Selection of a Default Carrier
When there is no arranged carrier and customers have not selected a new carrier in a reasonable period of time, the Commission may require that a default carrier provide service.25 CLECs and incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) willing to serve as the default carrier must file a response within 15 days of the filing of the application and exit plan. Prospective default carriers must also note if they have any limitations on service, either by geographic area or type of service. The selected default carrier must be in compliance with Commission rules and regulations, and be able to serve the entire geographic service area of the exiting CLEC (with preference given to carriers that provide the type of service provided by the exiting carrier).
If no carrier volunteers, the default carrier will either be the underlying network service provider, the carrier of last resort26 in the area being served, or a carrier that offers the same type of service as the exiting carrier, if the replacement carrier has the facilities to serve some or all of the exiting carrier's remaining customers.
On December 5, 2007, AT&T California filed a response to A.07-11-014, requesting designation as the default carrier for Applicant's customers in its franchise territory. No other carrier has volunteered to serve Applicant's customers, and no party has opposed the request. The CD recommends that AT&T California be designated the default carrier for Applicant's customers in its franchise territory. AT&T California is a COLR in the area where Applicant's affected customers are located, offers similar services to those of Applicant, and has facilities to serve Applicant's remaining customers.
Designating a default carrier is necessary because some of Applicant's customers have not yet selected a new carrier. As a result, on February 8, 2008, the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued a ruling designating AT&T California as the default carrier for Applicant's remaining customers. We affirm the ALJ's ruling.
In this situation, discontinuance of circuit-switched service and initiation of VoIP service, the technical specifics of customer transfer to the default carrier differs from the technical specifics of transfer to the typical default carrier. The Guidelines seek to facilitate "the seamless transfer of end users when their carrier exits the market."27 In most instances, the customer transfer can occur regardless of the customer's failure to advise the exiting carrier of its wishes. Here, the technical requirements of discontinuing Comcast Phone-CA's circuit- switched service and continuing with AT&T California, the digital phone affiliate, or any other alternative carrier necessitates a "break" in the transfer. To minimize the impact of this break, Applicant has entered into an agreement with AT&T California to observe the following customer discontinuance procedures.28
On March 15, 2008, Applicant shall be distributing the current 30-day joint notice prior to discontinuance, as required by the Commission, to its existing customers. Applicant will initiate soft dial tone29 in two installments. Under the two-installment process,30 Applicant will place half of its customers on soft dial tone on Day 1 of the discontinuance process, and place the remaining half on soft dial tone one week later.31 To assist in expediting any transfers of service, Applicant has agreed to provide AT&T California a list of remaining customers. The two have further agreed that AT&T California may, should it choose to, contact these customers to offer service.32
The agreement also provides that as the default carrier, AT&T California will not be required to contact Applicant's customers in order to offer them new service. Instead, Applicant's customers will secure new service by contacting the default carrier, or any other service provider they choose. Applicant states that when any customer placed on soft dial tone calls it and indicates that he or she wants to have AT&T California service initiated, it will provide the customer with AT&T California's customer service telephone number.
The third-party verification requirements of Pub. Util. Code § 2889.5 do not apply to Applicant's customer base transferred to AT&T California in this mass migration.
25 The Commission may require compensation for the default carrier under some circumstances.
26 A carrier of last resort (COLR) is a public utility that is obligated to serve all the customers in a service area who request service. D.96-10-066 designated all ILECs as COLRs and established a process for designating CLECs to become COLRs.
27 D.06-10-021, mimeo. at p. 19.
28 The agreement, memorialized in a March 4, 2008 letter to the assigned ALJ, is attached to this decision as Appendix.
29 Customers would have only the ability to make 911 calls and 611 calls to Applicant's customer service.
30 Applicant plans on sending customers a further notice after March 10, since it will initiate the process in two installments, informing them when they will actually be placed on soft dial tone.
31 Applicant and AT&T California have agreed to an alternative process if the projections on March 15, 2008 indicate that there will be significantly more than 1,500 customers remaining on the network as of April 15, 2008. If there are significantly more than 1,500 existing customers, the two have agreed to meet and confer and utilize a process that would place 200 customers per day on soft dial tone.
32 Applicant and AT&T California have determined that this customer list will be provided upon the mailing of the current 30-day joint notice, and thereafter, on a weekly basis.
