ORDER NO. 99-061

ENTERED FEB 16 1999

This is an electronic copy. Appendices and Footnotes may not be included.

Commissioner Joan Smith dissents.

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION

OF OREGON

ARB 9

In the Matter of the Petition of MCImetro Access Transmission Services for Arbitration of Interconnection Rates, Terms, and Conditions with GTE Northwest Incorporated, Pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 252(b). )
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ORDER

DISPOSITION: JOINT PETITION GRANTED; DOCKET REOPENED

On February 4, 1999, MCImetro Access Transmission Services (MCI) and GTE Northwest Incorporated (GTE) filed a joint petition to reopen this docket to consider the United States Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board, __US__ (1999) (Slip Opinion dated January 25, 1999) (AT&T). The parties request that the Commission allow further briefing on the effect of AT&T on the provisions of their interconnection agreement that pertain to combinations of unbundled network elements. Specifically, the parties petition the Commission to:

Rehear the portions of Order No. 98-467 regarding combinations of unbundled network elements that are affected by AT&T;

Set a briefing schedule allowing Opening Briefs 30 days following the date of issuance of this order and Reply Briefs 30 days thereafter;

Allow MCI to withdraw its pending application for reconsideration, without prejudice.

The joint petition is granted. We note that we invited the parties to reopen this docket in the event the Supreme Court issued a decision that affected our decision in Order No. 98-467. That decision, among other things, addresses the recombinations of unbundled network elements.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

The joint petition to rehear the portions of Order No. 98-467 regarding combinations of unbundled network elements affected by the recent United States Supreme Court decision in AT&T is granted;

Parties shall file opening briefs 30 days following the date of issuance of this order and Reply Briefs 30 days thereafter; and

MCI is allowed to withdraw its pending application for reconsideration, without prejudice.

Made, entered, and effective ____________________________.

______________________________
Ron Eachus
Chairman

______________________________
Roger Hamilton
Commissioner

______________________________
Joan H. Smith
Commissioner

 A party may request rehearing or reconsideration of this order pursuant to ORS 756.561. A request for rehearing or reconsideration must be filed with the Commission within 60 days of the date of service of this order. The request must comply with the requirements of OAR 860-014-0095. A copy of any such request must also be served on each party to the proceeding as provided by OAR 860-013-0070. A party may appeal this order to a court pursuant to ORS 756.580.

DISSENT

of

JOAN H. SMITH

February 12, 1999

 I dissent from this order to grant reconsideration in ARB 9 in view of the Supreme Court’s ruling in what is familiarly known as Iowa Utilities Board et.al. v. FCC, notwithstanding our order in UT 138-139 (98-467). The issue of Rule 319 has been remanded to the Eighth Circuit.

In the absence of an FCC decision to the contrary and as long as our actions are not inconsistent with those of the FCC, there is no need to change the decisions in current interconnection agreements.

ARB 9 is not the appropriate venue to parse the Supreme Court decision’s effect on collocation or the treatment of UNEs. We will not shed any new conclusive light on the decision at this juncture.

It seems counter-productive to me to wait six months for "final" disposition in ARB 9. The Joint Petition should not be granted.

______________________

Joan H. Smith

Commissioner