XI. Assignment of Proceeding

Susan P. Kennedy is the Assigned Commissioner and Jeffrey P. O'Donnell is the assigned Administrative Law Judge in this proceeding.

Findings of Fact

1. Notice of the application appeared in the Daily Calendar on January 30, 2004.

2. No protests have been filed.

3. A hearing is not required.

4. In prior decisions the Commission authorized competition in providing interexchange services for carriers meeting specified criteria.

5. In prior decisions the Commission authorized competition, by carriers meeting specified criteria, in providing local exchange telecommunications services within the service territories of Pacific, Verizon, SureWest and CTC.

6. Applicant has a minimum of $100,000 of cash or cash equivalent that is reasonably liquid and readily available to meet its start-up expenses.

7. Applicant has sufficient additional cash or cash equivalent to cover any deposits that may be required by other telecommunications carriers in order to provide the proposed service.

8. Applicant possesses sufficient experience and knowledge to provide telecommunications services.

9. As part of its application, Applicant submitted a draft of its initial tariff that contained the deficiencies identified in Attachment A to this decision. Except for those deficiencies, its draft tariffs complied with the Commission's requirements.

10. Applicant will not be constructing facilities, other than equipment to be installed in existing buildings or structures.

11. Public disclosure of the financial information filed under seal would place Applicant at an unfair business disadvantage.

Conclusions of Law

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

2. Applicant has sufficient technical expertise to operate as a telecommunications carrier.

3. Public convenience and necessity require that Applicant's competitive local exchange and interexchange services be subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein.

4. Since Applicant will not be constructing any facilities, other than equipment to be installed in existing buildings or structures, it can be seen with certainty that there will be no significant effect on the environment.

5. The application should be granted to the extent set forth below.

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

7. Applicant's initial tariff filing should correct the deficiencies in its draft tariffs as indicated in Attachment A to this decision.

8. Applicant's request to file its financial information under seal should be granted for two years.

9. Because of the public interest in competitive local exchange and interexchange services, the following order should be effective immediately.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. A certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) is granted to Neutral Tandem-California, LLC (Applicant) to operate as a limited facilities-based and resale provider of competitive local exchange services, and interexchange services, subject to the terms and conditions set forth below.

2. Applicant is authorized to provide local exchange service in the service territories of Pacific Bell Telephone Company and Verizon California Inc.

3. Applicant is authorized to file tariff schedules for the provision of competitive local exchange and interexchange services with the deficiencies noted in Attachment A corrected. Applicant may not offer services until tariffs are on file. Applicant's initial filing shall be made in accordance with General Order (GO) 96-A, excluding Sections IV, V, and VI. The tariff shall be effective not less than one day after tariff approval by the Commission's Telecommunications Division. Applicant shall comply with its tariffs.

4. The certificate granted, and the authority to render service under the rates, charges, and rules authorized, will expire if not exercised within 12 months after the effective date of this order.

5. The corporate identification number assigned to Applicant, U-6877-C, shall be included in the caption of all original filings with this Commission, and in the titles of other pleadings filed in existing cases.

6. Applicant shall comply with all applicable rules adopted in the Local Exchange Competition proceeding (Rulemaking 95-04-043/Investigation 95-04-044), the Commission's rules and regulations for nondominant interexchange carriers (NDIECs) set forth in Decision (D.) 93-05-010 and D.90-08-032, as well as all other applicable Commission rules, decisions, GOs, and statutes that pertain to California public utilities, subject to the exemptions granted in this decision.

7. Applicant shall comply with the requirements applicable to competitive local exchange carriers and NDIECs included in Attachment B to this decision.

8. Applicant is not authorized to construct facilities, other than equipment to be installed in existing buildings or structures.

9. Applicant's request to have the financial information filed with the application, and on February 13, 2004, kept under seal is granted for two years from the effective date of this decision. During that period the information shall not be made accessible or disclosed to anyone other than the Commission staff except on the 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.

10. If Applicant believes that further protection of the information kept under seal is needed, it may file a motion stating the justification for further withholding of the information from public inspection, or for such other relief as the Commission's rules may then provide. This motion shall be filed no later than one month before the expiration date.

11. This proceeding is closed.

This order is effective today.

Dated July 8, 2004, at San Francisco, California.

ATTACHMENT A

List of deficiencies in tariffs filed by Neutral Tandem-California, LLC in A.04-01-033 to be corrected in its tariff compliance filing.

