Conclusions of Law
1. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in United States Telecom Association v. Federal Communications Commission,
No. 00-1012 (USTA II), vacated provisions of the TRO that delegated states authority to determine where CLECs are not impaired without access to unbundled elements and related substantive tests for making such determinations.
2. Although the vacatur took effect on June 16, 2004, nothing in USTA II precludes this Commission from implementing a batch cut process.
3. USTA II held that the FCC could not base a national impairment finding on the lack of efficient batch cut processes because the FCC lacked sufficiently granular evidence as to hot cut processes.
4. USTA II did not vacate the FCC's order to states to develop a batch hot cut process, and in any event, implementation of a low-cost, efficient batch hot cut process will be a critical part of any post UNE-P world.
5. Sufficient authority exists for adoption of this order concerning the process for implementing ILEC hot cut processes, both on a batch and sequential basis, as necessary to provide a seamless migration to UNE-L service to the extent that UNE-P is replaced with UNE-L serving arrangements.
6. Given the limits of the evidentiary record and uncertainties concerning the nature, extent, and timing of any UNE-P elimination that may subsequently be implemented, any authorizations in this order concerning implementation of hot cut processes and pricing should only be made on an interim, provisional basis, subject to further developments.
7. The hot cut processes proposed by the ILECs are not yet sufficiently developed to enable competitors to migrate customers from UNE-P to UNE-L serving arrangements in a seamless, efficient, low-cost manner without potential service disruptions or delays that could impede the ability to compete with the ILECs.
8. The ILEC batch hot cut processes should be expanded to provide for additional scenarios relating to CLEC-to-CLEC migrations and the four line-splitting migration arrangements proposed by Covad. Further study should be performed as a basis to determining the feasibility and cost of implementing additional migrations scenarios involving IDLC and EEL facilities.
9. In order to provide a more complete basis for finalizing appropriate hot cut processes, the ALJ should schedule further collaborative workshop forums to promote further consensus building on relevant issues as set forth in the order below.
10. The ILECs should be required to prepare further analysis concerning the processes that would be entailed, and related TELRIC costs, for implementation of the additional batch hot cut migration scenarios as set forth in the order below.
11. The prices proposed by SBC for its hot cut processes should be adjusted to reflect the revisions as summarized in Finding 40 above.
12. The prices set forth in Appendix 1, reflecting adjustments to SBC's proposed TELRIC costs, as summarized in Finding 40, should be adopted on an interim provisional basis.
13. Performance measures applicable to the ILECs' hot cut processes should be adopted as set forth in the order below, with provision for further consideration of additional performance measures pursuant to workshops.
14. Provision to devise and implement appropriate validation testing of the ILECs' proposed hot cut processes should be implemented pursuant to procedural measures set forth in the order below.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. As required to implement seamless, efficient, and low-cost cut over processes for use by competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC) with the elimination of UNE-P to serve the mass market, the hot cut processes as proposed by Pacific Bell Telephone Company, doing business as SBC California, Inc. (SBC) and Verizon California, Inc. (Verizon) are hereby authorized only on an interim basis for transitioning customer loops from an unbundled network elements platform (UNE-P) to an unbundled loop (UNE-L) basis, contingent on further workshops and proceedings as set forth below.
2. SBC's proposed batch size of 100 loops per day per CLEC per central office for the defined batch process is hereby adopted only on an interim provisional basis subject to further evaluation of performance metrics and testing to ascertain that this minimum batch size will be sufficient on an ongoing basis to meet CLEC hot cut demand with the elimination of UNE-P.
3. Verizon's proposed method of determining minimum batch size based upon achieving a "critical mass" of order volume is hereby adopted only on an interim basis subject to further evaluation of performance metrics and testing to ascertain that this minimum batch size will be sufficient to meet CLEC hot cut demand with the elimination of UNE-P.
4. In order to gain final approval and to avoid critical problems with emergency 911 services during hot cuts, the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) shall modify their hot cut processes to comport with the National
Network Numbering Association guidelines to send the 911 order at the time that the customer's number is ported, and shall develop a standard coordination process to ensure that the Public Safety Answering Position (PSAP) database can handle increased order volumes arising in a UNE-L environment.
5. In connection with hot cuts, the "migrate-as-is" functionality for directory listings shall be available for CLEC-to-CLEC migrations as well as incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC)-to-CLEC migrations in order to limit the number of times that directory listing information must be added or deleted.
