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PUBLIC NOTICE

Federal Communications Commission

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

445 12th St., S.W.

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

Washington, D.C. 20554

TTY: 1-888-835-5322

DA 12-1427

Released: August 31, 2012

DOMESTIC SECTION 214 APPLICATION FILED FOR THE

ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF THE ULTIMATE CONNECTION, INC. D/B/A

DAYSTAR COMMUNICATIONS BY BIRCH COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

STREAMLINED PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED

WC Docket No. 12-227

Comments Due: September 14, 2012
Reply Comments Due: September 21, 2012

On August 13, 2012, Birch Communications, Inc. (Birch) and The Ultimate Connection, Inc.
d/b/a DayStar Communications (DayStar) (Birch and DayStar collectively, the Applicants) filed an
application pursuant to section 63.03 of the Commission’s rules1 requesting approval for the transfer of
control of certain DayStar assets to Birch.
DayStar, a Florida corporation, is registered to provide interstate telecommunications services in
that state. DayStar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Coast Media Group, Inc., a Florida corporation, is
owned by Derek Dunn-Rankin and David Dunn-Rankin, both U.S. citizens. No other entity or individual
directly or indirectly holds an ownership interest in DayStar.
Birch, a Georgia corporation, provides interstate telecommunications services. The customers
associated with this proposed transaction will be served by Birch Telecom of the South, Inc. Birch and its
wholly-owned subsidiaries either offer service or are certificated to offer telecommunications services as
competitive local exchange carriers and intrastate interexchange carriers in the following 38 states:
Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming.2 The following individuals hold a ten percent or greater direct or indirect


1 47 C.F.R § 63.03; see 47 U.S.C. § 214. Any action on this domestic section 214 application is without prejudice to
Commission action on other related, pending applications.
2 The following wholly-owned subsidiaries of Birch Telecom, Inc. provide interstate telecommunications services:
Birch Telecom of the South, Inc., Birch Telecom of the West, Inc., Birch Telecom of the Great Lakes, Inc., Birch
Telecom of Missouri, Inc., Birch Telecom of Oklahoma, Inc., Birch Telecom of Texas Ltd., LLP, Birch Telecom of
Kansas, Inc., Birch Communications of the Northeast, Inc., Ionex Communications, Inc., Ionex Communications
South, Inc., and Ionex Communications North, Inc. Birch’s wholly owned subsidiary, Birch Communications of
Virginia, Inc., is registered to provide interstate telecommunications services.

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ownership interest in Birch Holdings: (1) Holcombe Green (66 percent voting) and R. Kirby Godsey, (32
percent voting and equity interest).3
Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, Birch, Sun Coast Media Group, Inc. and
DayStar entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (Agreement), by which Birch will purchase certain
assets and customers of DayStar. Pursuant to the Agreement, Birch will purchase the following assets
from DayStar: certain customer accounts and receivables, certain customer agreements and contracts,
certain vendor agreements and contracts, certain equipment, and certain intellectual property. Birch,
however, will not assume any of DayStar’s pre-closing liabilities or obligations. Applicants state that the
proposed transaction is entitled to presumptive streamlined treatment under section 63.03(b)(2)(i) of the
Commission’s rules4 and that a grant of the application will serve the public interest, convenience, and
necessity.
Domestic Section 214 Application Filed for the Transfer of Certain Assets of The
Ultimate Connections, Inc. d/b/a DayStar Communications to Birch Communications,
Inc., WC Docket No. 12-227 (filed Aug 13, 2012).

GENERAL INFORMATION

The transfer of control identified herein has been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for
filing as a streamlined application. The Commission reserves the right to return any transfer application
if, upon further examination, it is determined to be defective and not in conformance with the
Commission’s rules and policies. Pursuant to section 63.03(a) of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §
63.03(a), interested parties may file comments on or before September 14, 2012, and reply comments
on or before September 21, 2012. Pursuant to section 63.52 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §
63.52, commenters must serve a copy of comments on the Applicants no later than the above comment
filing date. Unless otherwise notified by the Commission, the Applicants may transfer control on the 31st
day after the date of this notice.5
Pursuant to section 63.03 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 63.03, parties to this proceeding
should file any documents in this proceeding using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System
(ECFS): http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/.

In addition, e-mail one copy of each pleading to each of the following

:
1) Dennis Johnson, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau,
dennis.johnson@fcc.gov;
2) Tracey Wilson, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau,
tracey.wilson@fcc.gov;
3) David Krech, Policy Division, International Bureau, david.krech@fcc.gov; and
4) Jim Bird, Office of General Counsel, jim.bird@fcc.gov.


3 R. Kirby Godsey holds his percentage through his individual holdings and through the R. Kirby Godsey 2008
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust.
4 47 C.F.R. § 63.03(b)(2)(i).
5 Such authorization is conditioned upon receipt of any other necessary approvals from the Commission in
connection with the proposed transaction.

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People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities
(braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (tty).
The proceeding in this Notice shall be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in
accordance with the Commission’s ex parte rules.6 Persons making ex parte presentations must file a
copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two
business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies).
Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation
must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte
presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the
presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments
already reflected in the presenter’s written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the
presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or
other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be
found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission
staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must be filed
consistent with rule 1.1206(b), 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize
themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules.
For further information, please contact Dennis Johnson at (202) 418-0809 or Tracey Wilson at
(202) 418-1394.


6 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200 et seq.

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