COMMISSION
WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND       )
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION,     )  Docket No. UT-971140
          Complainant,         )  Volume 3
     vs.                       )  Pages 23 - 27 
WASHINGTON EXCHANGE CARRIER    )  
ASSOCIATION, et al.,           )
          Respondents.         )
-----------------------------  )
          A pre-hearing conference in the above matter 
was held on March 24, 1998 at 4:05 p.m. at 1300 South 
Evergreen Park Drive Southwest, Olympia, Washington, 
before Administrative Law Judge TERRENCE STAPLETON.

          The parties were present as follows:
          U S WEST COMMUNICATIONS, INC., by Lisa 
Anderl, Senior Corporate Counsel, 1600 7th Avenue, 
Room 3206, Seattle, Washington 98191 (via bridge).
 
          AT&T COMMUNICATIONS OF THE PACIFIC 
NORTHWEST, INC. by SUSAN D. PROCTOR, Attorney at Law, 
1875 Lawrence Street, Suite 1575, Denver, Colorado 
80202 (via bridge).

          RSS COMPANIES, by ROBERT S. SNYDER, Attorney 
at Law, 1000 Second Avenue, 30th Floor, Seattle, 
Washington 98104.

          WECA and RAF COMPANIES, by RICHARD A. 
FINNIGAN, Attorney at Law, 2405 Evergreen Park Drive 
Southwest, Suite B-3, Olympia, Washington 98502.

          THE WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION 
COMMISSION STAFF, by MARY M. TENNYSON, Senior 
Assistant Attorney General, 1400 South Evergreen Park 
Drive Southwest, Olympia, Washington 98502.

Cheryl Macdonald, Court Reporter
                P R O C E E D I N G S
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  This hearing will please 
come to order.  This is a discovery conference in the 
matter of Washington Utilities and Transportation 
Commission, complainant, versus Washington Exchange 
Carrier Association and others, respondents, docket 
No. UT-971140.  Today's date is Tuesday, March 24, 
1998.  We are convened in Olympia, Washington before 
Administrative Law Judge Terrence Stapleton.  Let's 
take appearances, please, beginning with the 
association.  
           MR. FINNIGAN:  This is Rick Finnigan 
appearing on behalf of the Washington Exchange 
Carriers Association and the companies designated as 
the RAF companies.  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  Thank you, and then for 
Commission staff.  
           MS. TENNYSON:  Would you like to take 
appearances for the rest of the companies?  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  No.  
           MS. TENNYSON:  Appearing for the Commission 
staff is Mary Tennyson, senior assistant attorney 
general.  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  Thank you.  And then for 
intervenors.  Mr. Snyder.  
           MR. SNYDER:  Yes.  On behalf of those 
intervenors designated in this proceeding as RSS 
Companies I'm Robert S. Snyder.
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  For AT&T, please.  
           MS. PROCTOR:  This is Susan Proctor for 
AT&T, and is there any possibility you can turn the 
volume up somewhat?  I'm having trouble hearing most 
people.  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  We'll try to get closer 
to the microphone, too, thank you.  
           MR. FINNIGAN:  If you take the mute button 
off, too, that might work.  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  And for U S WEST, please.  
           MS. ANDERL:  Lisa Anderl appearing on 
behalf of U S  WEST Communications, Inc.  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  Thank you.  All right.  
The purpose of this proceeding is to receive a 
established report on the parties' attempts to resolve 
the AT&T motion to compel discovery.  Who shall I turn 
to?  
           MR. FINNIGAN:  I will start.  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  Mr. Finnigan.  
           MR. FINNIGAN:  I believe that we are very 
close to reaching an agreement, and we've been sharing 
information back and forth for the past couple of 
days.  Because of some scheduling issues we weren't 
able to give a briefing to Ms. Proctor that we wanted 
to do prior to this call, so if we could ask you to 
step out of the room for five minutes and then we 
could bring Ms. Proctor up to speed and probably then 
be able to tell you where everyone is.  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  I would be happy to do 
that.  Let's be off the record and I will return here 
in a few minutes.  
           (Recess.)  
           JUDGE STAPLETON:  Let's be back on the 
record.  While we were off the record the parties 
discussed the AT&T motion to compel discovery and have 
reached an accommodation of the discovery requests 
propounded by AT&T.  The parties intend to complete a 
memorialization of that agreement over the next couple 
of days and upon execution of that memorialization 
AT&T will file a letter with the Commission requesting 
that its motion to compel discovery be withdrawn.  
           That will resolve this matter from the 
Commission's perspective.  The parties have agreed on 
an extension of filing dates for testimony in this 
proceeding as follows:  The Commission staff, GTE, MCI 
and Sprint will file their testimony, direct 
testimony, on April the 8th, 1998.  AT&T and U S WEST 
will file their direct testimony on April 10th, and 
the association and the individual companies will 
prefile their rebuttal on May the 6th, 1998, and the 
dates for evidentiary hearings previously scheduled 
remain in effect.  
           Is there anything else to be put on the 
record at this time?  In that case we'll stand 
adjourned.  Thank you all very much for your work and 
your assistance in getting this resolved so that we 
can stick to the original schedule of hearings.  
           MS. PROCTOR:  Thank you for your help.  
           MS. ANDERL:  Thanks.  
           MR. SNYDER:  Thank you, Susan.
           (Hearing adjourned at 4:43 p.m.)