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Operating Cos.; Transmittal No. 1017; DA 96-397 //$ $/ Section 0.291 Delegated Authority /$ TRANSMITTED FOR FCC RECORD ONLY BEFORE THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 DA 96-397 In the Matter of ) ) GTE Telephone Operating Companies ) Transmittal No. 1017 ORDER Adopted: March 20, 1996; Released: March 20, 1996 By the Chief, Tariff Division, Common Carrier Bureau: 1. On February 2, 1996, GTE Services Corporation (GTE) on behalf of its affiliated GTE Telephone Operating Companies (GTOC), filed Transmittal No. 1017 to revise GTOC Tariff No. 1. Transmittal No. 1017, scheduled to become effective on March 22, 1996, proposes to adjust the price cap indices (PCIs) 1994 base period units and revenue impacts originally reflected in the GTOC 1995 annual price cap filing under Transmittal Nos. 963 and 983. 2. In the 1995 annual price cap filing for GTOC, GTE proposed exogenous cost adjustments to its price cap indices to reflect the sale of local exchange properties in several states. GTE states that it proposed to adjust its PCIs to reflect the sale or trade of GTOC exchanges which would occur prior to the end of the tariff period. GTE indicates that it believes that it may be more appropriate to take into account the price cap impact for the sale and trade of properties in the annual price cap filing following the calendar year in which the sales occur. Therefore, GTE now proposes to reverse out the exchange sales impact from the 1995 annual price cap filing for those GTOC telephone exchanges that were not actually sold prior to January 1995. 3. On February 20, 1996, AT&T Corp. (AT&T) filed a petition to suspend and investigate Transmittal No. 1017. AT&T contends, among other things, that Transmittal No. 1017 raises the same issues identified by the Bureau in its orders subjecting GTE's 1995 annual access tariffs to investigation. In this regard, AT&T argues that GTE has failed to include information to support the new exogenous cost adjustments, thus making it impossible for interested parties to determine whether the adjustments are reasonable. 4. On March 1, 1996, GTE filed a reply to AT&T's petition to suspend and investigate. GTE disagrees with AT&T's position that Transmittal No. 1017 raises the same issues that are currently under investigation. GTE asserts that its tariff filing attempts to reverse the exogenous cost adjustments made in GTOC's 1995 annual access filing to reflect those properties that were not sold prior to January 1995. Finally, GTE denies that its tariff filing fails to provide adequate information to support the exogenous cost adjustments and to determine whether the adjustments are reasonable. GTE states that the exogenous costs for these properties is zero because the adjustments relate to properties that were not sold during the relevant period. Therefore, GTE contends that all exogenous cost information is available in GTOC's 1995 annual access tariff filing. 5. The transmittal filed by GTE raises the same issues as the GTE tariffs that were suspended for one day and made subject to the investigation initiated in Price Cap Carriers' 1995 Annual Access Order. Therefore, the above-captioned transmittal is suspended for one day, until March 23, 1996 and will be subject to the investigation initiated in the Price Cap Carriers' 1995 Access Order. This transmittal will also be subject to an accounting order to facilitate any refunds that may later prove necessary. 6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 204(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  204(a) and Section 0.291 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.291, the revisions to GTE Telephone Operating Companies Tariff F.C.C. No. 1 made in Transmittal No. 1017, ARE SUSPENDED for one day and an investigation of the referenced tariff transmittal IS INSTITUTED. 7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that GTE Services Corporation, on behalf of GTE Telephone Operating Companies, SHALL FILE tariff revisions within five business days of the release date of this Order to reflect this suspension. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, for these purposes, we waive Sections 61.56, 61.58, and 61.59 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  61.56, 61.58, and 61.59. GTE Services Corporation should cite the "DA" number of the instant Order as authority for this filing. 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 204(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  204(a), GTE Services Corporation shall keep accurate account of all amounts received by reason of the rates that are subject to investigation. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION James D. Schlichting Chief, Tariff Division Common Carrier Bureau