A wireless E911 fund would be set up with the monies from the surcharge. The bill text is available at http://www.state.ma.us/legis/bills/st01920.htm. ______________________________________________________ FLORIDA -- Staff rules against ILECs in POI dispute The Public Service Commission staff has recommended requiring incumbent local exchange carriers to absorb the costs of routing traffic originating on their network to a competitive local exchange carrier's POI (point of interconnection). The staff concluded that an originating local exchange carrier is financially responsible for bringing its traffic to the POI in a LATA (local access and transport area). FCC rules preclude originating carriers "from charging a terminating carrier for the cost of transport, or for the facilities used to transport the originating carrier's traffic, from its source to the POI in a LATA," the staff said. The staff also rejected BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., and Verizon Florida, Inc.'s proposal to permit incumbents to designate competitors' POIs. Competitors have the right to establish one POI per LATA at any "technically feasible location" in an incumbent's service area, the staff said. The commission is scheduled to vote on the recommendation Dec. 5. (Docket 000075-TP) ______________________________________________________ NEW YORK -- Reporting requirements reinstated The Public Service Commission has reinstated reporting requirements in its "special" service-quality proceeding after it suspend the deadlines in October to allow Verizon New York, Inc., and other carriers to "devote full resources to restoring telephone service in New York City in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center." (9/24/01) Carriers weren't required to file service results under the revised special services guidelines and didn't have to adhere to performance standards under the PSC's "extraordinary events" exception. Noting that the "bulk of the service quality impacts from the disaster" is now localized around the World Trade Center area, the PSC said that all incentive plans and reporting requirements will be reinstated in all areas except for the Varick Street, West Street/World Trade Center, and Broad Street maintenance centers. All performance regulatory plans and performance assurance plans are reinstated as of Dec. 1. In addition, the commission has asked all telecommunications utilities to propose new methodologies for calculating performance for the year, because of the interruption in reporting requirements. Proposals are due 60 days after the Nov. 26 order. The order is available at http://www.dps.state.ny.us/fileroom/doc10823.pdf. (Cases 01-M- 1263, 00-C-2051, and 92-C-0665) ______________________________________________________ CONNECTICUT -- AT&T Broadband investigation to continue The Department of Public Utility Control has denied AT&T Broadband's motion to end an investigation into the company's rates and installation policies or to stay the proceeding until the FCC makes a determination on the subject matter. The DPUC has statutory authority to conduct the investigation and would be "disregarding its legislative mandate if it failed to exercise its authority," the DPUC said in its draft decision. The investigation began last July after the DPUC received evidence contradicting AT&T's claim that it had completely wired two subject franchise areas in a franchise renewal case. (9/17/01) The DPUC directed AT&T to modify its installation policies by June 25. AT&T "declined to make modifications directed by the docket," including a DPUC mandate to exclude charges to customers for a plant installed on the public rights- of-way. AT&T's action initiated the proceeding. (Docket 01-07- 03 -- DPUC Investigation of AT&T Broadband's Installation Practices and Policies) ______________________________________________________ WISCONSIN -- PSC approves use of '211' for health, human services The Public Service Commission has approved requests by the Metropolitan Milwaukee "211" Stakeholders Council, the United Way of Dane County, the Mental Health Association in Waukesha County, and the Waukesha County 211 Stakeholder's Group to use the 211 dialing code in their respective areas for 30 months. At the end of the 30-month period, the commission will review the groups' petitions and the progress of the 211 systems in place. The PSC may also make further decisions about the 211 structure and service requirements after the 30-month period. The 211 dialing code will be used in those counties for nonemergency information and referral phone calls for health and human services. The commission noted that these organization already provide information and referral services to their respective communities. The basic services the groups offer won't change with this decision, only the means of customer access will change, the PSC said. The commission further determined that 211 access won't be mandatory for wireless providers or pay phone providers. The PSC that that although the 211 service would benefit the general public, it didn't want telecom providers' costs for 211 to be borne by the ratepayers. The commission directed the entities requesting the 211 designation for their areas to pay for the necessary networking costs. Customers placing the calls will pay any charges that would be applicable to such calls. (Docket 05-TI-233) ______________________________________________________ DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- Committee mulls electronic signature bill The Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has scheduled a Nov. 23 public hearing to discuss a bill to provide "consumer protection for signatures obtained by electronic means." Bill 14-252, introduced by Councilmember Sharon Ambrose (D., Ward 6) would allow electronic signatures to be used in lieu of writing, provided that certain disclosures were provided to the consumer apprising them of their rights. Ms. Ambrose is the chairwoman of the Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. The bill text is available at