14. Assignment of Proceeding

Timothy Alan Simon is the assigned Commissioner and W. Anthony Colbert is the assigned ALJ in this proceeding.

Findings of Fact

1. Notice of the application appeared on the Daily Calendar on February 3, 2011. No protests have been filed. A hearing is not required.

2. Applicant has a minimum of $25,000 of cash or cash equivalent that is reasonably liquid and readily available to meet its start-up expenses.

3. Applicant currently has deposit agreements with other telecommunication carriers and has sufficient additional cash or cash equivalent to cover additional obligations that they may require in order to provide the proposed service.

4. Applicant's management possesses sufficient experience, knowledge, and technical expertise to provide local exchange and interexchange telecommunications services to the public.

5. No one associated with or employed by Applicant as an affiliate, officer, director, partner, or owner of more than 10% was previously associated with a telecommunications carrier that filed for bankruptcy, or was sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission or any state regulatory agency for failure to comply with any regulatory statute, rule, or order.

6. No one associated with or employed by it as an affiliate, officer, director, partner, or owner of more than 10% of the Applicant was previously associated with any telecommunications carrier that has been found either civilly or criminally liable by a court of appropriate jurisdiction for a violation of § 17000, et seq. of the California Business and Professions Code, or for any actions which involved misrepresentations to consumers, nor is currently under investigation for similar violations.

7. Applicant has provided a map of the location of its proposed service territory.

8. Applicant has provided an estimate of its customer base for the first and fifth year of operation.

9. Applicant does not propose to construct any facilities.

10. Applicant has filed a motion for leave to file confidential financial information under seal.

Conclusions of Law

1. Applicant should be granted a CPCN to provide resold competitive local exchange and interexchange telecommunications services in the service territories of AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, and SureWest, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Ordering Paragraphs.

2. Applicant has the financial ability to provide the proposed service.

3. Applicant, once granted a CPCN, should be subject to the applicable Commission rules, decisions, General Orders, and statutes that pertain to California public utilities.

4. Applicant should be granted non-dominant carrier status, subject to Commission rules and regulations as detailed in D.85-01-008 and modified in D.85-07-081 and D.85-11-044.

5. Since Applicant does not propose to construct any facilities, it can be seen with certainty that granting it authority to provide local exchange services will not have a significant adverse effect upon the environment.

6. Applicant's motion to file material under seal should be granted, material under seal should not be made accessible or disclosed to anyone other than the Commission and its staff for two years, except upon further order or ruling of the Commission, the assigned Commissioner, the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), or the ALJ then designated as Law and Motion Judge.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. A Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity is granted to Network Billing Systems, LLC, to provide resold competitive local exchange and interexchange telecommunications services in the service territories of Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California, Verizon California Inc., Citizens Telecommunications Company of California, Inc, d/b/a/ Frontier Communications Company of California, and SureWest Telephone, subject to the terms and conditions set forth below.

2. The corporate identification number assigned to Network Billing Systems, LLC, U6067C must be included in the caption of all original filings with this Commission, and in the titles of other pleadings filed in existing cases.

3. In addition to all the requirements applicable to competitive local exchange carriers and interexchange carriers included in Attachments B, C, and D to this decision, Applicant is subject to the Consumer Protection Rules contained in General Order 168, and all applicable Commission rules, decisions, General Orders, and statutes that pertain to California public utilities.

4. Applicant is a non-dominant carrier, subject to the Commission rules and regulations as detailed in Decision (D.) 85-01-008 and modified in D.85-07-081 and D.85-11-044.

5. Applicant must file, in this docket, a written acceptance of the certificate granted in this proceeding within 30 days of the effective date of this order.

6. Applicant must annually pay the user fee and public purpose surcharges specified in Attachment B. Per the instructions in Exhibit E to Decision 00-10-028, the Combined California Public Utilities Commission Telephone Surcharge Transmittal Form must be submitted even if the amount due is $0. Under Public Utilities Code Section 405, carriers that are in default of reporting and submitting user fees for a period of 30 days or more will be subject to penalties including suspension or revocation of their authority to operate in California. Therefore, carriers must report user fees even if the amount due is $0.

7. Prior to initiating service, Applicant must provide the Commission's Consumer Affairs Branch with the name and address of its designated contact person(s) for purposes of resolving consumer complaints. This information must be updated if the name or telephone number changes, or at least annually.

8. Applicant must notify the Director of the Communications Division in writing of the date that local exchange service is first rendered to the public, no later than five days after service first begins.

9. Applicant must file an affiliate transaction report with the Director of the Communications Division, in compliance with Decision 93-02-019, on a calendar-year basis with the information contained in Attachment D.

