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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12th  St.,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554 
 DA  01-  743 
 March  23,  2001 


 COMMENTS  INVITED  ON  QWEST  SECTION  214  APPLICATION  TO  DISCONTINUE 
 OPERATION  OF  FACILTIES  WITHIN  38  ARIZONA  EXCHANGES 


 NSD  File  No.  W-  P-  D-  485 
 Pleading  Cycle  Established  Comments  Due:  April  6,  2001 


 Section  214  Application 
 Applicant:  Qwest  Corporation 


 On  January  30,  2001,  Qwest  Corporation  (“  Qwest”)  filed  an  application  requesting  authority  under 
 section  214(  a)  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  47  U.  S.  C.  §  214(  a),  and  section  63.71  of  the 
 Federal  Communicat  ions  Commission's  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §  63.  71,  to  discont  inue  operat  ion  of  its 
 t  elecommunicat  ions  facilit  ies  wit  hin  38  Arizona  exchanges. 


 The  applicat  ion  st  at  es  that  Qwest  has  agreed  to  transfer  the  38  exchanges  to  Cit  izens  Ut  ilit  ies  Rural 
 Company,  Inc.  (“  Citizens”).  Qwest  requests  discontinuance  authority  so  that  the  parties  may 
 consummate  their  sales  contract.  Qwest  is  considered  a  dominant  carrier  with  respect  to  the  services 
 being  transferred.  The  38  exchanges  collectively  serve  approximately  158,000  access  lines, 
 approximately  300  of  which  are  physically  located  in  Utah.  A  description  of  Citizens,  the  exchanges  it 
 is  acquiring,  and  the  number  of  access  lines  in  each  exchange  is  set  forth  in  Attachment  A  of  the 
 application. 


 The  applicat  ion  st  at  es  t  hat  t  he  planned  t  ransfer  of  the  exchanges  and  the  associat  ed  asset  s  will  have  no 
 known  immediate  or  substantial  effect  on  the  service  provided  to  customers  within  the  38  exchanges. 
 It  is  ant  icipat  ed  that  service  will  improve  over  t  ime  because  Citizens  has  substantial  expertise  in 
 providing  telecommunicat  ions  services  in  rural  communit  ies,  and  this  experience  will  ult  imat  ely  inure  t  o 
 the  benefit  of  telecommunications  subscribers  within  the  38  exchanges. 


 The  application  states  that  in  compliance  with  section  63.71  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  notification 
 was  sent  to  all  affected  customers  in  Arizona  and  Utah  the  week  of  January  29,  2001,  and  that, 
 concurrent  wit  h  the  filing  of  this  applicat  ion,  not  ice  is  being  provided  to  the  Arizona  Corporat  ion 
 Commission,  the  Public  Service  Commission  of  Utah,  the  Governors  of  Arizona  and  Utah,  and  the 
 U.  S.  Secretary  of  Defense. 


 News  media  information  202  /  418-  0500 
 Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830 
 Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov 
 TTY  202  /  418-  2555 
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 In  accordance  with  47  C.  F.  R.  §  63.71(  c),  the  application  will  be  deemed  to  be  aut  omat  ically  grant  ed  on 
 the  60th  day  after  the  release  date  of  this  notice  without  any  Commission  notification  to  the  applicant, 
 unless  the  Commission  has  notified  the  applicant  that  the  grant  will  not  be  automatically  effective.  The 
 FCC  will  normally  authorize  proposed  discontinuances  of  service  unless  it  is  shown  that  customers  or 
 other  end  users  would  be  unable  to  receive  service  or  a  reasonable  substitute  from  another  carrier,  or 
 that  the  public  convenience  and  necessity  is  otherwise  adversely  affected. 


 Comment  s  object  ing  t  o  t  his  applicat  ion  must  be  filed  wit  h  the  Commission  by  April  13,  2001.  Such 
 comments  should  refer  to  application  file  number  W-  P-  D-  485.  Comments  should  include  specific 
 information  about  the  impact  of  this  proposed  discontinuance  on  the  commenter,  including  any  inability 
 to  acquire  reasonable  substitute  service.  Comments  should  be  sent  to  the  Office  of  the  Secretary, 
 Federal  Communications  Commission,  445  12th  Street,  SW,  Room  TW-  A325,  Washington,  DC 
 20554.  Two  copies  of  the  comments  should  also  be  sent  to  the  Network  Services  Division,  445  12th 
 Street,  SW,  Room  6-  A207,  Washington,  DC  20554. 


 The  application  will  be  available  for  review  and  copying  during  regular  business  hours  at  the  FCC 
 Reference  Center,  Portals  II,  445  12th  Street,  SW,  Room  CY-  A257,  Washington,  DC  20554,  (202) 
 418-  0270.  The  application  may  also  be  purchased  from  the  Commission’s  copy  contractor, 
 International  Transcription  Service,  Inc.  (ITS),  1231  20  TH  Street,  NW,  Washington,  DC  20036, 
 telephone  202-  857-  3800,  facsimile  202-  857-  3805,  TTY  202-  293-  8810. 


 For  further  information,  contact  Carmell  Weathers,  (202)  418-  2325  (voice),  cweather@  fcc.  gov,  of 
 the  Network  Services  Division,  Common  Carrier  Bureau.  The  TTY  number  is  (202)  418-  0484.  For 
 information  on  Section  214s  please  visit  our  website  at:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  ccb/  nsd/  documents/  214.  html. 


 -FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION- 
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