19991102Comments.doc

Weldon Stutzman
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, IDAHO 83720-0074
[phone]
IDAHO BAR NO. 3283

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 ADELPHIA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, OPERATIONS, INC. FOR A CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY TO PROVIDE LOCAL EXCHANGE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.
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CASE NO. GNR-T-99-19

COMMENTS OF THE COMMISSION STAFF
COMES NOW the Staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, by and through its Attorney of record, Weldon Stutzman, Deputy Attorney General, and submits the following Comments in response to Order No. 28177, the Notice of Application and Notice of Modified Procedure, issued October 12, 1999.

BACKGROUND
On August 30, 1999, the Commission received an Application from Adelphia Business Solutions Operations, Inc. (Adelphia) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to provide local exchange telecommunications services within Idaho. Adelphia’s Application states that it intends to provide resold and facilities based service to both residential and business customers in the areas currently served by
U S WEST and GTE. The Application states Adelphia would initially provide service to customers in the Boise metropolitan area. The Application included a listing of a wide range of basic and advanced services that the Company indicated it intends to provide. The Company indicated it would be initiating negotiations for interconnection agreements.

STAFF FINDINGS
Staff has reviewed the information provided by Adelphia in its Application and the additional material provided to support the Application and believes it satisfies the requirements of the Commissions Rule of Procedure 111, IDAPA 31.01.01.111, and Procedural Order No. 26665 issued November 7, 1996, which set out the necessary information to be included with an application for a certificate.
Adelphia, headquartered in Pennsylvania, and incorporated in Delaware, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyperion Telecommunications, Inc. (HTI). A majority of the stock of HTI is owned by Adelphia Communications Corporation, a large cable television corporation. The Application indicates HTI, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is an established competitive provider of local telecommunications service, with more than 50,000 installed access lines as of July, 1998. The Application indicates Adelphia is certified to provide service in more than 20 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
The Application indicates the Company will rely upon the assets of its parent, HTI, and included Quarterly Form 10-Q and Annual Form 10-K’s for HTI. As might be expected for a start-up company, these statements indicate the Company had incurred significant losses. However, the Company did not have any difficulty in raising capital in an Initial Public Offering, issued in 1998, and the value of the stock has continued to rise at a rate faster than the Standard and Poor Index. Although the Application did not include any information to guarantee that the resources of HTI (or Adelphia Communications Corporation) will be available for Adelphia, Staff believes the Company has access to sufficient capital resources to provide the proposed services.
The Company provided summaries of the resumes of the key management staff that included numerous years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Staff is satisfied the Company has sufficient technical capability to provide the proposed services.
Adelphia specifically indicates in its Application that it will comply with all Commission rules. It has provided an illustrative tariff with its Application that demonstrates an understanding of tariffing requirements and processes.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to provide competitive local exchange service in the service areas of U S WEST and GTE be provided to Adelphia Business Solutions Operations, Inc.

DATED at Boise, Idaho, this day of November 1998.

_______________________________
WELDON STUTZMAN
Deputy Attorney General

Technical Staff: Wayne Hart

WH:va:word:u:umisc/comments/gnrt9919.wswh
COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION STAFF 1 NOVEMBER 2, 1999