4. Supplement to the Application

A May 11, 2005 supplement to the application was filed in response to an April 18, 2005 Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruling seeking additional information. Requested information included an explanation on why Highspeed was sold without seeking Commission authority, why Applicant did not request authority to change the name of Highspeed to NTIC, why tariffs for Highspeed have not been updated, why Highspeed was not current with its user fee reports and payments, and why this application should be granted.

NTIC explained in its amendment to the application that it and its parent company, a small CLEC with an exemplary record of regulatory compliance in the states of Washington and Idaho, relied primarily on the representation of the prior owner of Highspeed and were unaware that authority was necessary prior to acquisition or any name change. As to notification of a name change, it was unaware that the Commission required prior notification."²

NTIC explained that it has not updated the tariffs of Highspeed to reflect the name change, current user fee rates, regulated services it intends to provide, or to comply with Commission Resolution T-16901, dated December 2, 2004 because it was unaware of Commission regulatory requirements and "to date have been unable to locate Highspeed's original tariffs."³ Almost a year after Northwest acquired and began operating under the authority granted to Highspeed, Northwest recently hired additional staff and retained the services of a company to assist it in all of its California regulatory operations. Northwest expects that the tariffs of NTIC will be updated and comply with Resolution
T-16901 by May 31, 2005.⁴

As to delinquent user fee reports and payments, NTIC explained that a signed "Combined California Telephone Surcharge Transmittal form" was provided to the Commission on January 26, 2004 evidencing payment of the annual fees for 2003, a copy of which was attached to the supplement to the application. Although its 2004 report and payments are delinquent and its 2005 reports and payments are due, Northwest expects to have these reports completed and filed by May 31, 2005. It does not expect its total fees, including late filing penalties, will exceed $12,000.

Northwest clarified that although NTIC currently provides only wireless internet services in and around Bakersfield, Kern County, that it needs a California Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to provide CLEC services so that it may gain access to UNE-L circuits, interoffice transport and interconnecting trunking of the California local exchange companies' central office infrastructure. Absent this CLEC authority, it does not believe that it would be able to provide competition to the traditional LEC monopoly in California's most underserved markets.