http://dccouncil.dc.gov/images/00001/20010608123250.pdf. ______________________________________________________ ALASKA -- ACS-F must defend termination penalty The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has suspended until May 26, 2002, ACS of Fairbank, Inc.'s request to offer transparent local area network (LAN) high speed service and directed the company to defend its termination penalties. The service is a high-speed shared fiber-optic transport service for interconnecting LANs and wide area networks. Under the terms of the proposed tariff, a customer who terminates service before the end of the term must pay the difference between what the customer has paid and what the customer would have paid for the remainder of the term, plus a 10% administrative fee. The commission staff noted that the practice of requiring customers terminating a contract early to reimburse the utility the difference between the rates actually charged and the rates that would have been charged is "standard." The staff pointed out that the 10% fee isn't standard and "doesn't appear to be tied directly to cost." The commission agreed with the staff and directed ACS-F to justify its termination penalties by Jan. 1, 2002. (Docket U-01- 140) ______________________________________________________ CALIFORNIA -- Verizon, CWA reach tentative agreement Verizon Communications, Inc., has reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in California. The tentative agreement includes a 12% wage increase over the term of the contract, with 4% increases each year. The contract covers 7,900 employees, principally technicians and customer service representatives, throughout the state. The CWA plans to submit the tentative agreement to the employees it represents soon. The agreement needs a simple majority to be ratified. Once ratified, the new contract will take effect when the current contract expires, at midnight March 16, 2002. ______________________________________________________ WISCONSIN -- PSC extends Viroqua's 'alt reg' plan The Public Service Commission has extended Frontier Communications of Viroqua, Inc.'s alternative regulation plan until March 30, 2002, or until a new plan is adopted. The existing plan is set to expire Nov. 30. On April 23 the company filed an application for a new plan that included many changes from the existing plan. Because the staff is still analyzing the new plan, it is unlikely that the matter will come before the commission before Nov. 30. Viroqua said it wouldn't increase rates on regulated services during the extension. (Docket 6150-TI-102) ______________________________________________________ MINNESOTA -- PUC approves Qwest's wholesale discount settlement The Public Utilities Commission has approved an agreement between Qwest Corp. and a group of competitive local exchange carriers resolving a dispute about the wholesale discount rate Qwest applies to resold services. The commission orally approved the agreement in January 2000, but didn't issue a written order approving the agreement until last week. Qwest agreed to apply a 21.5% wholesale discount to services resold to Integra Telecom of Minnesota, Inc., US Link, Inc., Otter Tail Telecom LLC, and Tekstar Communications, Inc., before Feb. 8, 2000. A 17.66% discount applies to resold service provided after Feb. 8, 2000. In December 1996, the commission established a 21.5% wholesale discount rate for Qwest, but the incumbent appealed the decision to the U.S. District Court for the district of Minnesota. In March 1999, the court ordered the commission to revise Qwest's rate. In June 1999, the competitors asked the commission to allow them to adopt the 21.5% discount in Qwest's interconnection agreement with MFS. The settlement agreement resolves the dispute. (Docket P-999/CI-99-776) ______________________________________________________ OHIO -- Carriers must file TRS outreach plans The Public Utilities Commission has ordered all local telecom service providers to file by Dec. 11 a detailed description of their TRS (telecommunications relay service) outreach plans. TRS services enable people using TTYs (text telephones) to communicate with people who use voice telephones. The commission's rules require local telecom providers to publish TRS instructions in phone directories and "periodic" bill inserts. (Case 01-2945-TP-COI) ______________________________________________________ PENNSYLVANIA -- AG appoints head of Bureau of Consumer Protection Attorney General Mike Fisher (R.) has named Seth Mendelsohn to head the Harrisburg regional office as attorney-in-charge of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Mr. Mendelsohn will be responsible for overseeing consumer cases and filing legal actions "on behalf of the Commonwealth when deceptive or fraudulent patterns occur." Mr. Mendelsohn has been a deputy attorney general with the AG's litigation office since 1997. ______________________________________________________ WASHINGTON -- Gov. Locke, AG propose antiterrorism legislation Gov. Gary Locke (D.), Attorney General Christine Gregoire (D.), and representatives of state law enforcement and prosecutors' organizations have proposed joint legislation that would provide the state with new tools to fight terrorism. The AG said the legislation would fill "gaps" in state law that became apparent after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The measure would create a new felony crime of terrorism in Washington's criminal code. The proposal would also expand wire tapping admissibility in state courts. ______________________________________________________ DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- Verizon deploys DSL to area apartments Verizon Washington, D.C., has said that 18,000 residential units in 45 apartment buildings in the District are now able to use the telco's high-speed Internet service using digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. The Internet service is provided over regular copper phone lines at each building. Verizon Avenue, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon Communications, Inc., installs Internet- access DSL