20091013Comments.pdf

WELDON B. STUTZMAN
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, IDAHO 83720-0074
(208) 334-03 1 8
IDAHO BAR NO. 3283
RECEIVED
2009 OCT 13 PH 12: 12
Street Address for Express Mail:
472 W WASHINGTON
BOISE ID 83702-5918
Attorney for the Commission Staff
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF QWEST )
CORPORATION'S PETITION FOR APPROVAL)
OF NON-IMPAIRMENT STATUS FOR DS3 )
LOOPS IN THE BOISE MAIN WIRE CENTER )
)
)
)
CASE NO. QWE-T-09-15
COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION STAFF
COMES NOW the Staff of the Idaho Public Utilties Commission, by and through
its Attorney of record, Weldon B. Stutzman, Deputy Attorney General, and in response to the
Notice of Petition and Notice of Modified Procedure issued in Order No. 30905 on September 22,
2009, submits the following comments.
BACKGROUND
On August 31, 2009, Qwest Corporation fied a Petition for approval of non-impairment
status for DS3 loops in the Boise Main wire center. In an earlier Order, the Commission determined
that Qwests Boise Main wire center satisfies the standard as a Tier 1 non-impaired wire center with
regard to DS 1 and DS3 transport services. Order No. 30866. The Commission did not make a
determination of non-impairment for DS3 loops at the Boise Main Wire Center because "the record
does not reveal whether the 2008 year-end data supports a finding of non-impairment for DS3 loops
in the Boise Main wire center." Order No. 30866, p. 5. DS3 loop non-impairment is determined
STAFF COMMENTS 1 OCTOBER 13,2009
when a wire center houses a minimum of four fiber-based collocators and at least 38,000 business
lines. Qwest fied affdavits with its Petition to demonstrate that the standards for DS3 loop non-
impairment are met at the Boise Main wire center.
STAFF REVIEW
In its August 31, 2009, petition the Company provided affidavits of Renee Albersheim and
Rachel Torrence. The attachments to Ms. Albersheim's affidavit stated that the data provided was
for December 2008. This data complies with the Commission directive that Qwest must provide the
most recent data available to establish evidence of non-impairment. There is a decrease in the line
counts from the 2007 data used in Case No. QWE-T-08-07 and this fiing, but this decrease wil not
affect a non-impairment determination because the threshold line count is stil present.
In its final Order, the Commission noted another concern about Qwests fiing in Case No.
QWE-T-08-07, wherein the Company stated that "there are currently no DS3 unbundled loops in
the Boise Main wire center." This statement gave the Commission pause about "reaching a
meaningless decision."
With this fiing Qwest points out that "this Commission has already designated the Boise
Main wire center as being a 'Tier l' wire center for DSI and DS3 transport by virtue of having
exceeded the TRRO's minimum number of four fiber-based collocators, and as such, the Boise
Main wire center wil remain a Tier 1 non-impaired wire center in perpetuity."1 Staff does not
disagree that the Boise Main wil remain a non-impaired wire center for DS 1 and DS3 transport
services. The question here is whether the Boise Main wire center meets the standards for the DS3
loop non-impairment determination. To make this determination the Commission directed the
Company to provide curent line counts and Qwest did provide the curent line count data.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Based on the information provided in the case, that the line counts appear to be within the
required number of business lines, Staff recommends approving the Company's petition for non-
impairment status for DS3 Loops in the Boise Main Wire Center.
In future non-impairment status filings Staffwil request the most recent data as directed by
the Commission in Order No. 30866.
i Page 3, Qwest's Petition for Approval of Non-Impairment Status for DS3 Loops in the Boise Main Wire Center.
STAFF COMMENTS 2 OCTOBER 13, 2009
Respectfully submitted this ,.~ day of October 2009.
~~~ ~~
Weldon B. Stutzman
Deputy Attorney General
Technical Staff: Carolee Hall
i: umisc: commentsqwet09.IS. wsch comments. doc
STAFF COMMENTS 3 OCTOBER 13,2009
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I HAVE THIS 13TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2009,
SERVED THE FOREGOING COMMENTS OF THE COMMISSION STAFF, IN
CASE NO. QWE-T-09-15, BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF, POSTAGE PREPAID,
TO THE FOLLOWING:
ALEX M. DUARTE
QWEST CORPORATION
421 SW OAK ST., ROOM 810
PORTLAND, OR 97204
E-MAIL: alex.duare(igwest.com
MARY S. HOBSON
QWEST CORPORATION
999 MAIN ST., SUITE 1103
BOISE, ID 83702
E-MAIL: mar.hobson(igwest.com
.'1J(J/~C
SECRETArV
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE