19980911v3.docx

DECISION MEMORANDUM
TO:COMMISSIONER HANSEN
COMMISSIONER NELSON
COMMISSIONER SMITH
MYRNA WALTERS
TONYA CLARK
DON HOWELL
STEPHANIE MILLER
DAVE SCHUNKE
JOE CUSICK
RITA SCOTT
DAVID SCOTT
WORKING FILE
FROM:WELDON STUTZMAN
DATE:SEPTEMBER 11, 1998
RE:CASE NOS. USW-T-96-15 AND ATT-T-96-2; APPROVAL OF INTERCONNEC­TION AGREEMENT BETWEEN U S WESTAND AT&T
On August 17, 1998, U S WEST Communications and AT&T Communications of the Mountain States, Inc. submitted an interconnection agreement for approval by the Commission.  The agreement was executed following an arbitration proceeding before the Commission, and was submitted for approval pursuant to Section 252(e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  On August 27, 1998, the Commission issued a Notice of Interconnection Agreement and Notice of Modified Procedure to process approval of the agreement.  The Notice of Modified Procedure provided for a fourteen-day comment period, which expired on September 10, 1998.  No comments were filed during the comment period.
Section 252(e) provides that a state commission may reject an arbitrated agreement only if it does not meet the requirements of Section 251 (terms for resale, access to unbundled elements, collocation, etc.) or the pricing standards set forth in Section 252(d).  Staff believes the agreement meets these requirements and recommends approval of the interconnection agreement.
Commission Decision
Should the interconnection agreement of U S WEST and AT&T be approved?

Weldon Stutzman
vld/M:USW-T-96-15.ws2