Source: http://register.dls.virginia.gov/details.aspx?id=2657
Timestamp: 2019-05-23 13:08:23
Document Index: 771030866

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 15', '§ 251', '§ 56', '§ 56', '§ 56', '§ 59', '§ 251']

Vol. 28 Iss. 12 (Final Regulation) 20VAC5-417, Rules Governing The Certification And Regulation Of Competitive Local Exchange Carriers February 13, 2012
Title of Regulation: 20VAC5-417. Rules Governing the Certification and Regulation of Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (amending 20VAC5-417-10, 20VAC5-417-20, 20VAC5-417-40, 20VAC5-417-50, 20VAC5-417-60, 20VAC5-417-70; repealing 20VAC5-417-30).
Agency Contact: Katie Cummings, Deputy Director, Division of Communications, State Corporation Commission, P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 371-9101, FAX (804) 371-9069, or email katie.cummings@scc.virginia.gov.
The amendments make modifications (i) necessitated by Chapters 738 and 740 of the 2011 Acts of Assembly, which eliminate certain requirements applicable to competitive telecommunications services and (ii) to account for certain competitive and technological changes in the telecommunications industry. The amendments remove the price ceilings for retail services, provide more pricing flexibility, set forth requirements for tariffed and nontariffed services, and establish tariff requirements for nonretail services.
Changes from the proposed regulations include incorporating a change to the definition of "locality," incorporating a change to the escrow account for customer deposits from a previous Commission Order, removing references to the Division of Economics and Finance, including 20VAC5-417-40 (MLEC requirements) as an amended section, and updating annual reporting requirements to remove the number of customers.
AT RICHMOND, JANUARY 17, 2012
CASE NO. PUC-2011-00048
Ex Parte: In re: Amending the rules governing
the certification and regulation of
ORDER REVISING REGULATIONS
On August 4, 2011, the State Corporation Commission ("Commission") issued an Order for Notice and Hearing ("August 4 Order") that initiated a proceeding to consider amending the Commission's rules governing the certification and regulation of competitive local exchange carriers, 20 VAC 5-417-10 et seq. ("CLEC Rules"). The August 4 Order noted that the CLEC Rules were last revised on September 27, 2007, by a Final Order issued by the Commission in Case No. PUC-2007-00033. The Commission concluded that it is appropriate to revisit the CLEC Rules to make modifications necessitated by changes in the law by the Virginia General Assembly enacted in Chapters 738 and 740 of the 2011 Virginia Acts of Assembly, and by competitive and technological changes that have occurred in the telecommunications industry since the last review of the CLEC Rules.
To facilitate this review, the Staff of the Commission ("Staff") prepared proposed revisions of the CLEC Rules ("Proposed Rules"), which were, pursuant to the August 4 Order, published in the Virginia Register. Public notice was also given so as to provide the public an opportunity to comment on the Proposed Rules, to request a hearing thereon, or to suggest modifications or supplements to the Proposed Rules.
While no requests for hearing were filed, comments on the Proposed Rules were filed by BVU Authority, Sprint Communications of Virginia, United Telephone Southeast, LLC, and Central Telephone Company of Virginia (jointly as CenturyLink), Verizon Virginia Inc. and Verizon South Inc. (jointly as Verizon), and Cox Virginia Telcom, LLC. BVU Authority also included in its comments to the Proposed Rules certain revisions to the requirements for Municipal Local Exchange Carriers ("MLEC") set out in 20 VAC 5-417-40 of the CLEC Rules.
On October 28, 2011, the Staff filed the Response of the Division of Communications ("Staff Response"), which, in part, reviewed the comments submitted on the Proposed Rules. Staff also noted that Rule 20 VAC 5-417-40 was not specifically noticed at the outset of this proceeding as no changes to this section of the CLEC Rules were included in the Proposed Rules. However, the Staff Response set out revisions to the Proposed Rules based upon the comments received, including additional modifications to the MLEC requirements in 20 VAC 5-417-40 of the CLEC Rules.
