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To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (4839)	7/27/1999 9:53:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 12823

Ken, yes.. that's my understanding as well, although my gut tells me that their not creating a sense of finality over this leaves the door open to other stimuli, as a way out. But what do I know? Frank

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (4839)	7/28/1999 12:55:00 PM
From: Darren DeNunzio	Respond to of 12823

Commission Reaffirms Previous Ruling California Public Utilities Commission Reaffirms Previous Ruling in Dispute Between Competitive Carriers and Pacific Bell CPUC Says ISP Calls are Local and Subject to Reciprocal Compensation Under Current Interconnection Agreements ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 1999 -- The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ruled Monday that Pacific Bell, an incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in California, must pay competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC), including ICG Communications, Inc., for terminating local calls to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), upholding current interconnection agreements. In ruling that calls to ISPs are considered local for the purposes of reciprocal compensation, the CPUC ordered the ILECs to pay monies owed to competitive local carriers, including ICG. Additionally, the decision denies the requests of Pacific Bell and GTE, the other incumbent monopoly telephone carrier in California, for a rehearing of the CPUC's October 1998 decision. ''The California PUC has upheld its decision forcing incumbent carriers to comply with the interconnection agreements they signed with competitors. The decision remains consistent with the ruling made by the FCC in February,'' said Cindy Schonhaut, executive vice president for government and corporate affairs for ICG. ''This California commission ruling is another indication that the incumbent monopolies' stubborn refusal to pay reciprocal compensation for ISP calls will not hinder progress in competitive telecommunications. In fact, competition will thrive in spite of monopoly tactics.'' ICG, a competitive local telecommunications provider based in Englewood, Colo., and other CLECs have been embroiled in regulatory and legal proceedings with ILECs over the reciprocal compensation issue for more than two years. The California ruling mirrors decisions made by 29 other state regulatory agencies, a number of judicial bodies and the FCC. Additionally, the favorable ruling clears an important point in the regulatory process and paves the way for ICG to receive payment from the ILEC. Recently, ICG received payment of reciprocal compensation for calls to ISPs served by ICG from ILECs in Ohio and Texas, based on favorable regulatory decisions issued in late 1998 and 1999. Monday's decision modifies the CPUC's October 1998 decision stating that calls to ISPs were local and subject to reciprocal compensation under interconnection agreements signed by competitive carriers and Pacific Bell. By modifying the decision, the CPUC strengthened the legal reasoning of the original decision, using the rationale of the FCC's February 1999 ruling. In that decision, the FCC held that ISP traffic is jurisdictionally interstate, but that, in the absence of final federal rules on compensation, state commissions are free to decide that reciprocal compensation is still due for ISP traffic. biz.yahoo.com