NEWS 
Report No. CC 97-19        COMMON CARRIER ACTION             April 18, 1997

            COMMISSION AFFIRMS ITS NEW ENGLAND PREEMPTION ORDER
                              (CCB Pol 96-11)

       The Commission has affirmed its decision to preempt, under sections 253(d) and 276
of the Communications Act, enforcement of the Connecticut Department of Public Utility
Control (DPUC) Decision prohibiting all entities except incumbent and certified local
exchange carriers (LECs) from providing pay telephone service in Connecticut.  

       In the New England Preemption Order, New England Public Communications Council
Petition for Preemption Pursuant to Section 253, Memorandum Opinion and Order, CCB Pol
96-11, FCC 96-470 (rel. Dec. 10, 1996), the Commission found that the DPUC Decision
conflicted with the pro-competitive policies of  the Communications Act and violated section
253(a) of the Act by barring independent payphone providers from offering interstate or
intrastate payphone service in the state of Connecticut.  The Commission also found that the
DPUC Decision did not fall within the protected class of state regulation described in section
253(b), because it is neither competitively neutral nor necessary to protect consumers.

       On reconsideration, the Commission affirmed its decision that the DPUC violates
section 253(a) of the Act.  With but one exception, the petition for reconsideration raised no
new arguments that were not fully discussed and rejected in the New England Preemption
Order.  The one new argument raised by petitioner was that the Commission's construction of
the term "necessary" in section 253(b) conflicts with congressional intent by allegedly
requiring states to use the least restrictive alternative when regulating telecommunications
services to safeguard the rights of consumers.  The Commission disagreed with this
interpretation and found that the petitioner had misconstrued the New England Preemption
Order.  Finally, the Commission noted that the petition for reconsideration did not address the
Commission's decision to preempt the DPUC Decision, on independent grounds, as
inconsistent with section 276 and the Commission's implementing rules.

       Action by the Commission April 18, 1997, by Memorandum Opinion and Order (FCC
97-143). Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Ness, and Chong.

                                   -FCC-

       News media contact: Rochelle Cohen at (202) 418-0253.
       Common Carrier Bureau contact:  Alex Starr at (202) 418-1580.