ALJ/SRT/jva Mailed 2/11/2005

Decision 05-02-004 February 10, 2005

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Application of Pacific Bell Telephone Company (U 1001 C) d/b/a SBC California for Expedited Dispute Resolution of a Right-of-Way Agreement with Roseville Telephone Company Pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 224(c) and Decision 98-10-058.

Application 03-10-039 (Filed October 15, 2003)

OPINION ADOPTING FINAL ARBITRATOR'S REPORT

I. Summary

This decision adopts a Final Arbitrator's Report (FAR) setting telephone pole and conduit rates to be paid by Pacific Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a SBC California (SBC) to SureWest Telephone, formerly known as Roseville Telephone (SureWest). It also approves the full pole and conduit agreement (entitled Support Structure Use Agreement) prepared and filed by the parties to this arbitration, which incorporates the FAR results.

This case was arbitrated under rules we established in Decision (D.) 98-10-058. The Arbitrator resolved the three disputes that remained between the parties when they filed for dispute resolution, as follows:

1. Whether to include SureWest's costs for general support facilities (GSF) in the calculation of pole and conduit rates. Resolution: The Arbitrator declined to include GSF costs in pole and conduit rates as SureWest proposed. Instead, she allowed SureWest to charge pole and conduit rates according to the methodology developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which still allows SureWest recovery of administrative costs.

2. How to divide the annual cost of pole ownership among pole attachers when setting pole rates. Resolution: The Arbitrator adopted SBC's proposed means of calculating the percentage of the pole it uses, and counted SBC as an attacher for purposes of calculating pole rates.

3. Whether SBC's own competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) should be permitted to use an interoffice fiber facility constructed by the SBC incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC). Resolution: The Arbitrator allowed the SBC CLEC to use the interoffice facility.

We find that the Arbitrator's findings are supported by the record and applicable law and should be upheld in their entirety. Therefore, we adopt the FAR, attached hereto as Appendix A, for the reasons set forth therein. We also adopt the parties' Support Structure Use Agreement (Appendix B hereto), which incorporates the Arbitrator's findings.¹