20090619Comments.pdf

NEIL PRICE
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, IDAHO 83720-0074
[phone]
IDAHO BAR NO. 6864
RECEIVED
iong JUN l 9 PM 4: l 2
IDAHO PU8,~iÇr-ln)i
UTILITIES COMaU;:" Ul~
Street Address for Express Mail:
472 W. WASHINGTON
BOISE, IDAHO 83702-5983
Attorney for the Commission Staff
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF )
BLC MANAGEMENT LLC D/B/A ANGLES )
COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS FOR )
DESIGNATION AS AN ELIGIBLE )
TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRER )
)
CASE NO. BLC-T-09-1
COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION STAFF
The Staff of the Idaho Public Utilties Commission, by and through its Attorney of
Record, Neil Price, Deputy Attorney General, in response to the Notice of Application and Notice
of Modified Procedure, issued on May 29, 2009, Order No. 30823, submits the following
comments.
BACKGROUND
On March 29, 2009, BLC Management LLC dba Angles Communication Solution
("BLC" or "Company") fied an Application, pursuant to Section 214(e)(2) of the
Communications Act of 1934, Sections 54.101 through 54.207 of the rules of the Federal
Communications Commission ("FCC") and the rules and regulations of the Idaho Public Utilties
Commission, for designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carier ("ETC") for the purpose
of receiving federal universal service support. BLC is seeking only low income support, and is
not requesting high cost support.
STAFF COMMENTS 1 JUE 19, 2009
BLC is a Tennessee corporation and is authorized to conduct business as a foreign limited
liabilty company in the State of Idaho. The Company is authorized to provide resold competitive
local exchange service throughout Idaho and will provide local exchange and exchange access
services using a combination of resale and unbundled network elements, or unbundled network
equivalents.
The Company is seeking ETC designation throughout the Qwest Corporation ("Qwest")
service territory in southern Idaho.
STAFF ANALYSIS
Staffhas reviewed BLC's Application and has analyzed the Company's fulfillment of the
federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("the Act") and of Commission Order No. 29841 ("the
Order").
On June 30, 2008, BLC was granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
(Case No. BLC-T-08-1) and operates as a competitive local exchange carier ("CLEC") in Idaho.
See Order No. 30650.
In the Application, BLC asserts that it is seeking only (federal) low income support, and is
not requesting (federal) high cost support. Application at 1. The Company states that it intends to
provide local exchange and exchange access services in the designated service area using a
combination of resale and unbundled network elements, or unbundled network equivalents
("UNE") obtained through interconnection agreements that allow end-to-end switching and
delivery of calls. Application at 2. BLC identifies 64 non-rual wire centers located in the Qwest
study area code 475103 (Qwest-south). Application, Exhibit 1. The Company does not seek ETC
designation in any wire centers served by a rual telephone company. Application at 8.
BLC cites in its Application, the federal requirements for ETC designation, but does not
reference Order No. 29841 that outlines the Idaho ETC designation requirements. On March 17,
2005, the FCC adopted new rules for ETC designation and encouraged state commissions to
adopt similar requirements when designating ETCs pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 214(e)(2). Following
the action of the FCC, the Commission sought comments regarding the new federal guidelines for
ETC designation. See Case No. WST-T-05-1. The Commission then considered the FCC's new
- rules, the FCC Order, and the fied comments and determined that it was appropriate to adopt new
ETC eligibilty and reporting requirements in Idaho. This Commission evaluated each of the
FCC's new rules separately and implemented some, but not all of the FCC's ETC guidelines. The
STAFF COMMENTS 2 JUE 19, 2009
Commission adopted only the requirements that were determined to be useful and necessary to
implement the duties and responsibilties under the federal Act. In its findings, the Commission
stated, "(t)hese new Idaho requirements will help the FCC achieve its goal of bringing greater
uniformity to state proceedings while allowing the Idaho Commission to consider the factors it
deems the most important to the ETC process in Idaho." The new requirements were also meant
to provide cariers with greater clarity in the ETC designation process in Idaho. See Order No.
29841 at 7. Staff, therefore, must evaluate the merits of the BLC ETC designation Application
based on the requirements as outlined in Order No. 29841.
Statutory Designation Requirements of the Order
1. Common Carier Status. Order No. 29841, Appendix at 1. BLC is a common carier
as defined in the Act. The Company provides competitive local exchange telecommunications
services in the designated service area. Application at 3.
2. Commitment to Provide Service Upon Reasonable Request. Order No. 29841 at 8.
BLC commits to provide service throughout its proposed ETC designated service area to all
customers making a reasonable request for service. Application at 11.