(END OF ATTACHMENT A)

REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO COMPETITIVE LOCAL EXCHANGE CARRIERS AND NON-DOMINANT 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 fee 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 zero.

a. The current 1.10% 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-16795, dated December 18, 2003, effective January 1, 2004);

b. The current 0.30% 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 Relay Service and Communications Devices Fund (Pub. Util. Code § 2881; D.98-12-073 and Resolution T-16816, dated January 22, 2004, effective February 1, 2004);

c. The user fee provided in Pub. Util. Code §§ 431-435, which is 0.11% of gross intrastate revenue for the 2003-2004 fiscal year (Resolution M-4810);

d. The current 0.17% 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-16793, dated December 18, 2003, effective January 1, 2004);

e. The current 2.20% 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 California High Cost Fund-B (D.96-10-066, p. 191, App. B, Rule 6.F., Resolution T-16794, dated December 18, 2003, effective January 1, 2004); and

f. The current 0.0% 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-16782, dated December 18, 2003).

3. Applicant is a competitive local exchange carrier (CLC). The effectiveness of its future tariffs is subject to the schedules set forth in Appendix C, Section 4.E of D.95-12-056:

"E. CLCs shall be subject to the following tariff and contract filing, revision and service pricing standards:

    "(1) Uniform rate reductions for existing tariff services shall become effective on five (5) working days' notice. Customer notification is not required for rate decreases.

    "(2) Uniform major rate increases for existing tariff services shall become effective on thirty (30) days' notice to the Commission, and shall require bill inserts, or first class mail notice to customers at least 30 days in advance of the pending rate increase.

    "(3) Uniform minor rate increases, as defined in D.90-11-029, shall become effective on not less than (5) working days' notice to the Commission. Customer notification is not required for such minor rate increases.

    "(4) Advice letter filings for new services and for all other types of tariff revisions, except changes in text not affecting rates or relocations of text in the tariff schedules, shall become effective on forty (40) days' notice.

    "(5) Advice letter filings revising the text or location of text material which do not result in an increase in any rate or charge shall become effective on not less than five (5) days' notice to the Commission."

    "(6) Contracts shall be subject to GO 96-A rules for NDIECS, except interconnection contracts.

    "(7) CLCs shall file tariffs in accordance with PU Code § 876."

4. Applicant is a nondominant interexchange carrier (NDIEC). The effectiveness of its future NDIEC tariffs is subject to the schedules set forth in Ordering Paragraph 5 of D.90-08-032 (37 CPUC2d 130 at 158), as modified by D.91-12-013 (42 CPUC2d 220 at 231) and D.92-06-034 (44 CPUC2d 617 at 618):

5. Applicant may deviate from the following provisions of GO 96-A: (a) paragraph II.C.(1)(b), which requires consecutive sheet numbering and prohibits the reuse of sheet numbers; and (b) paragraph II.C.(4), which requires that "a separate sheet or series of sheets should be used for each rule." Tariff filings incorporating these deviations shall be subject to the approval of the Commission's Telecommunications Division. 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 phone number 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 Telecommunications 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 Telecommunications 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.4

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 Telecommunications 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 Telecommunications Division, in compliance with D.93-02-019, on a calendar year basis using the form 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 Telecommunications 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, the Telecommunications Division shall prepare for Commission consideration a resolution that revokes Applicant's CPCN unless it has received written permission from the Telecommunications Division to file or remit late.

17. Applicant is exempt from General Order 96-A, subsections III.G(1) and (2), and Commission Rule of Practice and Procedure 18(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 Telecommunications 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 hard copy, and a machine-readable electronic copy, on a CD or floppy disk using Microsoft Word or a compatible format, shall be filed with the California Public Utilities Commission, 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 3107, San Francisco, CA 94102-3298. The filing shall be made 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:

1. Exact legal name and U # of reporting utility.

2. Address.

3. Name, title, address, and telephone number of the person to be contacted concerning the reported information.

4. Name and title of the officer having custody of the general books of account and the address of the office where such books are kept.

5. Type of organization (e.g., corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.).

6. The number and date of the Commission decision granting the Utility's CPCN.

7. Date operations were begun.

8. Description of other business activities in which the utility is engaged.

9. A list of all affiliated companies and their relationship to the utility. State if affiliate is:

10. Balance sheet as of December 31st of the year for which information is submitted.

11. Income statement for California operations for the calendar year for which information is submitted.

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;

· 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 tariffed 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 no 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)

4 California is divided into ten 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.

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