II. Background
On November 24, 1998, the Commission issued Decision (D.) 98-11-073, by which it granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to Global Photon Systems, Inc. (U-6090-C), to operate as a facilities-based carrier providing interLATA and intraLATA services in California.2 On June 22, 1999, the Commission issued D.99-06-076 by which it granted similar approval to Global West Network, Inc. (U-6194-C), a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Photon Systems. Both applicants, classified as non-dominant interexchange carriers, were eligible for and used the registration process established by the Commission to obtain their CPCNs.
On June 2, 2000, applicants applied for modification of their CPCNs to permit construction of an undersea and terrestrial fiber optic telecommunications network. In accordance with Rule 17.1 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, applicants submitted as their Proponent's Environmental Assessment (PEA) three volumes containing the final EIR performed by SLC and adopted by SLC on April 20, 2000. No protests were filed to this application. On July 7, 2000, applicants amended their application to provide further information indicating they had satisfied Commission Rule 17.1(f) regarding public notice of the Draft and Final EIRs. On July 28, 2000, applicants further amended their application to provide certain financial information required by Commission Rules 18(f) and 18(g).
2 California is divided into 10 Local Access and Transport Areas (LATA) of various sizes, each containing numerous local telephone exchanges. "InterLATA" describes services, revenues, and functions that relate to telecommunications originating in one LATA and terminating in another. "IntraLATA" describes services, revenues, and functions that relate to telecommunications originating and terminating within a single LATA.