On November 22, 2011, the Commission issued an Order providing the public an opportunity to comment on, request a hearing on, or suggest modifications or supplements to the revisions to the MLEC requirements set out in 20 VAC 5-417-40 of the CLEC Rules as proposed by BVU Authority and as further modified by the Staff. Again, no requests for a hearing were received by the Commission. Only BVU filed comments, which were supportive of the additional changes to 20 VAC 5-417-40 noted in the Staff Response.
NOW THE COMMISSION, upon consideration of the foregoing, is of the opinion and finds that the revisions to the CLEC Rules, 20 VAC 5-417-10 et seq., as set forth and attached to this Order, should be adopted.
(1) The Commission's Rules Governing Certification and Regulation of Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, 20 VAC 5-417-10 et seq. are hereby revised and adopted as attached to this Order, and shall become effective as of February 1, 2012.
(2) A copy of this Order including the revisions to 20 VAC 5-417-10 et seq., shall be forwarded to the Registrar of Regulations for publication in the Virginia Register.
(3) There being nothing further to come before the Commission, this case shall be removed from the docket and the papers herein be placed in the file for ended causes.
AN ATTESTED COPY hereby shall be sent by the Clerk of the Commission to: JoAnne L. Nolte, Esquire, and Garland S. Carr, Esquire, The Nolte Law Firm, P.C., 1427 West Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220-4629; Richard D. Gary, Esquire, Hunton & Williams, LLP, Riverfront Plaza, East Tower, 951 East Byrd Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-4074; David E. Anderson, Esquire, LeClair Ryan, Riverfront Plaza, East Tower, P.O. Box 2499, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2499; Irene C. Leech, Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, 4220 North Fork Road, Elliston, Virginia 24087; E. Ford Stephens, Esquire, Christian & Barton, LLP, 909 E Main Street, Suite 1200, Richmond, Virginia 23219-3095; Jeanne W. Stockman, Esquire, Sprint, Mailstop: NCWKFR0313, 1411 Capital Boulevard, Wake Forest, North Carolina 27587; Jennifer L. McClellan, Esquire, Verizon Virginia Inc., 703 East Grace Street, 7th Floor, Richmond, Virginia 23219; C. Meade Browder, Jr., Esquire, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Division of Consumer Counsel, Office of the Attorney General, 900 East Main Street, Second Floor, Richmond, Virginia 23219; and all local exchange carriers certificated in Virginia as set out in Appendix A, and all interexchange carriers certificated in Virginia as set out in Appendix B. A copy hereof shall be delivered to the Commission's Office of General Counsel and Division of Communications.
"Interexchange carrier" ("IXC") means a carrier that provides intrastate interexchange long distance telephone service.
"Locality" means a city, town, [ or ] county [ , or authority ] that operates an electric distribution system in Virginia.
"Retail [ local exchange ] telecommunications service or services" means telecommunications service or services that are offered for sale directly to the public.
1. The applicant shall deliver a copy of the application to the Division of Communications [ and a copy to the Division of Economics and Finance ] at the same time it is filed with the Clerk of the Commission.
2. A copy of all confidential information filed under seal with the Clerk of the Commission in connection with the application shall be provided by the applicant, at the time of filing, to the Division of Communications [ , the Division of Economics and Finance, ] and the Office of General Counsel pursuant to 5VAC5-20-170.
b. A continuous performance or surety bond in a minimum amount of $50,000, in a form to be prescribed by the commission staff. The bond shall be provided to the Division of [ Economics and Finance Communications ] within 30 days of the issuance of the Order for Notice and Comment.
b. Any documentation that supports its technical abilities; and
c. b. The managerial and technical experience of each principal officer or member and appropriate senior management and technical personnel.
5. The applicant shall provide a list of the states where the applicant, parent, or any affiliate holds authority to provide local exchange telecommunications services, interexchange telecommunications services, or both, and where service is actually being provided, including the date service was commenced for each.
H. Each application shall include an illustrative tariff or tariffs, which shall include, at a minimum, the applicant's proposed terms and conditions of service. Applicants that desire to have any of their services deregulated or detariffed shall file such a proposal in accordance with 20VAC5-417-50.
