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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 ) In the Matter of ) ) Bell Atlantic-Virginia, Inc. ) Petition for Limited Modification of LATA ) Boundary to Provide Expanded Local ) File No. NSD-L-98-01 Calling Service (ELCS) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: April 22 , 1998 Released: April 22, 1998 By the Chief, Network Services Division: I. INTRODUCTION 1. On December 17, 1997, Bell Atlantic-Virginia, Inc. (BA), pursuant to Section 3(25) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, filed a petition to provide two-way, non-optional expanded local calling service (ELCS) between the West Point and Williamsburg exchanges in Virginia. BA's petition requests a limited modification of local access transport area (LATA) boundary. The petition was placed on public notice, and no comments or reply comments were filed. For the reasons stated below, we grant BA's request. II. BACKGROUND 2. Requests for new ELCS routes are generally initiated by local subscribers. IntraLATA ELCS routes can be ordered by the state commission. For interLATA routes, prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996 Act), the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) were required to secure state approval and then obtain a waiver from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (District Court). In the years between the Consent Decree and the 1996 Act, the District Court received more than a hundred requests for Consent Decree waivers to permit new interLATA ELCS routes. Because of the large number of requests involved and because most of the requests were non-controversial, the District Court developed a streamlined process for handling such requests. 3. Under the streamlined process developed by the District Court, the BOC submitted its waiver request to the Department of Justice (Department). The Department reviewed the request and then submitted the request, along with the Department's recommendation, to the District Court. In evaluating ELCS requests, the Department and the District Court considered the number of customers or access lines involved as well as whether a sufficiently strong community of interest between the exchanges justified granting a waiver of the Consent Decree. A community of interest could be demonstrated by such evidence as: (1) poll results showing that customers in the affected exchange were willing to pay higher rates to be included in an expanded local calling area; (2) usage data demonstrating a high level of calling between the exchanges; and (3) narrative statements describing how the two exchanges were part of one community and how the lack of local calling between the exchanges caused problems for community residents. In addition, the Department and the District Court gave deference to the state's community of interest finding. The District Court also considered the competitive effects of granting a proposed ELCS waiver. 4. Matters previously subject to the Consent Decree are now governed by the Act. Under section 3(25)(B) of the Act, BOCs may modify LATA boundaries, if such modifications are approved by the Commission. On July 15, 1997, the Commission released a decision granting 23 requests for limited boundary modification to permit ELCS. Although calls between the ELCS exchanges would now be treated as intraLATA, each ELCS exchange would remain assigned to the same LATA for purposes of classifying all other calls. The Commission stated that it would grant requests for such limited modifications only where a petitioning BOC showed that the ELCS was a flat-rated, non-optional service, a significant community of interest existed among the affected exchanges, and grant of the requested waiver would not have any anticompetitive effects. The Commission stated further that a carrier would be deemed to have made a prima facie case supporting grant of the proposed modification if the ELCS petition: (1) has been approved by the state commission; (2) proposes only traditional local service (i.e., flat-rated, non-optional ELCS); (3) indicates that the state commission found a sufficient community of interest to warrant such service; (4) documents this community of interest through such evidence as poll results, usage data, and descriptions of the communities involved; and (5) involves a limited number of customers or access lines. III. DISCUSSION 5. The petition proposes to establish two-way, non-optional ELCS, and is accompanied by: (1) a statement that only traditional local service is proposed; (2) an order issued by the Virginia State Corporation Commission approving ELCS between the specified exchanges; (3) results from subscriber polls documenting a community of interest; (4) a statement of the number of access lines involved; and (5) the rate increases that will result. The petition provides usage data in the form of an average number of calls per access line per month between the respective exchanges, but not the percentage of subscribers making such calls. The brief descriptions of the community interest reveal that many West Point residents seek specialized shopping, specialized medical care, hospitals and employment in the Williamsburg area. 6. The petition also shows that BA presently offers several classes of service -- measured rate, message rate, economy, and exchange rate -- in addition to flat-rated service. We note that in the July 1997 Order, the Commission stated that the District Court refused to grant waivers where optional or measured rate ELCS requests were considered. This refusal, however, was based upon the District Court's opposition to ELCS requests that would introduce measured rate or optional plans into the expanded local calling area as contrasted with ELCS requests that entailed existing levels of service other than flat-rated. We believe that this distinction is borne out by the District Court's approval of several ELCS requests involving exchanges in Virginia where measured rate, message rate, economy, and exchange rate services were part of the existing service offerings. 7. As we noted in the July 1997 Order, granting an ELCS petition removes the proposed route from the competitive interexchange market, and some LATA modifications could reduce the BOCs' incentive to open their own markets to competition pursuant to section 271 of the Act. Our focus, however, is on the number of access lines in the exchange to be added to the local calling area. Consequently, adding the 2,563 access lines in the West Point exchange exchange to the Williamsburg exchange should pose no competitive concerns. Additionally, given the types of service to be offered (e.g., flat-rated, non-optional local service), it is highly unlikely that provision of ELCS service would reduce BA's motivation to open its own market to competition. Therefore, the Division finds that the proposed LATA modifications will not have a significant anticompetitive effect on the interexchange market or on BA's incentive to open its own market to competition. VI. CONCLUSION 8. We conclude that, in this request, the community's need for the proposed ELCS route outweighs the risk of potential anticompetitive effects. Granting BA's petition serves the public interest by permitting a minor LATA modification where such modification is necessary to meet the needs of local subscribers and will not have any significant effect on competition. Accordingly, we approve BA's petition for limited LATA modification in order to provide non-optional ELCS. The LATA is modified solely for the limited purpose of allowing BA to provide non-optional local calling service between the specific exchanges or geographic areas identified in the requests. The LATA is not modified to permit the BOC to offer any other type of service, including calls that originate or terminate outside the specified areas. Thus, non-optional ELCS between the specified exchanges will be treated as intraLATA, and the provisions of the Act governing intraLATA service will apply. Other types of service between the specified exchanges will remain interLATA, and the provisions of the Act governing interLATA service will apply. VII. ORDERING CLAUSES 9. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 3(25) and 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  153(25), 154(i), and 47 C.F.R.  0.91 and 0.291 of the Commission's rules, that the request of Bell Atlantic-Virginia, Inc. for LATA modification for the limited purpose of providing non-optional ELCS at specific locations, identified in File No. NSD-L-98-01 IS APPROVED. This LATA boundary is modified solely for the purpose of providing non-optional ELCS between points in the specific exchanges or geographic areas indicated in the request. The LATA boundary for all other services shall remain unchanged. 10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that pursuant to section 416(a) of the Act, 47 U.S.C.  416(a), the Secretary SHALL SERVE a copy of this order upon the petitioner, Bell Atlantic- Virginia, Inc. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Geraldine A. Matise Chief, Network Services Division Common Carrier Bureau