20161115final_order_no_33653.pdf

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
November 15, 2016
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF )
CENTURYTEL OF IDAHO, INC. DBA ) CASE NO. CEN-T-16-04
CENTURYLINK AND BCN TELECOM, INC. )
FOR APPROVAL OF AN INTERCONNECTION )
AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO 47 U.S.C. § )
252(e). ) ___________________ )
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF )
CENTURYTEL OF THE GEM STATE, INC. ) CASE NO. CGS-T-16-04
DBA CENTURYLINK AND BCN TELECOM, )
INC. FOR APPROVAL OF AN )
INTERCONNECTION AGREEMENT ) ORDER NO. 33653
_P_U_R_S_U_A_N_T_T_0_4_7 _U_.S_.C_.~§_2_52~(~e)_. _____ )
On October 27, 2016, CenturyTel ofldaho dba Century Link, CenturyTel of the Gem
State dba CenturyLink, and BCN Telecom, Inc. applied to the Commission for an Order
approving their Interconnection Agreements. With this Order, the Commission approves the
Interconnection Agreements.
BACKGROUND
Under the prov1s10ns of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996,
interconnection agreements must be submitted to the Commission for approval. 47 U.S.C. §
252( e )( 1 ). The Commission may reject an agreement adopted by negotiations only if it finds that
the agreement: (1) discriminates against a telecommunications carrier not a party to the
agreement; or (2) implementation of the agreement is not consistent with the public interest,
convenience and necessity. 47 U.S.C. § 252(e)(2)(A). As the Commission noted in Order No.
28427, companies voluntarily entering into interconnection agreements "may negotiate terms,
prices and conditions that do not comply with either the FCC rules or with the provision of
Section 251(b) or (c)." Order No. 28427 at 11 (emphasis in original). This comports with the
FCC' s statement that "a state commission shall have authority to approve an interconnection
agreement adopted by negotiation even if the terms of the agreement do not comply with the
requirements of [Part 51]." 4 7 C.F .R. § 51.3.
ORDER NO. 33653 1
THE APPLICATIONS
The Applicants ask the Commission to approve the Interconnection Agreements.
The Agreements were voluntarily negotiated and establish terms and conditions for local
interconnection, collation, local resale, and purchase of unbundled network elements (UNE).
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff reviewed the Applications and Interconnection Agreements and believes their
terms and conditions are not discriminatory or contrary to the public interest. Staff also believes
the Applications and Agreements are consistent with the pro-competitive policies of this
Commission, the Idaho Legislature, and the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Accordingly, Staff recommended that the Commission approve the Applications.
COMMISSION DECISION
Under the terms of the Telecommunications Act, interconnection agreements must be
submitted to the Commission for approval. 47 U.S.C. § 252(e)(l). The Commission's review is
limited. The Commission may reject an agreement adopted by negotiation only if it finds that
the agreement discriminates against a telecommunications carrier not a party to the agreement or
implementation of the agreement is not consistent with the public interest, convenience and
necessity. Id.
Based upon our review of the Applications and the Staffs recommendation, the
Commission finds that the Agreements are consistent with the public interest, convenience and
necessity and do not discriminate. Therefore, the Commission finds that the Applications should
be approved. Our approval of the Applications does not negate the parties' responsibility to
obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity if they offer local exchange services, or
to comply with Idaho Code §§ 62-604 and 62-606 if they provide other non-basic local
telecommunications services as defined by Idaho Code § 62-603.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Interconnection Agreement of CenturyTel of
Idaho, Inc. and BCN Telecom, Inc., Case No. CEN-T-16-04, is approved.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Interconnection Agreement of CenturyTel of
the Gem State, Inc. and BCN Telecom, Inc., Case No. CGS-T-16-04, is approved.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order with regard to any
ORDER NO. 33653 2
matter decided in this Order. Within seven (7) days after any person has petitioned for
reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration. See Idaho Code § 61-
626.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this
day of November 2016.
ERIC ANDERSON, COMMISSIONER
ATTEST:
bls/O:CEN-T-16-04 CGS-T-16-04
ORDER NO. 33653 3