ALJ/MOD-POD/HSY/tcg Date of Issuance 9/22/2008
Decision 08-09-027 September 18, 2008
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Pacific Bell Telephone Company, a California corporation d/b/a AT&T California (U1001C), Complainant, v. Global NAPs California, Inc. (U6449C), Defendant. |
Case 07-11-018 (Filed November 19, 2007) |
MODIFIED PRESIDING OFFICER'S DECISION FINDING GLOBAL NAPs CALIFORNIA IN BREACH OF INTERCONNECTION AGREEMENT
1. Summary
This decision finds that Global NAPs California (GNAPs) has breached its interconnection agreement with Pacific Bell Telephone Company doing business as AT&T California (AT&T), and owes AT&T the amount of $18,589,494.17 through the December 2007 bill, plus any charges that have accrued since that time.
In 2003, AT&T and GNAPs entered into an interconnection agreement, approved by the Commission in Decision (D.) 02-06-076, to interconnect their networks and exchange traffic. At GNAPs' request, AT&T established trunks to exchange traffic under the agreement, and GNAPs began delivering traffic to AT&T over those trunks. AT&T either terminates the traffic to its own end-user customers, or it hands the traffic off to other local telephone carriers for delivery to their end-user customers. GNAPs has refused to pay for these services on the basis that (1) the Commission lacks jurisdiction to impose access charges for this traffic because it is jurisdictionally interstate; (2) pursuant to the federal regulation commonly referred to as the Enhanced Service Provider (ESP) exemption, the traffic is exempt from access charges; and (3) the charges are inaccurate because they do not reflect the nature of the calls.
In D.07-09-050, the Commission previously addressed and rejected GNAPs' arguments that we lack jurisdiction over this matter by virtue of the nature of the traffic at issue. In D.07-01-004 (modified by D.07-08-031, denying GNAPs' rehearing application), the Commission previously addressed and rejected GNAPs' arguments that the traffic is exempt from charges pursuant to the ESP exemption. The charges billed by AT&T accurately reflect the terms of the interconnection agreement.
We order GNAPs to pay AT&T the amount of $18,589,494.17 through the December 2007 bill, plus any charges that have accrued since that time, for AT&T's termination and transiting of traffic delivered to it by GNAPs.
