Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
[Comment: For dates of references to a section of either the
United States Code or a regulation in the Code of Federal Regulations, see rule
4901:1-7-02 of the
Administrative Code.]
(A) Processing
requests for interconnection
(1) Any request
for an interconnection arrangement pursuant to
47 U.S.C.
251 and
252 must be submitted via
facsimile, overnight mail, e-mail, or hand-delivery to the appropriate
personnel or division within the providing telephone company's organization in
charge of negotiating interconnection arrangements between telephone companies.
The requesting telephone company must also notify simultaneously the chief of
the
regulatory utility services division of the rates
and analysis department of the commission.
(2) At any point in time during the
negotiation, any party to the negotiation may ask the commission to participate
in the negotiation and to mediate any differences arising during the course of
the negotiation, pursuant to rule
4901:1-7-08 of the
Administrative Code.
(3) An
incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) shall make available without
unreasonable delay to any requesting telephone company any agreement in its
entirety to which the ILEC is a party that is approved by the commission
pursuant to 47 U.S.C.
252(i), upon the same rates,
terms, and conditions as those provided in the agreement and pursuant to
47 C.F.R.
51.809.
(4) Negotiated interconnection agreements
shall be effective upon filing. The agreement shall be approved pursuant to the
ninety-day process set forth in paragraph (D)(2) of this rule.
(B) Requests for the negotiation
of an amendment to an existing interconnection arrangement
(1) A bona fide request (BFR) for
interconnection may be used to request an interconnection arrangement, service,
or unbundled network element that is subsequent to, unique, or in addition to
an existing interconnection agreement and is to be added as an amendment to the
underlying interconnection agreement.
(2) All amendments of an existing, approved
interconnection agreement must be filed within ten calendar days of its
execution and filed with the commission as a negotiated agreement
(NAG).
(3) Interconnection
agreement amendments shall be effective upon filing. The amendment to the
agreement shall be approved pursuant to the ninety-day process set forth in
paragraph (D)(2) of this rule.
(C) Process for the negotiation of subsequent
interconnection agreements
(1) Parties shall
negotiate the rates, terms, and conditions of subsequent interconnection
arrangements in accordance with the terms of their existing interconnection
agreement. Both parties to the existing interconnection agreement shall notify
the chief of the
regulatory utility services
division of the rates and analysis department of the commission when
negotiations of a subsequent interconnection agreement have
commenced.
(2) A party to an
existing interconnection agreement may seek arbitration of a subsequent
interconnection agreement pursuant to the arbitration rules set forth in rule
4901:1-7-09 of the
Administrative Code.
(3) Subsequent
interconnection agreements, whether adopted through negotiation or arbitration,
shall be docketed as a new case within ten calendar days of signing.
(4) The subsequent interconnection agreement
shall be effective upon filing. The subsequent interconnection agreement shall
be approved pursuant to the ninety-day process set forth in paragraph (D)(2) of
this rule.
(D)
Interconnection agreement approval process
(1)
Title 47 U.S.C.
252(e)(2)(A), limits the
legal test to be applied to the approval of negotiated interconnection
agreements to whether (a) the agreement (or portion thereof) is discriminatory
against another telephone company, and (b) whether the implementation of such
agreement is in the public interest.
(2) In light of the limited legal test set
forth in 47 U.S.C.
252(e)(2)(A), all negotiated
interconnection agreements, all executed adoptions of existing interconnection
agreements under 47 U.S.C.
252(i), all negotiated
subsequent interconnection agreements, and all amendments to such agreements
shall be approved pursuant to the ninety-day process set forth in
47 U.S.C.
252(e)(4). All arbitrated
agreements shall be approved pursuant to the thirty-day process set forth in
47 U.S.C.
252(e)(4).
(E) BFR fee
A providing telephone company is entitled to recover costs
associated with the evaluation of a unique request for interconnection,
examination of facilities for special arrangements, and technical and economic
feasibility assessments. If the BFR fee exceeds five hundred dollars, the
providing telephone company must allow, upon request by the requesting
telephone company, payment of that fee over no more than twelve months whether
or not the requesting telephone company proceeds with the request. The
commission, through the arbitration process, will resolve disputes concerning
the amount of the BFR fee. The BFR fee shall be subject to commission review
and approval.
