*Pages 1--3 from Microsoft Word - 9733.doc* PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S. W. Washington, D. C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418- 0500 Fax- On- Demand 202 / 418- 2830 TTY 202 / 418- 2555 Internet: http:// www. fcc. gov ftp fcc gov DA 01- 1462 June 21, 2001 COMMON CARRIER BUREAU SEEKS COMMENTS ON VERIZON SECTION 272 COMPLIANCE BIENNIAL AUDIT REPORT IN CC DOCKET NO. 96- 150 Pursuant to section 271 of the Telecommunications Act of 1934, as amended (" Act"), 1 the Commission has authorized Verizon Communications, Inc. to enter the in- region interLATA market in New York State 2 and in Massachusetts. 3 Section 272 of the Act requires Bell Operating Companies to offer in- region interLATA service through separate affiliates that comply with certain structural, nondiscrimination, and accounting safeguards. Section 272( d) requires a biennial compliance audit. 4 Pursuant to section 272, Verizon engaged the independent auditing firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to conduct the initial biennial compliance audit. A Federal/ State biennial oversight team was established under section 53.209( d) of the Commission rules to oversee this biennial audit and included staff members from 13 state regulatory commissions in the Verizon region and the Commission. 5 On June 11, 2001, PricewaterhouseCoopers (“ PWC”) filed its biennial compliance audit report with the Commission. The report includes: - Report of Independent Accountants on Applying Agreed- Upon Procedures, - Verizon’s Response to the Report of Independent Accountants, and 1 47 U. S. C. § 271 2 Application of Bell Atlantic New York for Authorization under Section 271 of the Communications Act to Provide In- Region, InterLATA Service in the State of New York, CC Docket No. 99- 295, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 3953 (1999). 3 Application of Verizon New England Inc., Bell Atlantic Communications, Inc. (d/ b/ a Verizon Long Distance), NYNEX Long Distance Company (d/ b/ a Verizon Enterprise Solutions) And Verizon Global Networks Inc., for Authorization to Provide In- Region, InterLATA Services in Massachusetts, CC Docket 01- 9, Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 01- 130 (rel. April 16, 2001). 4 47 U. S. C. § 272 5 47 C. F. R. § 53.209( d) 1 2 - Observation of the Joint Federal/ State Oversight Team. Verizon has seven affiliates engaged in in- region interLATA services and, therefore, addressed in the section 272( d) biennial audit. The biennial compliance audit report filed on June 11, 2001 covers six of these seven companies. The seventh company, Verizon Select Services, Inc. (“ VSSI”), is a former GTE affiliate that offers local, long- distance, and advanced services to customers throughout the United States. Because VSSI provides advanced services, it is also subject to the audit requirements of the Bell Atlantic/ GTE Merger Order. 6 On April 30, 2001, the Common Carrier Bureau extended the deadline applicable to VSSI for filing the audit results. As a result, the biennial compliance audit report filed on June 11, 2001 does not include audit procedures applied with respect to VSSI. In a filing on June 18, 2001, PWC supplemented its June 11, 2001 filing with the audit results for VSSI. Section 272( d)( 2) of the Act requires that the results of the audit be made publicly available. 7 We have attached the redacted version of the initial report filed on June 11 and the supplement filed on June 18. 8 In accordance with section 53.213( d) of the Commission’s rules, interested parties may file comments with the Commission within 60 days after the audit report is made available for public inspection. 9 Accordingly, comments are due no later than August 20, 2001. EX PARTE PRESENTATIONS Pursuant to section 1.1206 of the Commission's rules, this proceeding will be conducted as a permit- but- disclose proceeding in which ex parte communications are permissible but subject to disclosure. 10 FILING PROCEDURES Interested parties may file comments on the biennial audit report using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. 11 Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to . Generally, only one copy of an electronic submission must be filed. If multiple docket or rulemaking numbers appear in the caption of this proceeding, however, commenters must transmit one electronic copy of the comments to each docket or rulemaking number 6 Application of GTE Corporation, Transferor, and Bell Atlantic Corporation, Transferee, for Consent to Transfer Control of Domestic and International Sections 214 and 310 Authorizations and Application to Transfer Control of a Submarine Cable landing License, CC Docket No. 98- 184, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 14032 (2000) (Bell Atlantic/ GTE Merger Order). 7 47 U. S. C. § 272( d)( 2). 8 PWC filed a redacted version of the audit report containing no confidential information and an unredacted proprietary version of the report claiming confidential treatment under sections 220( f) and 272( d)( 3) of the Act (47 U. S. C. §§ 220( f) and 272( d)( 3)), and sections 0.457 and 0.459 of the Commission rules (47 C. F. R. §§ 0.457 and 0.459). 9 47 C. F. R. § 53.213( d). 10 47 C. F. R. § 1.1206. 11 See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24, 121 (1998). 2 3 referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e- mail. To get filing instructions for e- mail comments, commenters should send an e- mail to ecfs@ fcc. gov, and should include the following words in the body of the message, "get form