10. Applicant must file an annual report with the Director of the Communications Division, in compliance with General Order 104-A, on a calendar-year basis with the information contained in Attachment C to this decision.

11. Applicant must file a tariff within 12 months of the effective date of this order, or its certificate will be cancelled.

12. Applicant's request to file materials under seal is granted. Materials under seal shall not be made accessible or disclosed to anyone other than the Commission and its staff for two years, except upon further order or ruling of the Commission, the assigned Commissioner, the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), or the ALJ then designated as Law and Motion Judge. If Applicant believes that it is necessary for this information to remain under seal for longer than two years, Applicant shall file a motion stating the justification for further withholding this information from public inspection. This motion shall be filed at least 30 days before the expiration of that two-year period granted by this order.

13. Application 11-01-026 is closed.

This order is effective today.

Dated September 8, 2011, at San Francisco, California.

ATTACHMENT A

List of deficiencies in tariff filed by Network Billing Systems, LLC, in A.11-01-026 to be corrected in its tariff compliance filing.

ATTACHMENT B

REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO COMPETITIVE LOCAL EXCHANGE CARRIERS AND INTEREXCHANGE CARRIERS

1. Applicant shall file, in this docket, a written acceptance of the certificate granted in this proceeding within 30 days of the effective date of this order.

2. Applicant is subject to the following fees and surcharges that must be regularly remitted. Per the instructions in Appendix E to Decision (D.) 00-10-028, the Combined California PUC Telephone Surcharge Transmittal Form must be submitted even if the amount due is $0.

a. The current 1.15% surcharge applicable to all intrastate services except for those excluded by D.94-09-065, as modified by D.95-02-050, to fund the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund (Pub. Util. Code § 879; Resolution T-17071, dated March 1, 2007, effective April 1, 2007);

b. The current 0.20% surcharge applicable to all intrastate services except for those excluded by D.94-09-065, as modified by D.95-02-050, to fund the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (Pub. Util. Code § 2881; D.98-12-073 and Resolution T-17127, dated December 20, 2007, effective January 1, 2008);

c. The user fee provided in Pub. Util. Code §§ 431-435, which is 0.18% of gross intrastate revenue (Resolution M-4819), dated June 7, 2007, effective July 1, 2007;

d. The current 0.00% surcharge applicable to all intrastate services except for those excluded by D.94-09-065, as modified by D.95-02-050, to fund the California High Cost Fund-A (Pub. Util. Code § 739.3; D.96-10-066, pp. 3-4, App. B, Rule 1.C; Resolution T-17299, dated November 19, 2010, effective December 1, 2010;

e. The current 0.300% surcharge applicable to all intrastate services except for those excluded by D.94-09-065, as modified by D.95-02-050, to fund the California High Cost Fund-B (D.96-10-066, p. 191, App. B, Rule 6.F.; D.07-12-054); Resolution T-17311, dated March 24, 2011, effective May 1, 2011;

f. The current 0.00% surcharge applicable to all intrastate services except for those excluded by D.94-09-065, as modified by D.95-02-050, to fund the California Advanced Services Fund (D.07-12-054); Resolution T-17248, dated December 17, 2009, effective January 1, 2010; and

g. The current 0.079% surcharge applicable to all intrastate services except for those excluded by D.94-09-065, as modified by D.95-02-050, to fund the California Teleconnect Fund (D.96-10-066, p. 88, App. B, Rule 8.G, Resolution T-17142, dated April 24, 2008, effective June 1, 2008).

Note: These fees change periodically. In compliance with Resolution T-16901, December 2, 2004, Applicant should check the joint tariff for surcharges and fees filed by Pacific Bell Telephone Company (dba AT&T California) and apply the current surcharge and fee amounts in that joint tariff on end-user charges until further revised.

3. Applicant is a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC). The effectiveness of its future tariffs is subject to the requirements of General Order 96-B and the Telecommunications Industry Rules (D.07-09-019).

4. Applicant is a non-dominant interexchange carrier (NDIEC). The effectiveness of its future NDIEC tariffs is subject to the requirements of General Order 96-B and the Telecommunications Industry Rules (D.07-09-019).

5. Tariff filings shall reflect all fees and surcharges to which Applicant is subject, as reflected in 2 above.

6. Applicant shall file a service area map as part of its initial tariff.

7. Prior to initiating service, Applicant shall provide the Commission's Consumer Affairs Branch with the name and address of its designated contact person(s) for purposes of resolving consumer complaints. This information shall be updated if the name or telephone number changes, or at least annually.

8. Applicant shall notify the Director of the Communications Division in writing of the date that local exchange service is first rendered to the public, no later than five days after service first begins.

