20180108final_order_no_33962.pdf

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
January 8,2018
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION )OF QWEST CORPORATION DBA )CASE NO.QWE-T-16-06
CENTURYLINK QC FOR APPROVAL OF )AN AMENDMENT TO INTERCONNECTION )AGREEMENT WITH WIDE VOICE,LLC )ORDER NO.33962
PURSUANT TO 47 U.S.C.§252(e).)
On November 3,2017,Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLinkQC and Wide Voice,LLC
applied to the Commission for an Order approving an amendment to their interconnection
agreement (Amended Agreement).With this Order,the Commission approves the Amended
Agreement.
BACKGROUND
Under the provisions of the federal 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 negotiations only if it finds that the agreement:
(1)discriminates against a telecommunications carrier not a party to the agreement;or (2)
implementation of the agreement is not consistent with the public interest,convenience and
necessity.47 U.S.C.§252(e)(2)(A).As the Commission noted in Order No.28427,companies
voluntarilyentering into interconnection agreements "may negotiate terms,prices and conditions
that do not comply with either the FCC rules or with the provision of Section 251(b)or (c)."
Order No.28427 at 11 (emphasis in original).This comports with the FCC's regulation that "a
state commission shall have authority to approve an interconnection agreement adopted by
negotiation even if the terms of the agreement do not comply with the requirements of [Part 51]."
47 C.F.R.§51.3.
THE APPLICATION
The Application stated that the Amended Agreement was reached through voluntary
negotiation without resort to mediation or arbitration and was submitted for approval pursuant to
Section 252(e)of the Communications Act of 1934,as amended by the Telecommunications Act
of 1996.The Amended Agreement sets out specific terms and conditions under which Wide
Voice,LLC,the competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC)exchanges interconnection VoIP-
ORDER NO.33962 1
PSTN Traffic,Transit Traffic and Jointly Provided Switched Access traffic with CenturyLinkas
set forth in Attachment l to the Amended Agreement.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff reviewed the Application,Amended Agreement and Attachment 1 thereto,and
believes the terms and conditions are not discriminatory or contrary to the public interest.Staff
also believes the Amended Agreement is consistent with the pro-competitive policies of this
Commission,the Idaho Legislature,and the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Accordingly,Staff recommended that the Commission approve tÌ1e Application.
COMMISSION DECISION
Under the terms of the Telecommunications Act,interconnection agreements must be
submitted to the Commission for approval.47 U.S.C.§252(e)(l).The Commission's review is
limited.The Commission may reject an agreement adopted by negotiation onlly if it finds that
the agreement discriminates against a telecommunications carrier not a party to the agreement or
implementation of the agreement is not consistent with the public interest,convenience and
necessity.Id.
Based upon our review of the Application and the Staff's recommendation,the
Commission finds that the Agreement is consistent with the public interest,convenience and
necessity and does not discriminate.Therefore,the Commission finds that the Application
should be approved.Our approval of the Application does not negate either party's
responsibility to obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity if they offer local
exchange services,or to comply with Idaho Code §§62-604 and 62-606 if they provide other
non-basic local telecommunications services as defined by Idaho Code §62-603.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Amended Agreement of Qwest Corporation dba
CenturyLinkQC and Wide Voice,LLC,Case No.QWE-T-16-06,is approved.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER.Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21)days of the service date of this Order with regard to any
matter decided in this Order.Within seven (7)days after any person has petitioned for
reconsideration,any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration.See Idaho Code §§61-
626 and 62-619.
ORDER NO.33962 2
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise,Idaho this
day of January 2018.
PAdL KJBLLA DER,PRESIDENT
IfRJ INE RAPER,CO MISSIONER
ERIC ANDERSON,COMMISSIONER
ATTEST:
Diane M.Hanian
Commission Secretary
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