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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12th  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  03-  3594 
 WIRELINE  COMPETITION  BUREAU  INITIATES  PROCEEDING  TO  CONSIDER  THE  MINNESOTA  PUBLIC  UTILITIES  COMMISSION  PETITION  TO  REDEFINE  RURAL 
 TELEPHONE  COMPANY  SERVICE  AREAS  IN  THE  STATE  OF  MINNESOTA 
 CC  Docket  No.  96-  45 
 Release  Date:  November  7,  2003 


 The  Wireline  Competition  Bureau  (Bureau)  provides  notice  that  it  is  initiating  a  proceeding  to  consider  a  petition  filed  by  the  Minnesota  Public  Utilities  Commission  (Minnesota  Commission) 
 requesting  the  Commission’s  agreement  with  the  Minnesota  Commission’s  proposal  to  redefine  the  “service  areas”  of  certain  rural  telephone  companies  in  the  state  of  Minnesota.  1  Pursuant  to  section 
 54.207(  c)(  3)  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  the  Bureau  has  90  days  from  the  release  date  of  a  Public  Notice  to  initiate  a  proceeding  to  consider  a  state  commission’s  petition  to  redefine  the  service  area  of  a  rural 
 telephone  company.  2  The  Wireline  Competition  Bureau  released  a  Public  Notice  seeking  comment  on  the  Minnesota  Commission’s  petition  on  August  12,  2003.  3  The  comment  cycle  established  by  that  Public 
 Notice  closed  on  September  9,  2003  and  no  further  comments  will  be  sought  in  this  proceeding  at  this  time.  4 


 The  Minnesota  Commission  seeks  to  redefine  the  service  areas  of  the  following  rural  telephone  companies:  CenturyTel,  Citizens  Telephone  Company,  Frontier  Communications  of  Minnesota,  Inc., 


 1  Petition  of  the  Minnesota  Public  Utilities  Commission  for  Agreement  to  Redefine  the  Service  Areas  of  Twelve 
 Minnesota  Rural  Telephone  Companies,  CC  Docket  No.  96-  45,  filed  on  August  7,  2003  (Minnesota  Commission  Petition).  For  areas  served  by  a  rural  telephone  company,  section  214(  e)(  5)  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934, 


 as  amended  (the  Act),  provides  that  the  company’s  service  area  will  be  its  study  area  “unless  and  until  the  Commission  and  the  States,  after  taking  into  account  the  recommendations  of  a  Federal-  State  Joint  Board 
 instituted  under  section  410(  c),  establish  a  different  definition  of  service  area  for  such  company.”  47  U.  S.  C.  §  214(  e)(  5). 


 2  47  C.  F.  R.  §  54.207(  c)(  3).  If  the  Commission  did  not  initiate  a  proceeding  within  90  days  of  the  release  of  the 
 Public  Notice,  the  definition  proposed  by  the  Minnesota  Commission  would  be  deemed  approved  by  the  Commission  and  would  take  effect  in  accordance  with  state  procedures.  47  C.  F.  R.  §  54.207(  c)(  3)(  ii). 


 3  See  Wireline  Competition  Bureau  Seeks  Comment  on  the  Minnesota  Public  Utilities  Commission’s  Petition  to 
 Redefine  Rural  Telephone  Company  Service  Areas  in  the  Sate  of  Minnesota,  CC  Docket  No.  96-  45,  Public  Notice,  DA  03-  2641  (rel.  Aug.  12,  2003). 


 4  See  id. 
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 Mid-  State  Telephone  Company  d/  b/  a  KMP  (TDS  Telecom),  Scott-  Rice  Telephone  Company,  United  Tel  Co.  of  Minnesota  (UTC  of  Minnesota),  Federated  Telephone  Company,  Melrose  Telephone  Company 
 (diversiCOM),  Winsted  Telephone  Company  (TDS  Telecom),  Eckles  Telephone  Company  (Blue  Earth  Valley  Telephone  Company),  Lakedale  Telephone  Company,  and  Farmers  Mutual  Telephone  Co.  5  The 
 Minnesota  Commission  proposes  to  redefine  these  rural  telephone  company  service  areas  into  service  areas  that  conform  to  the  licensed  service  area  of  Midwest  Wireless  Communications  (MidWest),  a 
 wireless  telecommunications  carrier  that  has  recently  been  designated  as  an  eligible  telecommunications  carrier.  6  Specifically,  for  CenturyTel,  the  Minnesota  Commission  proposes  to  classify  as  a  separate 
 service  area  each  of  CenturyTel’s  wire  centers  served  by  MidWest.  7  For  the  remaining  rural  telephone  companies  listed  above,  MidWest’s  licensed  service  area  does  not  cover  the  entirety  of  certain  of  those 
 telephone  companies’  wire  centers.  In  such  instances,  the  Minnesota  Commission  proposes  to  redefine  each  telephone  company’s  service  area  by  combining  into  a  single  service  area  the  portions  of  the 
 telephone  company’s  service  area  that  Midwest  is  licensed  to  serve.  8 
 Pursuant  to  section  1.1206  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §  1.1206,  this  proceeding  will  be  conducted  as  a  permit-  but-  disclose  proceeding  in  which  ex  parte  communications  are  permitted  subject  to 
 disclosure.  For  further  information,  contact  Thomas  Buckley,  Telecommunications  Access  Policy  Division,  Wireline  Competition  Bureau  at  (202)  418-  7400,  TTY  (202)  418-  0484. 


 5  See  Minnesota  Commission  Petition  at  8-  9. 
 6  See  id.  at  2. 
 7  See  id.  at  10. 
 8  See  id.  at  10-  11;  Attachment  3. 
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