20211201Application.pdf

RECEIVED
2021 DEC -1 4:01 PIt/
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITI ES COIU]MISSION
BEFORE THE IDAHO PI,JBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
INrsrMarrsRor
Qwrsr ConponeuoN o/n/e
CsNTUnvLrNr QC PunnoN ron
ElrumerroN oF PSRFoRMANcB
AssunaNcr PUN aNo PSRFoRMANcT
IworcRroR DrrINIuoNs
CASE -T-t- t
PETTTTON OF QWEST CORPORATION
DIBIA CENTURYLTNK QC
FOR ELIMINATION OF PERFORMANCE
ASSURANCE PLAN AND PERFORMANCE
INDICATOR DEFINITIONS
PETITION
7. Qwest Colporationdhla CenturyLink QC ("CenturyLink" or
"Company") petitions the Commission to issue an order eliminating the Perforlnance
hrdicator Definitions ("PIDs") and Performance Assurance Plan ("PAP") portions of its
interconnection agreements ("ICAs") with eadr Idaho CLEC.I
2. The PIDs and PAPs have been in place for nearly 20 years. The services
they cover have declined as the FCC has reduced the unbundled network elements
Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) sudr as CenturyLink are required to offer
CLECs. As a result, annual payments to CLECs under the Idaho PAP have dwindled to
less than one-thousand dollars since 2014for all CLECs combined in ldaho.
CenturyLink urges the PUC to grant this petition because the PIDs and PAP have
served their purpose and it is appropriate to eliminate them.
I. Background
3. Qwest Corporation ("Qwest") is a Colorado corporation and is the
successor corporation to U S WEST Communications, Inc., whidr provided
1 The PIDs are included as Exhibit B to each ICA; the PAP is Exhibit K.
4061 9.0028.1430843 l.l
telecommunications services. On April 1,201'I.., Qwest Corporation's parent company
Qwest Communications Intemational, Inc. merged with CenturyLink,Inc. In this
Petitiory the company and its predecessor will be referred to as "Qwest" for events
occurring prior to April '1,20'/..'J., and as "CenturyLink " after that date.
4. Under the federal Telecommunications of 1996 ('1996 Act') Qwest was
deemed a Bell Operating Company ("BOC") as defined in 47 U.S.C. S 153 (35) and
operated as an incumbent local exchange carrier ("ILEC") as defined in section 251(h) of
the 1995 Act. 47 U.S.C. S 251(h).
5. Pursuant to the 1996 Act,ILECs are required to enter into interconnection
agreements with other providers of telecommunications services who request access to
its network, facilities or services. See 47 U.S.C. SS 251-252.
6. Under 47 U.S.C.527'J., the 1995 Act also provided a means by whidr BOCs
like Qwest could enter certain telecommunications markets, known as the in-region
interLATA services markets, from whidr they previously had been legally precluded.
Proceedings by whidr BOCs sought regulatory approval for this market entry
("interLATA freedoms") were termed "271. proceedings" and the path these
proceedings took through state and federal regulatory tribunals is often referred to as
"the27l process."
7. Lr seeking the FCC's approval trnder section 27'J.,Qwest submitted to
extensive third-party testing of its systems and processes and worked with interested
parties to develop performance measurements known as Performance Indicator
Definitions ("PIDs") that would be used to provide specific data about service quality.
Lr addition, the company voluntarily put into place a Performance Assurance Plan
("PAP") that applied specific standards to the performance data to help assure that the
wireline marketplace would remain open after 271, approval. The PIDs and the PAP
became exhibits to the interconnection agreements ("ICAs") that Qwest offered to
CLECs (specifically, Exhibits B and K to the ICAs, respectively).
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40619.0028.1430843 l . l
8. This Commission has consistently granted relief from requirements under
the PAP when warranted. In 2013, the Commission granted a petition by CenturyLink
to replace the company's Performance Assurance Plan ("PAP") with a revised PAP to
reflect a settlement agreement between CenturyLink and various Competitive Local
Exchange Carriers ("CLECs") that resulted from a PAP review before the Colorado
Public Utilities Commission.2
9. [n201.5, after CenturyLink had not been required to pay any Tier 2
penalties for a significant time, the Commission closed the Tier 2 payment account.3
Then 1n2017, the Commission granted a request from the Company to allow it to cease
providing all monthly PAP reports, except for Tier L payments.4 In August 2020, the
Commission granted the Company's petition to remove a significant number of
products and network elements from the PAP/?IDs, mirroring the FCC's action to
forbear from regulating those elements.s These petitions and the Commission
approvals reflect the diminished importance of the PAP and the services that it still
covers.
