USWT981.docx

WELDON B. STUTZMAN
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, IDAHO  83720-0074
[phone]
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 JOINT APPLICATION)
OF U S WEST COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND)CASE  NO.  USW-T-98-1
WESTERN PAGING I CORPORATION AND)
WESTERN PAGING II CORPORATION FOR)
APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT FOR)COMMENTS OF THE
INTERCONNECTION PURSUANT TO 47 U.S.C.)COMMISSION STAFF
§ 252(e).)__________________________________________)
COMES  NOW  the Staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, by and through its Attorney of record, Weldon B. Stutzman, Deputy Attorney General, in response to Order No. 27411, the Notice of Application and Notice of Modified Procedure in Case No. USW-T-98-1 issued March 13, 1998, submits the following comments.
BACKGROUND
On February 11, 1998, U S WEST Communications, Inc. (U S WEST) and Western Paging I Corporation and Western Paging II Corporation, a provider of paging services, submitted a Joint Application for approval of an interconnection agreement in accordance with Section 252(e) of the Federal Telecommunications Act.  The Companies indicated the agreement had been reached through voluntary negotiations and claimed the agreement was consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity.  They requested the Commission approve the agreement without a hearing or intervention by other parties.
Section 252 indicates that such agreements are to be submitted to state commissions for approval.  Agreements adopted through negotiation may only be rejected if the state commission finds that:
(i) the agreement (or portion 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:
Staff reviewed the language of this agreement and did not find any terms or conditions that, if made available to other paging service providers, Staff would consider discriminatory.  As this is the first agreement between a paging service provider and U S WEST that has been submitted to this Commission, Staff cannot compare it against another to determine whether it contains any preferential terms.
Staff concurs with the Companies’ claim that the agreement is consistent with the pro-competitive policies of the Commission, the Idaho Legislature, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and therefore is consistent with the public interest.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Commission approve the interconnection agreement as filed.
DATED  at Boise, Idaho, this            day of March 1998.
_______________________________
Weldon B. Stutzman
Deputy Attorney General
Technical Staff:  Wayne Hart
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