VI. Conclusion

While we regret VSSI's change in business plan to withdraw from offering bundled service to its residential and business customers, we recognize that our rules for competitive carriers provide the flexibility for it do so, subject to proper measures to notify customers in advance and to assist them in transferring smoothly to another carrier.

We will, therefore, grant the application of VSSI to withdraw from providing local service subject to the terms and conditions outlined below. We generally approve of the plans that have been made for the ILECs to accept all transferred customers subject to the ILECs' existing rights of termination after proper notice. VSSI's withdrawal may become effective only after VSSI provides customers proper notice of the Commission-authorized date for service to terminate and the information necessary to permit them to make the best informed choice concerning alternative service providers. Customers shall be given a minimum of 30 days from the date of notification to terminate their OneSource service and to find another carrier. VSSI shall be authorized to withdraw from the provision of bundled local service 30 days after it has mailed notification to customers of the Commission's approval granted herein for its service to terminate.

We will require VSSI to send a notice within 10 days of this order to all of its current customers. VSSI shall seek approval of the Commission's Public Advisor's office on the appropriate language for the notice. VSSI shall send confirmation to the assigned ALJ certifying that the notices have properly been sent as directed. On the condition that VSSI has complied with proper notice requirements and the other terms as set forth in this decision, VSSI will be authorized to withdraw from offering local service.

We will also require VSSI to take appropriate steps to make restitution to those customers that prematurely switched to a more expensive or inferior service alternative based on the mistaken belief that their service would be cut off by March 19, 2001. We will require VSSI to contact those former customers that switched to another carrier after receiving notices directing them to switch by March 19, 2001. VSSI shall seek concurrence of the Commission's Public Advisor regarding the language to appear in the notice. No later than 10 days following the effective date of this order, VSSI shall mail notification to prior customers informing them that they are entitled to request restitution from VSSI if they terminated their OneSource service prematurely under the impression that they had to do so by March 19, 2001 in response to VSSI's prior notices. Former customers shall be given 20 days following receipt of the notice in which to reply to VSSI. We will require VSSI to reimburse those former customers that respond to the notice, compensating them for the difference between what they would have paid under the OneSource bundled service versus what they had to pay for replacement service from an alternative provider. The reimbursement shall cover the period beginning with the date the customer terminated VSSI service through the date that VSSI service is authorized to end pursuant to this decision. VSSI shall file a compliance report with the Commission no later than June 29, 2001, confirming its compliance with the customer restitution as prescribed in this order.

While we grant VSSI's application to withdraw from service subject to the terms of this order, we take such action reluctantly. We are not pleased that carriers such as VSSI seek to withdraw from the local market, and we regret the loss in competitive options that customers will experience as a result. We recognize, however, that competitors cannot be forced to enter or continue indefinitely to serve in markets where they do not find it economically feasible to do so. Rather, the longer term solution is to continue to develop policies that provide economic incentives for competition to thrive so that carriers will seek to enter local markets and continue to serve those markets, particularly in residential and small business communities. In any event, VSSI customers will still be assured of continued service provisioned through the COLR if no other competitive options are available.

While VSSI has requested authority to withdraw from providing local service, VSSI seeks to retain its previously granted CPCN local authority so that it may reenter the local market at a future date utilizing a different platform. We decline to permit VSSI to retain its CPCN local authority while discontinuing all local service to its customers. VSSI cannot have it both ways. CPCN entry authorization routinely expires if not exercised within 12 months of the date of authorization. In the case of VSSI, its CPCN local authority was granted several years ago. VSSI provides no firm commitment or schedule by which it proposes to reenter the local market nor the terms under which it would propose to reenter. We find no justification to provide an open-ended license for VSSI to return to the local market whenever (or if) it so chooses.

Therefore, we will revoke VSSI's local exchange authority previously granted under its CPCN to become effective upon the final termination of its bundled OneSource service and the transfer of its last customer. When, or if, VSSI seeks to reenter the local exchange market, it shall file a new application and comply with all applicable CPCN certification rules in effect at that time. We will permit VSSI to continue offer long distance service as it has requested. Customers should not be subjected to any further forced service changes that might otherwise result from revocation of VSSI's long distance authority.