USWT0015.wsc.doc

WELDON B. 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, ID 83702-5983

Attorneys for the Commission Staff

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF U S WEST COMMUNI- ) CASE NO. USW-T-00-15
CATIONS INC.'S FILING OF A STATEMENT )
OF GENERALLY AVAILABLE TERMS ) COMMENTS OF THE
PURSUANT TO 47 U.S.C. § 252(f). ) COMMISSION OF STAFF
__________________________________________)

COMES NOW the Staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, by and through its Attorney of record, Weldon B. Stutzman, Deputy Attorney General, and in response to the Notice of Filing Statement of Generally Available Terms, and Notice of Modified Procedure in Order No. 28412 issued on June 16, 2000, in Case No. USW-T-00-15 submits the following comments.

BACKGROUND
On June 10, 2000, U S WEST Communications, Inc. (U S WEST) filed a Statement of Generally Available Terms (SGAT) as described by Section 252(f) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the "Act"), 47 U.S.C. § 252(f). An SGAT provides the terms and conditions a Bell Operating Company generally offers to other companies that seek interconnection with the incumbent company. U S WEST's SGAT provides terms and conditions for interconnection, as well as access to unbundled network elements, ancillary services and resale of U S WEST's telecommunications services.

DISCUSSION
Section 252(f) of the Act requires that the Commission review the SGAT filed by
U S WEST and either approve or reject it within sixty days of submission, unless U S WEST agrees to an extension of time. Alternatively, the Commission may "permit such statement to take effect." However, allowing the SGAT to take effect does not preclude the Commission from "continuing to review the statement" or from later "approving or disapproving such statement." 47 USC 252(f)(4). The Commission may not approve the SGAT unless it meets the requirements set forth in Sections 251 and 252(d) of the Act, in addition to applicable Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") requirements and Idaho law.
Currently, the Commission has Case No.  USW-T-00-03 open to investigate U S WEST's intent to file its Section 271 Application. In this docket, U S WEST expects to present state specific data for its Idaho section 271 case. (See U S WEST Communications' Notice of Intention to File Section 271 Application and Motion for Alternative Procedure to Manage the Section 271 Process -- Case No.  USW-T-00-03).
Section 271 of the Act limits a Bell Operating Company (such as U S WEST), or any affiliate of a Bell Operating Company, from providing in-region interLATA services until such time as the company complies with requirements set forth in this section, many of which parallel the requirements of Sections 251 and 252. There are four principal components that U S WEST must work within in order to be granted interLATA authority. First, U S WEST must satisfy "Track A", which requires, among other things, that at least one competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) is serving both residential and business customers principally over its own facilities. Second, U S WEST must offer evidence that it satisfies the 14 point competitive checklist items in Section 271. Third, U S WEST's entry into the interLATA market must be in the public interest. Finally, U S WEST must show that it is prepared to offer interLATA services through a separate subsidiary pursuant to section 272 of the Act. Many of the 14 point checklist items pertain to U S WEST's operational support system (OSS). U S WEST currently is working with the Regional Oversight Committee (ROC) in a collaborative OSS testing process.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
U S WEST expects that terms of its SGAT will be revised as a result of the Section 271 process. Staff also believes the SGAT issues will be worked through within the context of the 271 process, and therefore Staff recommends that the Commission allow the SGAT to take effect subject to additional Commission review.

Respectfully submitted this day of July, 2000.

______________________________
Weldon Stutzman
Deputy Attorney General

Technical Staff: Carolee Hall

WS:CH:gdk:word/umisc/comments/USWT0015.wsc
COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION STAFF 3 JULY 17, 2000