20040505Qwest Answer.pdf

Mary S. Hobson (ISB #2142)
Stoel Rives LLP
101 South Capitol Boulevard - Suite 1900
Boise, ill 83702
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
mshobson~stoel.com
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UTILITiES COrlrllSSION
Adam L. Sherr (WSBA #25291)
Qwest
1600 7th Avenue - Room 3206
Seattle, W A 98191
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
adam.sherr~qwest.com
Attorneys for Qwest Corporation
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
CITIZENS OF SOLDIERS MEADOW AREA Case No. GNR-O4-
Complainants,QWEST CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO
COMPLAINT
vs.
QWEST CORPORATION
Respondent.
Qwest Corporation ("Qwest"), by and through its undersigned counsel, hereby answers
the Complaint dated February 18, 2004, by Vlado and Vivian Maras and Herb and Trudy Weed
Complainants ) of Winchester, Idaho. Qwest requests that the Complaint be dismissed with
prejudice.
D ISCUSSI 0 N
The Complainants in effect request that the Commission order Qwest to serve Soldiers
Meadow, a vacation area located outside of Qwest's service territory. Soldiers Meadow, is in
QWEST CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT - Page
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Nez Perce County and sits west of Qwest's Craigmont exchange and south of its Lapwai
exchange. Soldiers Meadow is unserved and outside of any local exchange company s exchange
territory in Idaho. The area is not incorporated, but does contain a man-made reservoir with a
developed campground and boating facilities. It is noted for offering recreational opportunities
for fisherman, boaters and hunters. Soldiers Meadow is extremely remote and is not reached by
roads that are maintained during the winter. Qwest understands that, during the winter months
visitors can sometimes reach Soldiers Meadow only via snowmobile. The Complaint identifies a
total of twelve "residents " although it is unclear from the addresses provided whether Soldiers
Meadow is their primary residence since several list Lewiston, Clarkston or Cottonwood
addresses in the Complaint.
Extending service to Soldiers Meadow would be extremely expensive, especially in light
of the small number of people that reside or vacation there. Qwest estimates that it would cost
at minimum, $180 000 to extend service to Soldiers Meadow. Qwest is not obligated to serve
outside its territory by tariff or by law, and requiring Qwest to extend service outside its territory
to serve this remote area would be umeasonable and contrary to the public interest.
Qwest has no obligation to serve Soldiers Meadow.
Qwest does not hold itself out to the public as offering service to Soldiers Meadow.
Qwest's tariff explicitly limits Qwest's service obligation to its service territory.
A. Territory Served, Services Rendered, Rates and Rules and
Regulations
The Company renders exchange telephone service, toll telephone
service and private line services and channels throughout the
territory served by it and its connecting companies as shown in its
schedules, which include a description of the services furnished,
and maps filed.
Northern Idaho Exchange and Network Services Tariff, Section
A (emphasis added).
QWEST CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT - Page 2
Boise-170702.20029164-00012
The service maps on file with the Commission 1 clearly indicate that the Soldiers Meadow
area is outside of Qwest' s service territory. This fact is not disputed by the Complainants, who
themselves describe Soldiers Meadow as being in "no man s land" and ask that Qwest's service
area boundary be changed. This is in contrast to Forest, Idaho, which is mentioned by the
Complainants, but which is situated within the Craigmont exchange boundary.
Qwest does not offer service to Soldiers Meadow and cannot be compelled to do so
because the area is not within its service territory. In this regard, the Idaho Supreme Court has
definitively held that a utility cannot be compelled to enlarge or extend its facilities unless
among other things
, "
the extension or enlargement is within the scope of the original professed
undertaking of the proprietor of the utility.Murray v. Public Utilities Comm '27 Idaho 603
623, 150 P. 47 (1915).
A Commission order requiring Qwest to alter its service boundary would be
unreasonable and contrary to the public interest.
It is not in the public interest for the Commission to order a change to Qwest's exchange
boundary based on the facts set forth in the Complaint. If the Commission did so, it would have
the effect of making all existing local exchange company exchange boundaries meaningless with
respect to how each company designs its network.
