BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion into Competition for Local Exchange Service.	Rulemaking 95-04-043
Order Instituting Investigation on the Commission's Own Motion into Competition for Local Exchange Service.	Investigation 95-04-044

ASSIGNED COMMISSIONER'S RULING

TRANSFERRING SPECIFIC COLLOCATION ISSUES FOR

PACIFIC BELL AND GTE CALIFORNIA INCORPORATED FROM

THE LOCAL COMPETITION PROCEEDING TO THE COLLOCATION

PHASE OF OANAD AND REOPENING OANAD HEARING RECORD

In this ruling, I transfer specific collocation issues in the Local Competition Proceeding, Rulemaking (R.) 95-04-043/Investigation (I.) 95-04-044, to the Collocation Phase of the Open Access and Network Architecture Development (OANAD) proceeding, R.93-04-003/I.93-04-002, so that the Commission can adopt in a single forum cost-based collocation prices and necessary terms and conditions of service for Pacific Bell (Pacific) and GTE California Incorporated (GTEC). I also reopen the OANAD hearing record to allow parties to introduce additional evidence on the new minimum collocation requirements for Pacific and GTEC contained in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) recent First Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Deployment of Wireline Services Offering Advanced Telecommunications Capability, CC Docket No. 98-147 (Advanced Services First Report and Order).

I am providing notice of this ruling to the parties of the Local Competition proceeding as well as parties to the Collocation Phase of OANAD. Parties in the Local Competition proceeding who wish to receive further notice in the Collocation Phase proceeding must write the Commission's Process Office requesting to be added to the service list in the information only category and serve all existing parties with this request. Any party in the Local Competition proceeding wishing full party status in the Collocation Phase of OANAD must enter an appearance at the January 28, 2000 prehearing conference.

Background

On March 31, 1999, the FCC issued significant new rules on collocation in its Advanced Services First Report and Order. In this order, the FCC states that to further facilitate the development of competition in the advanced services market, it is strengthening its collocation rules to reduce the costs and delays faced by competitors that seek to collocate equipment in an incumbent local exchange carrier's (ILEC's) central office; these additional requirements are minimum standards, and permit any state to adopt additional requirements.

I am the assigned Commissioner for two separate proceedings currently addressing collocation issues: costs and prices for Pacific and GTEC are being litigated in the OANAD proceeding, and all other terms and conditions of service are being reviewed in the Local Competition proceeding. Our hearing record in OANAD concluded prior to the FCC's new order and in their reply briefs the two ILECs, Pacific and GTEC, request an opportunity to supplement the record. The third sponsor of a cost model, the Joint Submitters,¹ state that the Commission should proceed with the existing record as its Collocation Cost Model (CCM) meets the FCC's new minimum requirements.

In the Local Competition proceeding, in response to Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Tom Pulsifer's ruling of April 21, 1999, parties filed comments on (1) prospective standards for the provisioning of collocation space on a fair and non-discriminatory basis and (2) whether the Commission needs to adopt or modify its collocation rules to comply with the FCC's Advanced Services First Report and Order. Parties filed their comments on May 21, 1999 and June 11, 1999.