10. On October 28,2020, the FCC issued its'UNE Modemizing Forbearance
Order'that made further significant changes eliminating the following:
a. Unbundling requirements, subject to a reasonable transition period, for
enterprise-grade DS1 and DS3 loops;
b. Unbundling requirements for broadband-capable DSOloops in the most
densely populated areas/ and for voice-grade narrowband loops nationwide;
c. Unbundled dark fiber transport provisioned from wire centers within a
half-mile of competitive fiber networks but provide an eight-year transition
2 Commission Order No. 32899, Case No. USW-T-00-03 (September26,2013)
3Commission Order No.33532, Case No. GNR-T-16-04 flune 3,2016).
a Commission Order No. 33728, Case No. PAP-T-14-01 (March 20,2017).
s Commission Order No. 34764 Case No. QWE-T-20-02 (August 28,2020).
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40619.0028.1430843 r.r
II
period for existing circuits to avoid stranding investrnent and last-mile
deployment by competitive LECs that may harm consumers.6
Eliminating the PAP and Remaining PIDs is Consistent with the Public Interest
Because the Services they Apply to are No Longer Necessary to Support Competition
1,1,. CenturyLink followed the procedures under the PAP to eliminate the PAP
and PIDs. CLECs orders for the remaining services, repair associate with those services,
and CLEC review of PAP performance is virtually non-existent. As a result, there is
little justification to maintain these extensive processes, especially given the rise of cable
and wireless service whidr now dominate the competitive marketplace.
A. CenturyLink adhered to the procedures in the ICAs to eliminate the
PAP
12. Amendments of PIDs and PAP require a separate proceeding and
procedures independent from the normal ICA amendment filing process, as outlined in
Section \7.2of. the current PAP:
17.zlf CenturyLink QC or CLEC wishes to modify a PID or a PAP provision, the
change must be approved by the Commission. Prior to seeking Commission
approval, CenturyLink QC and CLEC will use the dispute resolution process set
forth in Section L6.0 as the procedure for resolving the issues. Either
CenturyLink or CLEC may submit its proposed modification(s) to the
Commission for approval. The Commission will establish a process for
providing notice and considering sudr request, induding timelines for interested
parties or Staff to oppose the request. If the request is unopposed, the
Commission may grant such request without a hearing or further notice.
13. CenturyLink notified CLECs consistent with this requirement and readred
out directly to CLECs regarding the on the elimination of the PIDs and PAP.
CenturyLink provided notice in the Change Management Process attadred as Exhibit 1.7
6 ln the Matter of Moilernizing Unbundling nnil Resale Requirements in an Era of Next-Generation Networla and
Serlices, Report and Order, WCDocket No. 19-30& Released Oct.2& 2020,\3.
7 Attachment 1 (notices and email lists).
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40619.0028.r4308431.1
A.CLECs are no longer interested in ordering or seeking repair of the remaining
PAP services, nor are they expressing interest in the PAP perfonnance metrics
1,4. The lack of CLEC interest in the PAP elimination is not a surprise. CLEC
reliance on the PAP has dedined dramatically in Idaho. CenturyLink's most significant
competitors (cable and wireless) have their ownnetworks and unbundled network
elements are no longer significant components in the competitive telecommunications
marketplace. Payments to CLECs under the PAP have declined from $12'1.,695 in 2003
to$2541n20L9, $95 in 2020 and $140 so far in 2021;
All-Tierc PAP Payments forthe State of ldaho
AIIPAP Metrics
Official Centurylink Corporde 271 Results
January 2003 through July 2021
5
2003 SLzt,696
2W s10L678
2005 s70,8s4
2006 s62,426
2fi7 sil09,,267
2008 s30.899
2009 s45,108
2010 sgr,szg
20tL s14,8s8
20L2 szt,n9
2013 s3,98s
20L4 Szoo
2015 s1,96s
201:6 S1.2Gs
20L7 S338
2018 Sgoo
20L9 Szer,
2020 Sgs
202twD Srco
4061 9.0028. 1430843 l. I
15. CLEC orders for services still covered by the PAP continue to dedine:
16. Repairs for products still covered by the PAP for all CLECs in Idaho
during recent years continue to decline:
OICPID/'AP?ru,tlonlntdctrCompl.t avdmtordt.SttrotldllD
!y PEduct Rapdrad ln lram Ot5 . l,duhr All old.E CotrDlatcd Ratadas ol Compliy I O[tomr Dalrrs
Ofidd Crfir{lnkorpont 2rlR.slb-lury2otttol|it!ry:fll
rorriraf,
tta a !zl rr[Il al Nl ol ol lrl g
rtt a trl ilrfl ral !l GI ol ol II ;ll
,ot6 I l2.l rlrg rol ol !2ol ol ol 6I &
t,n El strl sl al ral rl al al xt
rtt T {l 9!i ml ol nl nl ol al E
nta I ,3t ,6Dt aJ .I 4l ot ot ot lo7
ro20 !rll rsm rol rl !61 ol ol ol l{rrr h a il !il ill al ,il il ol al s
qlcPllvPl,i.rdrTl&Bcoi$.t dvdwlo.drsmollddE
ry PEdtrd t Fo.!.d ln t.dc mnt . h.hd.. All lldrtr Cmpl.l.d La.il.. of Co.nerrv r Cffir D.hF
OrltddC.ntryll*cqDo.tt Zni..dn-lsory2otiiErhJdyloa
F!&brar0ltEtI
tal
ot ltal lstCl tsat ot ,tt OI o !3tru,l 0l trd ixl 4l cl d ol 2dil
fr,rl 0l rffi 6l 0l NI al d lrl an
[n d frl frH til fl rl ol d I I
Dxm 2l sl Jrtl!trl ul ,l ol ol d s
17. CenturyLink systems record how often CLECs log into the PAP to review
performance in Idaho. In the last 3 years, only 1 CLEC out of 100 has logged in twice to
review their perforrnance results and only 4 CLEC's loggg in a total of 7 times since
20'1,4:
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flof tor-ln's
CUSIOMERT{AME YTD2(I2,'20in fr19 2018 2o.t7 ,,,L6 201!i fr,A
tD CLEC f1 1 1
tD CLEC f2 1 a 1
rD CLEC f3 1
rD CLEC #4 1
ldaho State CLEC's Who've Logted lnto QPID to A@3i Thelr PID/PAP ResulB .
Offldal Centuryllnk QPID Mmln Rcport 6 of ,uly, 7i/IZL
TOTAL 1 I o 1 0 1 2 1
r These are ldaho CLEC's who logged into the QPID application where all 14 state reports reside.
They ould have acessed any state, not necessarily ldaho.
lf the same CLEC User lD signed ln before and after 202Q prioryears won't reflect the values.
18. Eliminating the PAP and PIDs in Appendices 1 and 2 is just, reasonable,
and not contrary to the public interest. As set forth in the prayer for relief below,
CenturyLink therefore requests that the Commission eliminate them, effective on the
date of the Commission order. Consistent with prior Commission proceedings and
orders amending the PIDs and the PAP, CenturyLink further requests that the
Commission deem all existing interconnection agreements that currently contain the
PAP and PIDs be modified to incorporate these revisions, effective on the same date
without need for further filings or approvals.
III. COMMUNICATIONSANDCORRESPONDENCE
19. Pleadings, orders, notices or other correspondence and
communications regarding this Petition should be provided to:
William Hendricks
Associate General Counsel
Lumen Technologies
902 Wasco St, Floor 1
Hood River, OR 97031
Phone: [phone]
Emait tre.hendricks@centurylink. com
And:
Stephen R. Thomas
HAWLEY TROXELL ENNIS HAWLEY LLP
7
406r 9.m28.14308431.1
P.O. Box 1517
877 ManStreet, Suite 1000
Boise,Idaho 83701,
Phone: [phone]
sthomas@hawlevtroxell. com
REQIJEST FOR RELIEF
CenturyLink requests that the Commission:
(A) Approve CenturyLink's request to eliminate Appendices 1 (PIDs) and?
(PAP) with an effective date of the Commission's order;
(B) Deem all existing intercormection agreements that currently contain the
PAP and PIDs be modffied to incorporate these revisions; and
(C) Lr the event there is no opposition to this Petition within 30 days (or as
soon as is otherwise practicable), CenturyLink requests that the Petition be granted
without a hearing, further filings or proceedings, or at a regularly schedule Commission
Open Meeting.
Submitted this lst day of December, 2021..
Respecttully,
By,/s/Steohen R Thomas
Stephen R. Thomas
Parhrer
HAWLEY TROXELL ENNIS HAWLEY LLP
[phone]
sthomas@hawleytroxell. com
AND
William E. Hendricks
Associate General Counsel
CBNrunyLrux
902 Wasco Street
Hood River, OR 97031
tre.hendricks@lumen. com
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