The telephone network is currently designed by each company based on its defined
service area. In the present case, the boundaries have been in place since prior to 1913. If the
Commission were to order a change to Qwest's boundary based on the Complaint, it would
greatly affect Qwest's ability to plan for future network demands. Such an order would also
restrict the Company s control over its costs and would impair its ability to efficiently conduct its
business. Also, any compelled exchange boundary change presents the potential for yet further
See http://www.puc.state.id.us/telecom/CITIES.pdfor http://www.Pllc.state.id.us/telecom/exchanges.pdf
QWEST CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT - Page 3
Boise-170702.20029164-00012
changes in response to future customers who locate even more remotely from Qwest's central
office.
A network is designed from the central office out to the far end of the exchange. The
design is based on the concept that it is efficient and economical to place larger size cables closer
to the central office and taper the cables down to smaller cables the farther away from the central
office. At the outermost end of the network design, small cables serving only a discreet number
of customers are placed. This results in limited capacity at exchange boundaries. If Qwest has
to unexpectedly extend into an area outside the exchange boundaries in most cases, there will not
be a cable of sufficient size nearby to serve the unforecasted customer demand. When this
happens, cable reinforcement is required farther back in the network to be able to provide
sufficient capacity and cable size to handle the local customer base.
The reality is that construction dollars and personnel are finite resources. If carriers
cannot determine what their boundaries are likely to be, carriers cannot efficiently plan and
allocate resources to customers that are within their boundaries. Qwest does not intend to
redesign its network in this way. Compelling Qwest to do so is neither reasonable nor in the
public interest.
Even if Soldiers Meadow were in Qwest's service territory, the expense of serving
the area is prohibitive.
Qwest's Commission-approved tariff and Idaho legal precedent establish that Qwest's
obligation to serve does not extend to the Soldiers Meadow area. In addition, however, the
practical effects of the network planning issues described above and the construction costs
estimated for this particular extension also demonstrate that serving Soldiers Meadow is not
reasonable or in the public interest.
QWEST CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT - Page 4
Boise-l 70702.2 0029164-00012
Forest, Idaho is the nearest community served by Qwest. The residents there are served
by only a 25 pair cable. That cable is nearly at capacity. This means that to serve Soldiers
Meadow the cable would require reinforcement with a $100 000 carrier system. In addition
Qwest estimates that it would cost approximately $70 000 to $80 000 in cabling costs to reach
Soldiers Meadow. This latter. estimate could prove to be very conservative given the amount of
rock in the area. Building cable facilities through rock adds considerable expense. For instance
in placing the cable for the Forest area, Qwest incurred an additional $50 332.00 expense, over
estimates, because of the presence of rock along the cable route.
These cost estimates for the Soldiers Meadow area establish that building facilities to
serve this remote area is cost prohibitive. These practical considerations combined with the fact
that the area has never been included in Qwest's service territory demonstrate the necessity of
denying the relief sought in the Complaint.
II.CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, Qwest asks that the Commission deny the Complainants' request
that Qwest's exchange boundary be altered to include Soldiers Meadow. Furthermore, Qwest
respectfully requests the Commission to dismiss the Complaint with prejudice.
Submitted this 4th day of May, 2004.
Qwest Corporation
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Mary S. :H'obson
Stoel Rives LLP
Adam L. Sherr
Qwest
Attorneys for Qwest Corporation
QWEST CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT - Page 5
Boise-170702.20029164-00012
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 4th day of May, 2004, I served the foregoing QWEST
CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT upon all parties of record in this matter as
follows:
Jean Jewell, Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 West Washington Street
O. Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83720-0074
ii ewell~puc.state.id. us
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Vlado Maras
Vivian Maras
O. Box 280
25314 Soldiers Meadow Road
Winchester, ill 83555
-1L
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Herb Weed
Trudy Weed
O. Box 467
43529 Yellow Pine Avenue
Winchester, ill 83555
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~~~
Brandi L. Gearhart, PLS
Legal Secretary to Mary S. Hobson
Stoel Rives LLP
QWEST CORPORATION'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT - Page 6
Boise-I 70702.2 0029164-00012