3. Provide the Universal Services. Order No. 29841, Appendix at 1. BLC states that it
wil offer all of the services that are supported by federal Universal support mechanism under
section 254(c) as enumerated in the rules of the FCC at 47 C.F. R. § 54.101(a)(1)-(9).
Application at 3-7.
4. Advertising. ¡d. BLC states that it will advertise the availabilty of the services and
charges for those services in the designated service area using media of general distribution, as
required by FCC rules. Application at 7-8.
5. Public Interest. Order No. 29841 at 15-16. BLC states that "no specific public
interest is mentioned, as is the case for areas served by rual telephone companies." Thus, the
Company asserts that the Act provides the PUC "shall designate BLC as an ETC upon finding
that the Company meets the nine-point list of services and that it agrees to advertise throughout
the designated service area." Application at 8. The Company states its service is of paricular
interest to "credit-challenged customers-many of whom are low-income-who generally canot
obtain service from the incumbent carier." Application at 9. BLC claims that to its knowledge,
Lifeline and Link-Up services lack suffcient advertising to the targeted low income customers in
the service area. ¡d.
STAFF COMMENTS 3 JUE 19,2009
Staffis sympathetic to the needs of the low-income and "credit-challenged" customers,
but does npt believe this alone is a compellng public interest argument. Staff carefully assessed
the added benefits of granting ETC designation to another competitive eligible
telecommunications carier (CETC) in a service area where other CETCs curently offer service.
In this Application, BLC does not appear to offer any unique services, nor present a compellng
advantage to the low income customers it intends to serve. The ILEC curently offers Lifeline
and Link-Up in the ETC designated service area. In addition other wireless and wire line
companies offer Lifeline and Link-Up in the same designated service area. BLC provides no
factual information to support its assertion that a lack of advertising exists, nor does it provide
evidence that a demand or a need exists for another ETC in the designated service area. Staff,
therefore, does not believe BLC has met the burden of proof that granting ETC status to BLC
would be of public interest in the designated service area.
6. Tribal Notification. Order No. 29841 at 16. Applicant does not acknowledge this
requirement nor address how it intends to provide notification. The Fort Hall Reservation is
home to the Shoshone and Banock Tribes. This reservation covers a land area in four southern
Idaho counties: Bingham, Banock, Caribou, and Power Counties, and includes wire centers
identified by BLC in its ETC designated service area.
Additional Eligibilty Requirements of the Order
Pursuant to Order No. 29841, all ETC applicants must satisfy the following additional
requirements for ETC designation in Idaho.
1. The Commitment and Abilty to Provide Supported Services. Order No. 29841 at 8.
BLC commits to provide service throughout its proposed ETC-designated service area to all
customers making a reasonable request. Application at 11.
2. The Ability to Remain Functional in Emergencies. Order No. 29841 at 10. BLC
states that it provides customers "the same abilty to remain fuctional in emergency situations as
curently provided by Qwest to its own customers, including access to a reasonable amount of
back-up power, rerouting of traffic around damage facilities, and the capabilty of managing
traffic spikes resulting from emergency situations." Application at 10-11. It appears the
Company's emergency plan relies on those provided by Qwest and it is unnown ifBLC intends
to provide additional emergency back up measures. Staff, therefore, must assume no emergency
back up will be available by BLC to its customers other than the services provided by Qwest.
STAFF COMMENTS 4 JUE 19,2009
The Commission believes this requirement demonstrates a commitment to service quality and
reliability. The Order specifically requires that, "an ETC applicant must demonstrate that it has
reasonable amount of back up power to ensure fuctionality without an external power source."
It is Staffs belief that BLC does not appear to provide any value-added services regarding
emergency fuctionality .
3. A Commitment to Consumer Protection and Service. Order No. 29841 at 11. BLC
states that it will satisfy all such stadards and commits to reporting requirements on consumer
complaints per 1,000 lines on an anual basis. The Company also commits to satisfying all
applicable state and federal requirements related to consumer protection and service quality
stadards. Application at 10.
4. Description of the local Usage Plan. Order No. 29841 at 12. BLC states that it offers
a local usage plan comparable to the one offered by the ILEC. The Company offers a local usage
plan with unlimited callng within the customer's local callng area for a flat monthly fee.
Application at 10.