I. H. Each application shall include the applicant's proposed form of regulation for its services if such form of regulation differs from that set forth in 20VAC5-417-50.
J. I. A CLEC application shall be for statewide authority unless otherwise requested by the CLEC. If less than statewide authority is being requested, the CLEC shall identify the geographic area or areas for which the CLEC is requesting authority to provide service.
K. J. An MLEC application shall identify the geographic area or areas for which the MLEC is requesting authority to provide service. The applicant should consult § 15.2-2160 A of the Code of Virginia for determining the limits of its proposed service area.
L. An MLEC applicant shall provide an attestation that it will comply with the requirements in 20VAC5-417-40, MLEC requirements.
M. All applicants shall provide an attestation that they will comply with the requirements in 20VAC5-417-30, conditions for new entrants.
N. K. The MLEC applicant shall provide a map of its electric distribution facilities in place as of March 1, 2002. The map should be in sufficient detail to identify the city, town, and county boundaries.
O. L. Upon request of the commission staff, an applicant shall provide such information with respect to any of its services or practices as may be relevant to the review of the application.
20VAC5-417-30. Conditions for new entrants. (Repealed.)
A. A new entrant shall, either directly or through arrangements with others, provide the following:
1. Access to 911 and E911 services;
2. White page directory listings;
3. Access to telephone relay services;
4. Access to directory assistance;
5. Access to operator services;
6. Equal access to interLATA long distance carriers;
7. Free blocking of 900- and 700-type services so long as the same requirement applies to incumbent local exchange companies; and
8. Interconnection on a nondiscriminatory basis with other local exchange carriers.
B. To the extent economically and technically feasible, the new entrant shall provide service to all customers in the same service classification in its designated geographic service areas in accordance with its tariff offerings.
C. The new entrant shall have procedures to prevent deceptive and unfair marketing practices.
D. The new entrant shall be subject to applicable commission rules and regulations, including but not limited to, service quality and billing standards or rules, the rules governing disconnection of local exchange telephone service (i.e., 20VAC5-413), and rules governing the discontinuance of local exchange telecommunications services (i.e., 20VAC5-423).
E. The new entrant shall comply with the applicable intraLATA toll dialing parity requirements of local exchange carriers as determined in Case No. PUC-1997-00009, Commonwealth of Virginia, ex rel. State Corporation Commission Ex Parte: Implementation of IntraLATA Toll Dialing Parity pursuant to the provisions of 47 USC § 251 (b) (3).
F. A new entrant shall, prior to collecting any customer deposits, establish and maintain an escrow account for such funds, held in a Virginia office of a duly chartered state or national bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union, which is unaffiliated with the applicant. The Division of Economics and Finance shall be notified of this arrangement at its inception and any subsequent change to the arrangement. Any escrow arrangement established pursuant to this requirement shall be maintained until such time as the staff or commission determines it is no longer necessary.
[ 20VAC5-417-40. MLEC requirements.
A. An MLEC that is a city, town, or county shall file data annually with the Division of Communications to demonstrate that, in the aggregate, revenues associated with intrastate telecommunications services cover the incremental and any required imputed or allocated costs of providing such telecommunications services except in circumstances where permitted by § 56-265.4:4 B 3 of the Code of Virginia. The first filing shall be 60 days after the end of the MLEC's city, town, or county's calendar or fiscal year during which the MLEC city, town, or county began providing intrastate telecommunications services and shall continue annually thereafter.
B. An MLEC that is a city, town, or county shall maintain incremental cost studies for each service offered demonstrating that the associated charges: (i) do not include any subsidies, unless approved by the commission; and (ii) take into account, by imputation or allocation, equivalent charges for all taxes, pole rentals, rights-of-way, licenses, and similar costs incurred by for-profit providers. The applicable study or studies shall be filed with the commission and the Division of Communications within 30 days of a complaint alleging that an individual local exchange service offering or offerings of an MLEC a city, town, or county fails to comply with these requirements.
