The Ohio Public Utilities Commission refused to reconsider its Fe...

is a telecom carrier as defined in federal law, but isn’t a full-fledged competitive provider because its scope is restricted to 911 services sold to state and local 911 authorities. The PUC said Intrado has the right to interconnect with existing telecom carriers for 911 services, and had to provide its services on a countywide basis (Case 7-1199-TP-ACE). But AT&T, Cincinnati Bell and the Ohio Telecom Association said the PUC violated their due process rights, its own administrative procedures, and state laws barring rate discrimination among providers of the same services. They also said the PUC was wrong in ruling Intrado had local interconnection rights. In refusing to reconsider, the PUC said it determined that Intrado was under its jurisdiction but wasn’t a conventional competitive carrier. It said its order established what kind of carrier Intrado was, and established entry regulations for such carriers. The PUC said it gave opponents many opportunities to be heard. The PUC also said the telecom carrier definition in the federal Telecom Act clearly covers specialized 911 carriers like Intrado, so it has interconnection rights. But the PUC said details of Intrado’s interconnections would be left to negotiation and arbitration. The PUC also said its order allowing Intrado flexibility to negotiate rates reflects its plans to provide enhanced E-911 services that are different from the existing 911 services.