6. As a condition of granting final approval to the ILECs' hot cut processes, the ILECs must provide a demonstration that their existing systems and processes are capable of handling the increased volume of Line Information Database and Caller Name Database transactions on a timely and error-free basis as a result of the replacement of UNE-P with UNE-L service.
7. The adjusted prices applicable to SBC's hot cut processes, as set forth in Appendix 1 attached hereto, based on the adjustments detailed in Appendix 2, are hereby adopted on an interim provisional basis, applicable to specific services indicated. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) is directed to schedule additional proceedings, as necessary, to complete the record concerning finalized hot cut pricing for the migration scenarios set forth in Appendix 1, as well as for additional migration scenarios to be developed or explored pursuant to Ordering Paragraph 11 below.
8. Verizon's proposed prices applicable to its hot cut processes are not adopted at this time. Further proceedings shall be scheduled by the ALJ as necessary to complete the record concerning Verizon's prices sufficient to form the basis for adopted total element long incremental cost (TELRIC) prices for Verizon. In the event that separate TELRIC-complaint hot cut prices are not approved by the time that batch hot cut processes are required to be implemented for Verizon, SBC-adopted prices shall be used as a surrogate for Verizon.
9. The revisions in performance measures proposed by SBC and Verizon with respect to their proposed hot cut processes are hereby approved on an interim provisional basis, pending the results of further collaborative workshops to ascertain what additional revisions to performance measures may be warranted.
10. The revisions to performance measures for Verizon's process that were mutually agreed to between MCI and Verizon are hereby approved. Verizon shall remain responsible for the related commitments to which it agreed concerning its "Wholesale and Provisioning Tracking System."
11. The ALJ is hereby directed to set forth the appropriate scheduling and procedural coordination measures to address the following technical implementation issues:
a. A workshop shall be scheduled to provide a process for CLECs to provide technical input into the process being implemented by SBC to upgrade its operating support systems (OSS). The workshop shall provide for periodic progress reports on SBC OSS upgrades to the Commission. Parties shall have 15 business days from the effective date of this order to file a motion requesting that workshop include consideration of Verizon's OSS flowthrough implementation, indicating what specific issues need to be considered. If no such motions are received, Verizon's OSS flowthrough enhancements will be deemed satisfactory with no further workshops on this issue.
b. A workshop shall be scheduled to open collaborative discussions among the ILECs, CLECs, and the current Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) administrator to determine NPAC's actual capabilities and to develop metrics for the completion of number portability tasks associated with the increased hot cut volume in a UNE-L environment.
c. A workshop shall be scheduled to address the technical issues, including costs, required to implement the four line splitting batch hot migration scenarios proposed by Covad Communications, incorporating the provision of cable-to-cable cross-connections on the ILEC's distribution frame, as illustrated in Appendix 2 of this order. This workshop shall be coordinated, as appropriate, with existing collaborative forums where line splitting issues have previously been considered, such as Verizon's Change Management Process.
d. A workshop shall be scheduled to address implementation issues relating to CLEC-to-CLEC migration scenarios with particular focus on a standardized process for exchanging customer service records and circuit identification information in order that customers are not stranded after their migration to UNE-L.
e. A workshop shall be scheduled to address implementation issues relating to potential development of a hot cut migration scenario involving enhanced extended link (EEL) facilities, and IDLC facilities, including associated costs.
f. A workshop shall be scheduled to be coordinated, as appropriate, with joint partial settlement agreement collaboratives in R.97-10-016, regarding further revisions that may be warranted for additional performance measures applicable to the hot cut processes to be implemented for SBC and Verizon in connection with the conversion from UNE-P to UNE-L service.
g. A workshop shall be scheduled to address the design and implementation of appropriate processes for testing and validating the hot cut processes proposed to be used by the ILECs. As a framework for considering a testing protocol, SBC shall provide detailed plans concerning its proposed "Managed Introduction Plan." Verizon shall likewise provide proposed plans for a similar testing and validation process. Parties shall be provided an opportunity to review and comment on the plan as a basis for implementing appropriate testing and validation of hot cut processes.
h. A prehearing conference shall be scheduled by the ALJ for purposes of prioritizing and coordinating the sequence of workshops ordered in this decision, and for establishing appropriate dispute resolution procedures.
Dated _______________________, at San Francisco, California.
