USWT993.WSW.doc

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-99-3
COVAD COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY FOR )
APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT FOR INTER- )
CONNECTION AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO ) COMMENTS OF THE
47 U.S.C. § 252(e). ) COMMISSION STAFF
) ________________________________________________)

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. 27953, the Notice of Joint Application and Notice of Modified Procedure in Case
No. USW-T-99-3 issued March 3, 1999, submits the following comments.

On February 4, 1999, U S WEST Communications, Inc. (USW), and Covad Communications Company (Covad), a competitive local exchange service provider, 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 is 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 ANALYSIS
Staff reviewed the language of this Agreement and found the terms and conditions to be essentially identical to those contained in previous agreements previously approved by this Commission. The rates included in this Agreement are essentially the same as those reached through the arbitration between U S WEST and AT&T that have been included in the agreements between U S WEST and AT&T, Sprint, ATGI and others.
Staff therefore concludes that the terms or conditions in this Agreement are not discriminatory. 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 this interconnection agreement as filed.

DATED at Boise, Idaho, this day of March 1999.

_______________________________
Weldon B. Stutzman
Deputy Attorney General
Technical Staff: Wayne Hart
ws:WH:gdk/umsic/comments\uswt993.wsw

STAFF COMMENTS 1 MARCH 25, 1999