ALJ/KK3/oma/lil Date of Issuance 7/21/2011
Decision 11-07-021 July 14, 2011
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Application of Metropolitan Telecommunications of California, Inc. dba MetTel (U6568C) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Provide Limited Facilities-based and Resold Local Exchange Service as a Competitive Local Carrier Within the Citizens Operating Company Territory. |
Application 10-05-018 (Filed May 19, 2010) |
DECISION ADOPTING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
AND GRANTING CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY TO PROVIDE LIMITED FACILITIES-BASED AND RESOLD LOCAL EXCHANGE SERVICE
This decision adopts the proposed Settlement Agreement1 attached hereto as Attachment E and grants a registration Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Metropolitan Telecommunications of California, Inc. d/b/a MetTel to provide limited facilities-based and resold local exchange service as a competitive local carrier within California in the territory of Citizens Telecommunications Company of California, Inc. d/b/a Frontier Communications of California. Among other things, the Settlement Agreement requires Applicant to pay a penalty of $8,000 to the California General Fund and to file an amended application. The amended application was filed. This proceeding is closed.
Background
On May 19, 2010, Metropolitan Telecommunications of California, Inc. d/b/a MetTel (U6568C) (MetTel or Applicant) applied for a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPCN) and Necessity with the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) to provide limited facilities-based and resold local exchange service as a competitive local carrier within the territory of Citizens Telecommunications Company of California, Inc. d/b/a Frontier Communications of California (Frontier).2 On June 21, 2010, the Consumer Protection and Safety Division (CPSD) protested the application alleging that MetTel's (1) affiliated entity of the same name had been sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) eight times between 2002 and 2008; (2) this affiliation should have been disclosed in the application; (3) Applicant's failure to disclose the sanctions was a violation of Rule 1.1; (4) a Rule 1.1 violation can occur without intent to violate the rule if the Commission or its staff has been mislead by an artifice or false statement of fact or law; and (5) Applicant should be subject to a penalty under California Public Utilities Code (Cal. Pub. Code) §§ 2107 and 2108.
With permission of the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) the parties met and conferred in an attempt to resolve the issues raised by the application, protest and reply. On March 7, 2011, CPSD and Applicant moved for adoption of the Settlement Agreement. The motion and the Settlement Agreement state that Applicant has provided satisfactory explanations concerning CPSD's protest and has agreed to pay a penalty of $8,000 to the General Fund, and the terms of the Settlement Agreement satisfactorily address all of CPSD's concerns. The motion further states that CPSD no longer has concerns regarding Applicant's fitness to provide service in California. The motion requests the Commission adopt the Settlement Agreement and issue a CPCN to Applicant to provide services in California as limited facilities-based and resold services as a competitive local carrier within the Frontier territory.
Other than CPSD's protest, which would be resolved once the Settlement Agreement is adopted by this decision, no other opposition to this Application was filed.
1 The Settlement Agreement resolves the issues set forth in the only protest filed in this proceeding.
2 Applicant was previously granted authority to provided limited facilities-based and resold competitive local exchange service within the service territories of AT&T and Verizon in Decision (D.) 01-01-007. Applicant was also granted authority to provide interexchange telecommunications service state wide by D.01-08-029.
