BEFORE THE WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION In the Matter of the Pricing Proceeding ) for Interconnection, Unbundled Elements ) DOCKET NO. UT-960369 Transport and Termination, and Resale ) ) ) In the Matter of the Pricing Proceeding ) for Interconnection, Unbundled Elements ) DOCKET NO. UT-960370 Transport and Termination, and Resale ) for U S WEST COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ) ) ) In the Matter of the Pricing Proceeding ) DOCKET NO. UT-960371 for Interconnection, Unbundled Elements ) Transport and Termination, and Resale ) NEXTLINK/TCG/ELI/AT&T/MCI for GTE NORTHWEST INCORPORATED ) OBJECTION TO PROCEDURAL ) SCHEDULE FOR PHASE II ) As authorized in the Commission's Notice of Opportunity to File Objections to Hearing Schedule, NEXTLINK Washington, L.L.C., TCG Seattle, Electric Lightwave, Inc., AT&T Communications of the Pacific Northwest, Inc., and MCI Telecommunications Corporation (collectively "Joint Parties"), respectfully object to the schedule adopted for Phase II of the above-captioned proceeding. The Joint Parties are concerned that a schedule based on conducting hearings in July does not allow the parties sufficient time to prepare evidence in support of their affirmative positions and in response to the positions of the other parties. The issues presented for resolution in Phase II range far beyond simply determining the appropriate mark-up above the costs established in the Commission's Eighth Supplemental Order. The Topic List prepared by Judge Craine identifies no less than eight topics the Commission reserved for resolution in Phase II, including not only unbundled network element ("UNE") pricing but "transition" cost recovery, collocation policy and pricing, interim number portability cost recovery, nonrecurring costs and rates, cost recovery for unbundling/rebundling UNEs, and compensation for the exchange of traffic between competing carriers. All of these topics will be contentious and will involve profound and complex factual, policy, and legal issues requiring substantial efforts by all parties to present properly to the Commission. Although not reflected on the record of the prehearing conferences, the parties unanimously agreed that they cannot adequately address all of these issues under the Commission's current schedule. The absence of written reply testimony and the ten day time period between the filing of rebuttal testimony on July 10 and the beginnings of hearings on July 20 are particularly troubling. The parties -- most of whom are parties to the interconnection agreements that will be affected by the Commission's determinations in these dockets -- also uniformly expressed their willingness to develop a schedule leading up to hearings in October. The Joint Parties agree that such a schedule both would allow all parties adequate time to prepare and would not unduly delay resolution of the contested issues. The Commission established these consolidated dockets because it found that the arbitration time line required under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("Act") allowed insufficient time for the Commission and the parties to consider fully the Commission's pricing and related obligations under Sections 251 and 252 of the Act. The Commission has no basis to abandon that finding now. The Commission should promptly discharge its responsibilities under the Act but should not sacrifice accuracy for expediency. The Commission's primary objective should continue to be to make the correct determination, and that objective cannot be achieved if the parties are denied the opportunity to develop the necessary and proper factual record. Accordingly, the Joint Parties object to the procedural schedule and urge the Commission either to establish a schedule with hearing dates in October or to convene another prehearing conference to allow the parties to develop a mutually acceptable schedule. DATED this _____ day of June, 1998. MCI TELECOMMUNICATIONS DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP CORPORATION Attorneys for NEXTLINK Washington, L.L.C., 707 Seventeenth Street TCG Seattle, Electric Lightwave, Inc., and AT&T Denver, CO 80202 Communications of the Pacific Northwest, Inc. By By Rogelio Peņa Gregory J. Kopta WSBA No. 20519 Susan D. Proctor Karen Notsund Maria Arias-Chapleau Michael A. Morris AT&T Communications of the Joseph S. Faber Pacific Northwest, Inc. Teleport Communications Group, Inc. 1875 Lawrence St., Room 1575 1350 Treat Boulevard, Suite 500 Denver, CO 80202 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Timothy Peters Deborah Whiting Jaques Electric Lightwave, Inc. NEXTLINK Washington, L.L.C. 8100 N.E. Parkway Drive 1003 Montello Avenue Vancouver, WA 98662 Hood River, OR 97031