5. A Two-Year Network Improvement Plan. Order No. 29841 at 8. In the Application,
BLC discusses the FCC guideline for a five-year plan. The Company asserts that, "(t)he only
circumstaces waranting deviation from this requirement is where an applicant's requested ETC
serving terrtory would qualify it to receive no 'high cost' USF support, but only 'low-income'
USF support." Application at 9. BLC states it is seeking ETC designation solely for the purose
of reimbursement for provision of subsidized Lifeline and Link-Up services, and therefore,
submission of a network improvement plan is not required at this time. ¡d. In the Order, the
Commission states, "(t)his case is focused on the merits of the new FCC Rules regarding ETC
designation and certification, not on the basis of the USF support calculation. Order No. 29841 at
20. In the Order, no distinction is made between companies that receive federal USF high cost
support versus a company that receives only low income support. Staff, therefore, canot ignore
the two-year network improvement plan requirement as outlined in the Order and believes the
Company has failed to meet this requirement for an ETC designation in Idaho.
Additional elements of the Application
BLC reports that it has been granted ETC designation in Alabama, Ilinois, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Nort Carolina, New York, and Texas. BLC fuher asserts, no state has denied any
.ETC petition filed by the Applicant. Application at 11. Staff believes an ETC Application must
STAFF COMMENTS 5 JUE 19,2009
be analyzed based on its own merits and in accordance with the Idaho ETC requirements and not
on the actions of other state commissions.
Additional FCC requirements for ETC designation are mentioned by BLC in the
Application. These are briefly addressed below:
Carer of Last Resort. BLC is willng to accept carier of last resort obligations.
Application at 9. The Commission does not think it is necessar to require an ETC to assume
carier of last resort obligations as par of the ETC process. Order No. 29841 at 20.
Equal access. BLC will provide equal access to interexchange services. ¡d. In the Order,
the Commission stated, "(w)e find that this requirement is based entirely on speculation and
would serve no substantive purose". Order No. 29841 at 13.
Finally, "BLC asserts its willngness and abilty to comply with all rules and regulations
that the PUC may lawflly impose upon Applicant's provision of service contemplated by this
Application." ¡d.
The need to provide greater clarity in the ETC process and developing uniform
requirements were the main objectives for adopting new ETC requirements by the FCC and this
Commission. Order No. 29841 at 21. Many companies in Idaho were granted ETC designation
before the Commission adopted the new ETC requirements outlined in the Order. The adoption
of the ETC anual reporting requirements, however, ensures that all ETCs will be treated equally.
BLC's lack of a two-year network improvement plan not only fails the ETC designation
requirement, but without an improvement plan, BLC would also fail the ETC anual reporting
requirement set forth in the Order that all ETC companies must satisfy. This position is supported
by the FCC determination that those carers previously designated as ETCs or with ETC
applications pending on the effective date of the new FCC Rules wil be required to show that
they meet the eligibilty requirements by October 1,2006. 47 C.F.R. § 54.202(b). The Idaho
Commission, therefore, determined that all cariers that file ETC applications after the date of the
Order and all carriers previously granted ETC status by this Commission shall demonstrate that
they comply with the additional eligibilty requirements included herein. Order No. 29841 at 14.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
After careful review of the Application and the Idaho ETC designation requirements, Staff
does not believe that BLC has made a compellng arguent to satisfy the public interest
argument. Unlike a wireless service provider or a facility-based company, Staff does not believe
STAFF COMMENTS 6 JUE 19,2009
a reseller of wire line services offers anything new or provides any unque advantages to the Idaho
consumers, including the low income customers. BLC failed to car the burden of proof in
demonstrating the unique advantages and disadvantages of the Applicant's service offering. More
importantly, the Application does not fully address all of the Order's ETC designation
requirements, most notably the Abilty to Remain Functional in an Emergency or the Two-Year
Network Improvement Plan. BLC asserts that they intend to serve the credit-challenged and low
income consumers in Idaho. The Company, however, does not show evidence of this pent up
demand, or how it wil satisfy this demand or need in a maner that canot be met by the ILEC or
other CETCs in the designated service area. For these reasons, Staff recommends the
Commission deny the ETC Designation Application of BLC Management LLC dba Angles
Communication Solution.
Respectfully submitted this rq~day of June 2009.~
N:Q~
Neil Price
Deputy Attorney General
Technical Staff: Grace Seaman
i :umisc:commentslct09.1 npla comments
STAFF COMMENTS 7 JUE 19, 2009
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I HAVE THIS 19TH DAY OF JUE 2009,
SERVED THE FOREGOING COMMENTS OF THE COMMISSION STAFF, IN
CASE NO. BLC-T-09-01, BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF, POSTAGE PREPAID,
TO THE FOLLOWING:
LANCE J M STEINHART PC
ATTORNEY
1720 WINDWARD CONCOURSE
STE 115
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E-MAIL: Isteinhar(itelecomcounseL.com
~.~Oc
SECRETARY
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE