gnrt9722_cc-stipulation.doc

CHERI C. COPSEY
Deputy Attorney General
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0074
Tele: [phone]
FAX: [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 INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE AN APPROPRIATE COST MODEL USING FORWARD-LOOKING ECONOMIC COSTS FOR CALCULATING THE COSTS OF BASIC TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES IN IDAHO.
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) CASE NO. GNRT9722

STIPULATION

On January 6, 2000, in response to Order Nos. 28223 and 28245, the Commission held a prehearing conference designed to identify those issues remaining in this docket, establish a process to address those issues and to identify other decisions that the Commission must make in order to establish an Idaho Non-Rural Universal Service Fund (Non-Rural USF). The present statute, Idaho Code § 62-610F, requires the Commission to establish a Non-Rural USF no later than six (6) months after the FCC high cost universal service fund for non-rural LECs is implemented. The effective date for the FCC non-rural USF is January 1, 2000. Therefore, the Commission is required to establish the Idaho non-rural USF by July 1, 2000.
The parties who attended the prehearing conference identified a number of decisions that must be made before the Idaho non-rural USF can be finally implemented. They further agreed that those decisions would require additional proceedings, including but not limited to a rulemaking docket, a separate docket devoted to establishing the Idaho non-rural USF mechanism and additional testimony in this case. Based on those discussions, the undersigned agree that the present statutory time limit of six (6) months established in Idaho Code § 62610F(1) cannot be met and, therefore should be extended. The parties further agree that because events cannot be completely foreseen, so long as the process continues in a focused manner, a specific time for completion need not be included in statute. It is anticipated that the parties to this case will submit a joint schedule for completing this case. It is also anticipated that the Commission will establish a new case and open a rulemaking docket designed to establish and implement the Idaho non-rural USF.
RESPECTFULLY submitted this day of January 2000.

DATE CHERI C. COPSEY
Deputy Attorney General
Attorney for Commission Staff

DATE MARY S. HOBSON
Stoel Rives LLP
Attorney for U S WEST Communications, Inc.

DATE CONLEY WARD
Givens Pursley LLP
Attorney for the Idaho Telephone Association

DATE DEAN RANDALL
Authorized Representative for
GTE Service Corporation

DATE MORGAN W. RICHARDS
Moffatt Thomas Barrett Rock & Fields
Attorney for Century Tel, TDS and Citizens

DATE DEAN J. MILLER
McDevitt & Miller
Attorney for MCI Worldcom

DATE REBECCA DECOOK
Attorney for
AT&T Communications of the Mountain States, Inc.

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STIPULATION -3-