C. An MLEC that is a city, town, or county shall maintain accounting records for the revenues, expenses, property, and source of investment dollars pertaining to its telecommunications services that are separate from the accounting records of its affiliated county, city, or town. ]
A. Unless otherwise allowed by the commission, tariffs Tariffs are permitted but not required for any or all local exchange telecommunications service offerings except those that are comparable to offerings of any ILEC that does not require tariffs terms, conditions, or rates of a new entrant's retail local exchange telecommunications service offerings. Unless otherwise allowed by the commission, tariffs are required for nonretail telecommunications services, [ i.e., such as switched ] access charges.
B. A new entrant that has received certification to provide local exchange telecommunications services shall, prior to offering such services, submit its proposed initial tariffs to the Division of Communications. A new entrant shall not offer any local exchange telecommunications services until its tariffs have been accepted by the Division of Communications and are effective. such time as:
C. A new entrant may petition the commission to consider deregulation or detariffing treatment for any of its specific service offerings. Any deregulatory or detariffing treatment for any comparable service, class of customers, or geographic area granted to an ILEC shall be applicable to a new entrant under like conditions that elects not to tariff any or all terms, conditions, or rates of its retail local exchange telecommunications service offerings may determine subsequently to submit tariffs to the Division of Communications for any such retail local exchange telecommunications services. Any subsequent filings shall be submitted to the Division of Communications for review and acceptance. A new entrant shall continue offering its retail services on a nontariffed basis until such time as the tariffs are reviewed and accepted by the Division of Communications, and on a tariffed basis thereafter.
D. Unless otherwise allowed by the commission, prices for basic telephone service and associated service charges, not purchased as part of a bundled service, shall not exceed the highest of the comparable tariffed or applicable ceiling rates, as determined by the commission, of an incumbent local exchange carrier or carriers in the same service territory.
E. D. 1. Beginning December 1, 2007, unless Unless otherwise allowed by the commission, prices for a new entrant's intrastate access services shall not exceed the highest of the following:
c. An intrastate switched access charge benchmark rate of $.029 per minute for a transition period from December 1, 2007, through March 30, 2008. Effective April 1, 2008, this subdivision no longer applies.
F. Tariff changes E. Any price increase for [ retail ] local exchange telecommunications services of new entrants shall be implemented as follows:
1. Price decreases shall be noticed to the Division of Communications no later than three days after the effective date.
2. Price increases shall become effective after at least 30 days' written notice is provided to affected customers and at least seven business days' written notice to the Division of Communications.
a. 1. Written notice to affected customers shall be provided through bill inserts, bill messages, or direct mail, or electronic mail or other forms of electronic communications when the customer has requested or authorized electronic bill delivery or other electronic communications.
b. 2. Notice for price increases for a casual user or nonsubscriber service shall be provided through publication once as display advertising in newspapers having general circulation in the areas served by the new entrant. Display advertising shall only be used for notice for casual user or nonsubscriber services unless otherwise authorized by the commission.
c. a. A copy of the customer notice, the date or dates of such notification, and proof of publication, if applicable, shall be included with the notice submission to the Division of Communications.
d. An allowable b. A rate increase, if there are no current customers, shall not require customer notice. The notice submission to the Division of Communications shall include an attestation by the new entrant that it has no customers.
3. New service tariff offerings shall become effective after at least three business days' written notice submission to the Division of Communications.
4. Administrative or nonprice tariff changes shall become effective after at least three business days' written notice submission to the Division of Communications.
5. A new entrant, subject to prior approval of the Division of Communications, may seek to file tariff price changes in less than the prescribed timeframe stated above.
G. A new entrant may petition the commission for approval of pricing structures or rates that do not conform with access price ceiling requirements in subsections subsection D and E of this section. The new entrant shall provide appropriate documentation and rationale to support any request. The commission may permit such alternative pricing structures and rates if the public interest will not be harmed.
H. Unless otherwise ordered by the commission, price ceiling requirements shall not apply to a new entrant's services other than those specified in subsections D and E of this section.