equipment on site to connect residents to the Internet. The company said this placement of access equipment at apartment complexes "eliminates distance limitations so high- speed Internet service can be delivered to every resident with a copper wire connection." Service packages include high-speed access, e-mail, and personal Web space. ______________________________________________________ CALIFORNIA -- Leap to offer service in Modesto, Merced Leap Wireless International, Inc., has launched its unlimited local wireless service in Modesto and Merced in California's central valley. This marks Leap's first entry into its home state of California. The company offers its unlimited service in 32 markets in 18 states. Harvey White, Leap's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "With this launch, as well as others planned for the remainder of 2001 and beyond, we are well positioned to deliver on our 40- market buildout plan by early 2002." ______________________________________________________ IDAHO -- Verizon Wireless completes network upgrade Verizon Wireless has upgraded its network to handle more calls and to offer enhanced services and new features to customers in the Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Twin Falls areas. Verizon Wireless said the upgrade preserves the benefits of digital service and positions the company for more rapid expansion to meet projected growth. The project is part of Verizon Wireless's 2001 $5 million network investment in Idaho. ______________________________________________________ ILLINOIS -- Verizon expands Central Illinois service Verizon Wireless has expanded service in the state by adding two new cell sites to enhance coverage in central Illinois. The new digital cell sites are located in Gifford and Lexington. The expansion is part of a $22.5 million investment in network improvements in central Illinois. ______________________________________________________ IOWA -- Mandatory'563' dialing to begin The Iowa Utilities Board has announced that mandatory dialing for the "563" area code serving the eastern region of Iowa will begin Dec. 2. The IUB split the "319" area code in October 2000 to relieve "exhaustion" of "NXX" codes in the number planning area (NPA). The communities around Decorah, Elkader, Clinton, Davenport, Bettendorf, and Muscatine will be served by the new 563 NPA. ______________________________________________________ ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MICHIGAN, OHIO, WISCONSIN -- Ameritech to pay $863,000 in penalties Ameritech Corp. must pay more than $863,000 in penalties for failing to meet wholesale service-quality standards in five states during September, according to a report issued by the incumbent. The penalties will be submitted to the company's wholesale customers and to the public commissions in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Ameritech's September wholesale service-quality report marks the first increase in penalties among states in its operating region in several months. The company paid out $636,000 in fines in August, $1.7 million in July, and $3.3 million in June. Ameritech-Illinois leads the telco's operating region in penalties. The company must pay $378,000 to the Illinois Commerce Commission and $123,000 to its wholesale customers. Ameritech-Ohio's wholesale penalties increased dramatically when compared to the penalties it paid in July and August. The telco must pay the Ohio Public Utilities Commission almost $223,000 and its wholesale customers $42,000. Ameritech-Ohio paid only $38,000 in fines to its wholesale customers in August and $115,000 in July. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission assessed the lowest penalties; the company will pay only $567 to its wholesale customers. ______________________________________________________ ALABAMA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE -- Forsee to head new BellSouth domestic unit BellSouth Corp. has decided to consolidate its domestic operations under vice chairman Gary Forsee. The new domestic operation will include customer markets, network services, regulatory and external affairs, and BellSouth's advertising and publishing group. Margaret Greene, president-regulatory and external affairs, Rod Odom, president-network operations, Dick Anderson, president-customer markets, and Elmer Smith, president- advertising and publishing, will report to Mr. Forsee. The new structure takes effect Jan. 1, 2002. "These changes are designed to strengthen our growth strategies in domestic voice and data," said BellSouth chairman and chief executive officer Duane Ackerman. "Bringing together our domestic operations will further sharpen our focus and enable us to be the leader in providing the next generation of telecommunications products and services to our customers." Jere Drummond, vice chairman, and Charlie Coe, president-network services, announced that they will retire from BellSouth, effective Dec. 31. Mr. Drummond, who has been vice chairman since Jan. 1, 2000, directs the company's public relations, advertising, external affairs and regulatory activities. Mr. Coe has headed BellSouth's network services operations since Jan. 1, 2000. ======================== END ========================= To view this issue online, go to http://www.tr.com/statenews/. Federal law prohibits duplication in any form, including electronic, without permission of the publisher. TR's State NewsWire Copyright 2000, 2001 Telecommunications Reports International, Inc. (ISSN 1082-9350) is transmitted each business day, except holidays. Telecommunications Reports International, Inc. 1333 H St. NW, Suite 100-E Washington, DC 20005-4707 Gayle Kansagor, E-mail: mailto:gkansagor@tr.com Editor Susan McGovern, E-mail: mailto:smcgovern@tr.com Associate Editor Victoria Curtis, E-mail: mailto:vcurtis@tr.com Senior Research Analyst Michael Johnson, E-mail: mailto:mjohnson@tr.com Senior Telecommunications Analyst Account Services: Christy Iredell (202) 312-6051, (202) 312-6065 (fax), E-mail: mailto:ciredell@tr.com
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