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                         NOTICE


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$// MO&O, GTE Ext. of equal access waiver, DA 95-427 //$
$/ 47 CFR 69 Access Charge /$                               
FOR RECORD ONLY                         DA 95-427
                                Before the             
                     Federal Communications Commission
                          Washington, D.C.  20554
     
In the Matter of                        )
                              )
GTE Telephone Operating Companies  )
                              )   
                              )
Request for Extension of                )
Waiver of the                      )
Commission's Equal Access          )
Implementation Plan for            )
Independent Telephone Companies         ) 


                       MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER


Adopted:  March 3, 1995                             Released:  March 6, 1995           
      

By the Chief, Policy and Program Planning Division:  


          1.   In an order released November 15, 1991, the Chief, Common Carrier
Bureau, granted ALLTEL Michigan, Inc. (Alltel) a waiver of the Commission's equal access
implementation requirements for its Lambertville, Michigan, exchange.  As a result, the
equal access conversion for the Lambertville exchange was to be completed by November
15, 1994.  In early 1994, GTE Telephone Operation Companies (GTE) acquired the
Lambertville exchange from Alltel.  On September 28, 1994, GTE filed a request with the
Commission seeking an extension of the initial waiver for the Lambertville exchange.  In
this order, we grant GTE's request for an extension of the Commission's equal access
implementation requirements until April  14, 1995.  

          2.   In the ITC Equal Access Order, the Commission required independent
telephone companies (ITCs) to convert end offices equipped with stored-program-controlled
(SPC) switches within three years of a reasonable request for conversion to equal access by
an interexchange carrier.  The Commission provided, however, that ITCs may seek a waiver
of this requirement if they "can demonstrate that such a timetable, or the provision of such
access features, is not feasible except at costs that clearly outweigh potential benefits to users
of telecommunications services."

          3.   In 1991, Alltel filed a petition with the Commission seeking a waiver
of the Commission's conversion timetable for its Lambertville exchange.  The Bureau
concluded that Alltel justified its request by demonstrating that the timetables established by
the Commission's rules were not feasible except at costs that clearly outweighed potential
benefits.  The Bureau therefore granted  an additional three years and eight months, until
November 15, 1994, to complete the equal access conversion for the Lambertville exchange.


          4.   In this order, we consider GTE's request for an extension of the waiver
initially granted to Alltel for the Lambertville exchange.  GTE states that it acquired the
Lambertville exchange from Alltel in early 1994, and that all customer line data was
transferred to GTE by June 1994.  At the time GTE filed its waiver extension request, the
Lambertville exchange was equipped with a Northern Telecom SP-1 switch that was not
compatible with equal access technology.  GTE states that it planned to replace the
Lambertville switch with new technology on October 27, 1994.  GTE states that based on its
balloting and allocation guidelines, the equal access conversion for the Lambertville exchange
is scheduled for April 14, 1995.  

          5.   GTE states that it was unaware when it scheduled the Lambertville
conversion that Alltel had obtained a waiver from the Commission to defer the conversion
until November 15, 1994.  GTE requests an extension of the waiver because the schedule is
in place for the Lambertville exchange to be converted on April 14, 1995.  GTE adds that
the interested interexchange carriers have been advised of the new date, and they have not
expressed objections to GTE's equal access timetable.   
          6.   Based on our review of the record, we conclude that the extension is in
the public interest.  GTE is here requesting an extension of an existing waiver that was
granted pursuant to the ITC Order.  By extending the initial waiver, GTE will be permitted
to maintain the balloting and allocation schedule that is already in place.  GTE's request was
put on public notice, and no comments were filed.  GTE has proceeded in a reasonable
fashion to convert the Lambertville exchange to equal access, as it placed equal access
compatible technology in service  on October 27, 1994.  The  interested carriers have not
opposed GTE's proposed new completion date for equal access conversion.  Thus, we grant
GTE's request for an extension until April 14, 1995, to complete the equal access conversion
for the Lambertville exchange.  

          7.   Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that GTE's request to extend the waiver
of the equal access implementation requirements for Lambertville, Michigan, is GRANTED
to the extent described herein.

                              Federal Communications Commission



                              James D. Schlichting 
                              Chief, Policy and Program
                              Planning Division 
                              Common Carrier Bureau