Order 15706 - Public Interest Payphones

 

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

ORDER

WHEREAS, Section 276(b)(2) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("Act") required the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") to determine whether public interest payphones ("PIPs") should be maintained and, if so, ensure that such public interest payphones are funded fairly and equitably; and

WHEREAS, The Act defined a PIP as a pay telephone which (1) fulfills a public policy objective in health, safety, or public welfare, (2) is not provided for by a location provider with an existing contract for the provision of a payphone, and (3) would not otherwise exist as a result of the operation of the competitive marketplace; and

WHEREAS, The FCC, in Order No. FCC 96-388, CC Docket No. 96-128, determined that states have the authority to address the need for PIPs, and that any effort to implement a uniform national program would unlikely be as successful in accounting for differing conditions among the states; and

WHEREAS, The FCC directed each state to evaluate whether it needs to take any measures to ensure that PIPs serving important public interests will continue to exist in light of the elimination of subsidies and other competitive provisions established pursuant to Section 276, and to complete the evaluation by October 7, 1998; and

WHEREAS, The FCC also determined that the states should administer and fund PIPs in a manner that is competitively neutral, and which fairly and equitably compensates entities providing PIPs. States have discretion as to how to fund the PIPs program, so long as the funding mechanism fairly and equitably distributes the costs of such a program, and does not involve the use of subsidies prohibited by Section 276(b)(1)(B); and

WHEREAS, The Public Utilities Commission ("Commission") opened this docket on June 9, 1998, in order to accomplish its evaluation of the need for PIPs pursuant to Section 276, as interpreted by the FCC orders and rules; and

WHEREAS, On June 24, 1998, Sprint Communications Company L.P. filed a petition to intervene in this docket; and

WHEREAS, On June 25, 1998, AT&T Communications of New England, Inc. filed a motion for Interested Entity Status; and

WHEREAS, Comments were filed by Bell Atlantic on September 8, 1998 and by the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers ("Division") on September 9, 1998; and

WHEREAS, On September 15, 1998, at a technical conference which was publicly noticed, representatives of Bell Atlantic briefed the Commission on the present status of pay phones in Rhode Island;

WHEREAS, The Division's representatives indicated that there had been no complaints regarding access to pay phones, but recommended that a Task Force be convened to address any issues related to PIPS; and

WHEREAS, On September 29, 1998, the Commission conducted an open meeting, during which it unanimously agreed that there was no demonstrable need at this time for the establishment of a PIP program, and thus no need to develop a funding mechanism for such a program

Accordingly, it is

(15706) ORDERED:

1. The Commission finds that no need presently exists for PIPs. The Commission will permit market forces to determine appropriate payphone locations, prior to mandating the provision of PIPs.

2. In the interim, a working group composed of the incumbent local exchange carrier, the Division, and all payphone carriers are invited to continue working on the PIPs issue.

3. If a need for PIPs is manifest, the Commission will revisit this issue to set standards for a competitively neutral funding mechanism which would fairly and equitably compensate the entity providing the PIP.

4. A copy of this Order shall be sent to the FCC, as per FCC Order No. 96-388 in CC Docket No. 96-128 (issued September 20, 1996).

EFFECTIVE AT PROVIDENCE PURSUANT TO AN OPEN MEETING DECISION ON SEPTEMBER 29, 1998. WRITTEN ORDER ISSUED OCTOBER 28, 1998.

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION