2. Background

Applicant is authorized by D.04-03-032 to provide limited facilities-based and resold local exchange and interexchange telecommunications services in California.

Applicant filed Application (A.) 07-07-010 on July 13, 2007, requesting authority to discontinue the provision of regulated, circuit-switched, facilities-based local exchange and interexchange telecommunications services to customers in 21 Southern California cities. Notice of the application appeared on the Commission's Daily Calendar on July 27, 2007. There were no protests to the application; however, Pacific Bell Telephone Company (dba AT&T California) and Verizon California Inc. (Verizon) filed responses on July 30 and August 2, 2007, respectively.

AT&T California volunteered to be designated as a default carrier for those areas in which it provides local exchange service. AT&T California urged the Commission to afford it reasonable recovery of extraordinary costs associated with a mass migration, and flexibility in the migration deadlines. Verizon stated that it was willing to accept any customers who chose to initiate service with it, but was not willing to be designated a default carrier. On August 10, 2007, TWCIS filed a consolidated reply to the responses. On September 11, 2007, TWCIS amended its consolidated reply to the responses.

Applicant seeks leave to discontinue the provision of regulated, circuit-switched, facilities-based local exchange and interexchange telecommunications to 10,444¹ customers in portions of 21 Southern California cities. Applicant requested expedited treatment of its application so that it could discontinue service on or before October 18, 2007, but it extended the transition period for the migration of its customers to the proposed default carriers until March 1, 2008.²

¹ The Application states that approximately 40,000 customers would be affected. However, Applicant subsequently informed the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in its February 6, 2008 progress report that, as of February 4, 2008, 5,265 customers would be affected. 2,754 customers are in Verizon territory, 2,285 customers are in AT&T California territory and 226 are in Playa Vista.

² TWCIS Amended Consolidated Reply at 1.