March 7, 2000

NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS
(April 12, 2000)

AND

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE ADOPTION HEARING
(May 10, 2000)



 RE: Telephone Companies - Toll Carrier Obligations
  WAC 480-120-990
  Docket No. UT-991573


TO INTERESTED PERSONS:

The Commission has filed with the Code Reviser a supplemental notice of 
proposed rulemaking relating to toll carrier obligations.  The proposal 
establishes a new section requiring toll carriers who offer interLATA toll 
calling to also provide intraLATA toll calling.  Changes to the original 
proposal include (1) requiring 30 days’ notice to exit the market and (2) 
elimination of the requirement for statewide average toll rates.  Enclosed are 
copies of the new draft rule and the supplemental CR-102 filed with the Code 
Reviser.

Written comments in response to the CR-102 are welcome and should be submitted 
no later than April 12, 2000.  The Commission also asks, but does not require, 
that commenting parties provide an original and 10 copies of their comments, 
and also to provide comments electronically via electronic mail or on a 3-1/2 
inch high density floppy disk, in WordPerfect version 5.1 through 8.0 for 
IBM-compatible computers, labeled with the docket number, the date, the 
commenter’s name, and the type of software used.  The Commission will post on 
its Internet web site, <http://www.wutc.wa.gov>, all comments that it receives 
in electronic format.  

The proposal is scheduled for hearing before the Commissioners and possible 
adoption on May 10, 2000 at 9:30 a.m.  This public hearing will be held in the 
Commission’s Hearing Room, Second Floor, Chandler Plaza Building, 1300 S. 
Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia, Washington.

Questions may be addressed to Betty Erdahl at 360-664-1283 or 
<berdahl@wutc.wa.gov>.

Sincerely,



CAROLE J. WASHBURN
Secretary

Enclosure

NEW SECTION

 WAC 480-120-990  Toll Carrier Obligations.  
 (1) Telecommunications companies offering originating toll service from an 
exchange must transmit toll calls to all other exchanges within the state and 
outside the local calling area. This requirement may be satisfied through toll 
service offerings of an affiliated company.  This requirement does not apply to 
the extent a company is prohibited by law from offering toll service for calls 
between specified exchanges or areas.
 (2) A company may not charge different per-minute or per-unit prices for toll 
calls based on where the call terminates; however, it may charge different 
per-minute or per-unit prices based on distance if the schedule of 
distance-based charges applies to all calls from the exchange.

 (2)  A telecommunications company offering originating toll service may not 
discontinue offering such service from an exchange until 30 days after it has 
notified all of its customers in that exchange, notified each company offering 
local exchange service within that exchange, and notified the commission by 
filing a tariff or price list revision.

 (3)  The notice requirements of subsection (2) do not apply to any 
telecommunications company whose gross revenues from Washington intrastate toll 
service in the prior calendar year were less than $20 million.  For the 
purposes of this calculation, the Washington intrastate toll revenues of all 
affiliated companies will be combined.



* Please note that although this rule includes strikeouts and underlines for 
new language, this is a new rule and the comparison is with the Commission’s 
original proposal.