The Maine Public Utilities Commission will maintain a federal exemption...
The Maine Public Utilities Commission will maintain a federal exemption relieving rural carriers from some interconnection obligations otherwise required by federal law. A unanimous vote Tuesday upheld the exemption for carriers Unitel, Oxford and Oxford West, while a majority of…
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the three commissioners voted to keep the exemption for the Lincolnville and Tidewater phone companies. This means that in their geographic service territories the five will remain the sole wireline service providers, the commission said. County Roads Communications had petitioned the commission to require the five carriers to negotiate with County Roads for service interconnection so that County Roads partner Time Warner Cable (see related item this issue) could provide digital phone service in the rural carriers’ territories. “Our decision came down to an analysis of the current financial ability of the rural companies to withstand market competition if the exemption were lifted,” commission Chair Sharon Reishus said in a written statement. “Customers in these rural areas must be assured a telephone service provider of last resort and access to Lifeline services. Although the Commission has a long history of recognizing the value of competition in the telecommunications market, in this instance, where Time Warner is not proposing to expand the availability of its service throughout the entire service territory of the rural companies, selective competition would undercut the ability of the rural companies to fulfill their provider of last resort obligations.” The commission weighed multiple factors for each rural carrier, including the technical feasibility of the proposed interconnection, whether lifting the exemption would unduly burden the rural phone company and whether lifting the exemption fit with the universal service goals of ensuring quality phone service at just, reasonable and affordable rates and access to advanced telecom and information services, the commission said. It plans to issue a formal order codifying the decision.