20000519Comments.doc

CHERI C. COPSEY
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, IDAHO 83720-0074
[phone]
IDAHO BAR NO. 5142

Street Address for Express Mail:
472 W WASHINGTON
BOISE ID 83702-5983

Attorney for the Commission Staff

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF U S WEST COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND FIRSTEL, INC. FOR APPROVAL OF AN ADOPTED WIRELINE INTERCONNECTION AND RESALE AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO 47 U.S.C. § 252(e).
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CASE NO. USW-T-00-10

COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION STAFF

COMES NOW the Staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, by and through its Attorney of record, Cheri C. Copsey, Deputy Attorney General, and in response to the Notice of Application and Notice of Modified Procedure issued in Order No.28362 on April 28, 2000, submits the following comments.
On April 20, 2000, in accordance with Section 252(e)(1), (2)(A) of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, U S WEST Communications, Inc. and FirsTel, Inc., a competitive provider of telecommunication services, filed a Joint Application for approval of a negotiated interconnection agreement. The Joint Application states that the agreement was reached through voluntary negotiations without resort to mediation or arbitration and is submitted for approval pursuant to Section 252(e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The agreement will allow FirsTel to operate in the local exchange market and provide customers with increased choices among local exchange services. The parties requested the Commission approve the agreement without a hearing or intervention by other parties.
Under the terms of the 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 negotiation only if it finds that the agreement discriminates against a telecommunication carrier not a party to the agreement or implementation of the agreement is not consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity. 47 U.S.C. §  252 (e)(2)(A). If the Commission does not act to approve or reject the agreement within 90 days after its submission, the agreement is deemed approved. 47 U.S.C. §  252 (e)(4). The Commission’s decision is not reviewable by the state courts. Id.

STAFF ANALYSIS
Staff reviewed the terms and conditions of the agreement and found they are essentially the same as those contained in the AT&T/U S WEST agreement previously approved by this Commission. The Staff further found that the agreement did not contain any terms or conditions that were discriminatory. Therefore, Staff finds the agreement is consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity and does not discriminate.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Commission approve this interconnection agreement, as filed.

DATED at Boise, Idaho, this day of May 2000.

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Cheri C. Copsey
Deputy Attorney General
Technical Staff: Wayne Hart

WH/gdk/umisc/comments/uswt0010.wh

STAFF COMMENTS 1 MAY 19, 2000