Michigan Public Service Commission Approves AT&T Michigan's List of Unimpaired Wire Centers

On April 25, 2006, the Michigan Public Service Commission issued an order approving AT&T Michigan's list of unimpaired wire centers, subject to certain conditions. The order stems from a collaborative proceeding initiated by the Commission in 2005 to monitor and facilitate implementation of Accessible Letters issued by SBC Michigan and Verizon. The proceeding aimed to resolve disputes between AT&T Michigan and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) regarding data underlying AT&T Michigan's classification of wire centers as unimpaired.

The Commission's order builds on previous decisions in 2005, including the Covad Order, which determined that AT&T Michigan had improperly declared a wire center unimpaired. The Commission found that AT&T Michigan had not correctly counted the number of fiber-based collocators and business lines in the wire center. In response, the Commission established a process for resolving disputes regarding self-certification in a timely manner.

Key Takeaways:

On March 29, 2005, the Michigan Public Service Commission issued an order setting forth a procedure to resolve disputes between AT&T Michigan and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) regarding data underlying AT&T Michigan's classification of wire centers as unimpaired.
On September 20, 2005, the Commission issued the Covad Order, resolving a dispute between AT&T Michigan and Covad Communications Company (Covad) regarding whether Covad was entitled to unbundled DS12 loops pursuant to 47 USC 251(c)(3) at the Dearborn Fairborn wire center.
On December 20, 2005, the Commission issued an order resolving a motion for rehearing of the Covad Order, finding that AT&T Michigan had improperly declared the wire center unimpaired.
On March 2, 2006, AT&T Michigan submitted an update to its wire center filing in compliance with the December 20 order.
On March 28, 2006, the Staff filed its findings following the site visits, stating that the CLECs raised challenges to 13 of the 34 wire centers that AT&T Michigan claimed were unimpaired.
On April 5, 2006, Talk America, Inc., XO Communication Services, Inc., and TDS Metrocom LLC (collectively, Talk/XO/TDS) filed a joint response to AT&T Michigan's filing, objecting to AT&T Michigan's interpretation of the TRO/TRRO requirements and reserving their rights to future challenges.
On April 12, 2006, AT&T Michigan filed a response to the Talk/XO/TDS filing, asserting that the requirements of the December 20 order have been met and that there is no objection to the March 2, 2006 list of unimpaired wire centers.

Statistics:

The Commission approved the designation of wire centers listed on page one of the Updated Exhibit A, which AT&T Michigan filed on March 2, 2006, found under the heading "September 2005 Order Requirements Met."
The Commission found that AT&T Michigan had improperly declared 13 wire centers unimpaired.
The Staff visited eight wire centers, verifying the fiber-based collocators and collocation-to-collocation providers at each location, with the exception of the Wayne wire center.
The Commission reserves jurisdiction and may issue further orders as necessary.
Any party desiring to appeal this order must do so by the filing of a claim of appeal in the Michigan Court of Appeals within 30 days of the issuance of this order, pursuant to MCL 484.2203(12).

Sources:

Michigan Public Service Commission. (2006, April 25). Order Approving AT&T Michigan's List of Unimpaired Wire Centers.
Michigan Public Service Commission. (2005, December 20). Order Resolving Motion for Rehearing of the Covad Order.
Michigan Public Service Commission. (2005, September 20). Order Resolving Dispute between AT&T Michigan and Covad Communications Company (Covad).
Michigan Public Service Commission. (2005, March 29). Order Setting Forth Procedure to Resolve Disputes between AT&T Michigan and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs).
Federal Communications Commission. (2005, February 4). Triennial Review Order.
Federal Communications Commission. (2002, September 5). Triennial Review Remand Order.