9. Applicant shall notify the Director of the Communications Division in writing of the date interLATA service is first rendered to the public within five days after service begins, and again within five days after intraLATA service begins.5

10. Applicant shall keep its books and records in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

11. In the event Applicant's books and records are required for inspection by the Commission or its staff, it shall either produce such records at the Commission's offices or reimburse the Commission for the reasonable costs incurred in having Commission staff travel to its office.

12. Applicant shall file an annual report with the Director of the Communications Division, in compliance with GO 104-A, on a calendar-year basis with the information contained in Attachment C to this decision.

13. Applicant shall file an affiliate transaction report with the Director of the Communications Division, in compliance with D.93-02-019, on a calendar-year basis with the information contained in Attachment D.

14. Applicant shall ensure that its employees comply with the provisions of Public Utilities (Pub. Util.) Code § 2889.5 regarding solicitation of customers.

15. Within 60 days of the effective date of this order, Applicant shall comply with Pub. Util. Code § 708, Employee Identification Cards, and notify the Director of the Communications Division in writing of its compliance.

16. If Applicant is 90 days or more late in filing an annual report, or in remitting the surcharges and fee listed in 2 above, and has not received written permission from the Communications Division to file or remit late, the Communications Division shall prepare for Commission consideration a resolution that revokes Applicant's CPCN.

17. Applicant is exempt from Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure 3.1(b).

18. Applicant is exempt from Pub. Util. Code §§ 816-830.

19. Applicant is exempt from the requirements of Pub. Util. Code § 851 for the transfer or encumbrance of property whenever such transfer or encumbrance serves to secure debt.

20. If Applicant decides to discontinue service or file for bankruptcy, it shall immediately notify the Communications Division's Bankruptcy Coordinator.

21. Applicant shall send a copy of this decision to concerned local permitting agencies not later than 30 days from the date of this order.

(END OF ATTACHMENT B)

ATTACHMENT C

ANNUAL REPORT

An original and a machine readable, copy using Microsoft Word or compatible format shall be filed with the California Public Utilities Commission, State Office Building, 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 3107, San Francisco, CA 94102-3298, no later than
March 31st of the year following the calendar year for which the annual report is submitted.

Failure to file this information on time may result in a penalty as provided for in §§ 2107 and 2108 of the Public Utilities Code.

Required information:

For answers to any questions concerning this report, call (415) 703-2883.

(END OF ATTACHMENT C)

ATTACHMENT D

CALENDAR YEAR AFFILIATE TRANSACTION REPORT

1. Each utility shall list and provide the following information for each affiliated entity and regulated subsidiary that the utility had during the period covered by the annual Affiliate Transaction report.

· Form of organization (e.g., corporation, partnership, joint venture, strategic alliance, etc.);

· Brief description of business activities engaged in;

· Relationship to the utility (e.g., controlling corporation, subsidiary, regulated subsidiary, affiliate);

· Ownership of the utility (including type and percent ownership);

· Voting rights held by the utility and percent; and

· Corporate officers.

2. The utility shall prepare and submit a corporate organization chart showing any and all corporate relationships between the utility and its affiliated entities and regulated subsidiaries in #1 above. The chart should have the controlling corporation (if any) at the top of the chart; the utility and any subsidiaries and/or affiliates of the controlling corporation in the middle levels of the chart and all secondary subsidiaries and affiliates (e.g., a subsidiary that in turn is owned by another subsidiary and/or affiliate) in the lower levels. Any regulated subsidiary should be clearly noted.

3. For a utility that has individuals who are classified as "controlling corporations" of the competitive utility, the utility must only report under the requirements of #1 and #2 above any affiliated entity that either (a) is a public utility or (b) transacts any business with the utility filing the annual report excluding the provision of tariff services.

4. Each annual report must be signed by a corporate officer of the utility stating under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California (CCP 2015.5) that the annual report is complete and accurate with no material omissions.

5. Any required material that a utility is unable to provide must be reasonably described and the reasons the data cannot be obtained, as well as the efforts expended to obtain the information, must be set forth in the utility's annual Affiliate Transaction Report and verified in accordance with Section I-F of Decision 93-02-019.

6. Utilities that do not have affiliated entities must file, in lieu of the annual transaction report, an annual statement to the Commission stating that the utility had no affiliated entities during the report period. This statement must be signed by a corporate officer of the utility, stating under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California (CCP 2015.5) that the annual report is complete and accurate with no material omissions.

(END OF ATTACHMENT D)

5 California is divided into 10 Local Access and Transport Areas (LATAs), each containing numerous local telephone exchanges. InterLATA describes services, revenues and functions relating to telecommunications originating within one LATA and terminating in another LATA. IntraLATA describes services, revenues and functions relating to telecommunications originating within a single LATA.

Previous PageTop Of PageGo To First Page