I. H. Tariff filings and revisions shall be submitted to the Director of the Division of Communications and shall include an original and two copies.
J. I. A new entrant may, for a specified period of time, offer promotional rates, terms, or conditions for its local exchange telecommunications services offerings that differ from the rates, terms, or conditions in its tariffs. Promotions may be submitted by letter and become effective after at least three business days' written notice to the Director of the Division of Communications. [ Upon request from a new entrant, the Division of Communications may grant a shorter effective date for the promotion. ]
K. J. A new entrant may offer individual customer pricing for local exchange telecommunications services to a customer that may differ from those in its tariffs in a competitive bid or procurement situation. The new entrant shall retain records of any such agreements and make same available to the Division of Communications upon request.
L. K. A new entrant may, pursuant to § 56-481.2 of the Code of Virginia, submit for the commission's consideration an alternative regulatory plan for the commission's consideration or seek other deregulatory treatment or detariffing for nonretail services in the applicant's certification proceeding or at a later date if it desires regulation different from that specified in this section.
M. L. A new entrant providing local exchange telecommunications services shall not abandon or discontinue such services except as prescribed in 20VAC5-423, Rules Governing the Discontinuance of Local Exchange Telecommunications Services Provided by Competitive Local Exchange Carriers.
N. M. An MLEC may petition the commission for authority to include a subsidy in any of its local exchange services. The commission may approve such a subsidy if it is deemed to be in the public interest. Any subsidy approved by the commission may not result in a price for the service lower than the price for the same service charged by the ILEC provider in the area.
O. N. A new entrant requesting authority to expand its geographic service territory not covered by its existing certificate shall file a petition with the commission.
O. A new entrant shall, prior to collecting any customer deposits, establish and maintain an escrow account for such funds, held in a [ Virginia office of a ] duly chartered state or national bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union, which is unaffiliated with the applicant. The Division of [ Economics and Finance Communications ] shall be notified of this arrangement at its inception and of any subsequent change to the arrangement. Any escrow arrangement established pursuant to this requirement shall be maintained until such time as the staff or commission determines it is no longer necessary.
A. A new entrant shall provide the name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the person designated to receive all official mailings or notices from the Divisions of [ Economics and Finance, ] Communications [ , ] and Public Service Taxation. Updates to this information shall be provided to each division within 30 days of any change.
1. At a minimum annually, or as deemed necessary by the staff or the commission, a new entrant shall be required to provide information to the Division of [ Economics and Finance Communications ] that includes the number of access lines served, reported by residential lines and business lines [ , number of customers, reported by residential customers and business customers, ] and Virginia intrastate revenue.
2. A new entrant shall, on an annual basis or upon request of the staff or the commission, specify to the Division of [ Economics and Finance Communications ] the geographic areas served within Virginia. Such information shall include the identification of specific exchanges where service is provided or offered and the wire centers associated with all collocation arrangements.
C. A new entrant shall comply with the following tax reporting requirements: 1. A new entrant shall file all reports and provide all information required for the administration of tax statutes by the Division of Public Service Taxation. Information filed with the Division of Public Service Taxation shall include financial statements and other statements showing Virginia revenues. If available, audited financial statements shall be filed. A new entrant shall maintain records of all its real property and tangible personal property located in Virginia. Such records shall include the property's original cost and location by city, county, or town and district.
2. A new entrant shall remit the telecommunications relay surcharge prescribed by the commission pursuant to § 56-484.6 of the Code of Virginia and 20VAC5-415. The new entrant shall file all reports and make all payments as directed by the Division of Public Service Taxation.
1. File with the Division of Communications a copy of all certificates and related correspondence required by §§ 59.1-69 and 59.1-70 of the Code of Virginia. A new entrant shall identify all its fictitious and assumed names in its any tariffs on file with the Division of Communications.
Case No. PUC970009, Implementation of IntraLATA Toll Dialing Parity Pursuant to 47 USC § 251(b)(3).
VA.R. Doc. No. R11-2926; Filed January 17, 2012, 3:19 p.m.