Rule 4901:1-6-21 | Carrier's withdrawal or abandonment of basic local exchange service (BLES) or voice service.
(A) The collaborative process established under section 749.10 of Amended Substitute House Bill 64 of the 131st General Assembly will review the number and characteristics of basic local exchange service customers, evaluate what alternative reasonable and comparatively priced voice services are available to residential BLES customers and the prospect of the availability of a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service where none exist. This will be done for the purpose of identifying any exchanges or residential BLES customers with the potential to not have access to a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service. For purposes of rule 4901:1-6-21 of the Administrative Code, "reasonable and comparatively priced voice service" is a voice service that satisfies the definition set forth in division (B)(3) of section 4927.10 of the Revised Code. A voice service is presumptively deemed competitively priced, subject to rebuttal, if the rate does not exceed the higher of either: (1) the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) BLES rate by more than twenty per cent; or (2) the federal communications commission's (FCC) reasonable comparability benchmark for voice services, which is defined as two standard deviations above the urban average that is calculated by the FCC on an annual basis as defined in 47 C.F.R. 54.313(a)(2).
(B) An ILEC cannot discontinue offering BLES within an exchange without filing a notice for the withdrawal of BLES (WBL) to withdraw such service from its tariff. Receipt of this notice by the commission will trigger the one hundred twenty-day statutory time frame allotted for the commission investigation set forth in division (B) of section 4927.10 of the Revised Code. As part of this notice and investigation process, an ILEC has to provide the following:
(1) A copy of the FCC order that allows the ILEC to withdraw the interstate-access component of its BLES under 47 U.S.C. 214 or other evidence that the FCC has automatically approved the ILEC's application to withdraw the interstate access component of its BLES.
(2) A copy of the notice of the withdrawal or abandonment of BLES sent to all affected customers no later than the day the notice for the withdrawal of BLES is filed with the commission to ensure that affected customers have at least one hundred and twenty days notice before the ILEC withdraws or abandons BLES. The notice has to include a provision stating that those affected customers unable to obtain reasonable and comparatively priced voice service have the right to file a petition with the commission and the earliest date upon which the affected customer's BLES will be discontinued. The notice needs to state the petition has to be filed no later than thirty days from the date on the notice and provide the affected customers with the commission's and the office of the Ohio consumers' counsel's (OCC) mailing address, toll-free telephone number, and website address for additional information regarding the notice of the withdrawal or abandonment of BLES and filing of a petition. For purposes of rule 4901:1-6-21 of the Administrative Code, "affected customers" means a residential customer receiving BLES that will be discontinued by the withdrawing or abandoning ILEC.
(3) A copy of the notice published concurrent to the WBL filing. The notice has to be published one-time in the non-legal section of a newspaper of general circulation throughout the area subject to the application. The notice needs to provide the affected customers with the commission's and OCC's toll-free telephone number and website address for additional information regarding the application and filing of a petition.
(4) An attachment to the notice will have to either: (1) reference any finding of providers of reasonable and comparatively priced voice service, identified by the collaborative process established under section 749.10 of Amended Substitute House Bill 64 of the 131st General Assembly, offering that voice service in the exchanges the ILEC is withdrawing or abandoning BLES with this notice; or (2) identify a provider of a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service offering that service, as of the date of the notice filing, to affected customers, regardless of the technology or facilities used by the provider. All affected customers do not have to receive service from the same provider of reasonable and comparatively priced voice service.
(5) A clear and detailed description, including a map, of the geographic boundary of the ILEC's service area to which the requested withdrawal would apply.
(C) If a residential customer to whom notice has been given, pursuant to paragraph (B)(2) of this rule, is unable to obtain reasonable and comparatively priced voice service upon the withdrawal or abandonment of BLES offered by an ILEC, the customer or their authorized representative may file a petition, in the assigned WBL case number, with the commission within thirty-days of receiving the notice. For purposes of this rule, a petition is a written statement in any format from an affected customer claiming that the customer will be unable to obtain reasonable and comparatively priced voice service upon the withdrawal or abandonment of BLES offered by an ILEC. Alternatively, if a residential customer is identified by the collaborative process established under section 749.10 of Amended Substitute House Bill 64 of the 131st General Assembly as a customer who will be unable to obtain reasonable and comparatively priced voice service upon the withdrawal or abandonment of BLES offered by an ILEC, that customer will be treated as though the customer filed a timely petition.
(D) If no affected residential customers file a petition and no residential customers are identified by the collaborative process set forth in section 749.10 of Amended Substitute House Bill 64 of the 131st General Assembly, the ILEC's notice to withdraw or abandon will be deemed to have satisfied the requirements to withdraw or abandon BLES pursuant to section 4927.10 of the Revised Code.
(E) If the commission's investigation determines that no reasonable and comparatively priced voice service is available to the customer, identified in paragraph (C) of this rule, at the customer's residence and the commission cannot identify a willing provider of a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service to serve the customer, the ILEC requesting the withdrawal or abandonment will have to provide a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service, via any technology or service arrangement, to the customer at the customer's residence for not less than twelve months from the date of the order issued by this commission. This order will also address all petitions filed or all customers identified through the collaborative process. For purposes of rule 4901:1-6-21 of the Administrative Code, "willing provider" is any provider, identified by the commission through its investigation process, voluntarily offering a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service at the customer's residence, to any residential customer affected by the withdrawal or abandonment of BLES.
(1) If after the initial twelve-month period, the commission has not identified a willing provider of a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service to serve the customers, identified in paragraph (C) of this rule, the ILEC requesting the withdrawal or abandonment will have to continue to provide a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service, via any technology or service arrangement, to the customer at the customer's residence for an additional twelve-month period.
(2) If after the second twelve-month period, the commission has not identified a willing provider of a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service to serve the customers, identified in paragraph (C) of this rule, the ILEC requesting the withdrawal or abandonment will have to continue to provide a reasonable and comparatively priced voice service, via any technology or service arrangement, to the customer at the customer's residence until otherwise authorized by the commission.
Last updated November 7, 2022 at 10:13 AM
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