28251.doc

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT APPLICATION OF GTE NORTHWEST INCORPORATED  AND NOW COMMUNICATIONS FOR APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT FOR INTERCONNECTION AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO 47 U.S.C. § 252(e). )
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CASE NO. GTE-T-99-5

ORDER NO. 28251

On November 1, 1999, GTE Northwest Incorporated (GTE) and Now Communications (Now) filed an Application for approval of an interconnection agreement arrived at through voluntary negotiations. Now Communications is a competitive provider of telecommunication services, and the interconnection agreement is a resale agreement to enable Now to resell GTE’s local services. On November 17, 1999, the Commission issued a Notice of Modified Procedure and Notice of Joint Application to process the approval request. Written comments were filed only by the Commission Staff, which recommends approval of the interconnection agreement as filed.
Section 252(e)(2) of the Act directs that a state Commission may reject an agreement reached through voluntary negotiations only if the Commission finds that
(i) the agreement (or portions thereof) discriminates against a telecommunications carrier not a party to the agreement; or

(ii) the implementation of such agreement or portion is not consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity.

The parties assert that the agreement does not discriminate against other telecommunication carriers and that it is consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity.
Staff reviewed the agreement between the parties to determine that it is consistent with the requirements of the Telecommunications Act. Based upon our review of the record, including the recommendation of the Staff, we find that the agreement between GTE Northwest Incorporated and Now Communications should be approved.

O R D E R
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the interconnection agreement between GTE Northwest Incorporated and Now Communications is approved. Terms of the agreement that are not already in effect shall be effective as of the date of this Order.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order (or in issues finally decided by this Order) or in interlocutory Orders previously issued in this Case No. GTE-T-99-5 may petition for reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order with regard to any matter decided in this order or in interlocutory Orders previously issued in this Case No. GTE-T-99-5. 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 January 2000.

DENNIS S. HANSEN, PRESIDENT

MARSHA H. SMITH, COMMISSIONER

PAUL KJELLANDER, COMMISSIONER

Myrna J. Walters
Commission Secretary

vld/O:GTE-T-99-5_ws2

ORDER NO. 28251 1

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
January 14, 2000