*Pages 1--5 from Microsoft Word - 56984.doc* PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th Street, 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 06- 1014 Released: May 11, 2006 DOMESTIC SECTION 214 APPLICATION FILED FOR THE TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF MID- MAINE COMMUNICATIONS, INC., MID- MAINE TELECOM, INC., AND MID- MAINE TELPLUS D/ B/ A MID- MAINE LONG DISTANCE TO OTELCO INC. STREAMLINED PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED WC Docket No. 06- 93 Comments Due: May 25, 2006 Reply Comments Due: June 1, 2006 On April 20, 2006, Mid- Maine Communications, Inc. (“ Communications”), Mid- Maine Telecom, Inc. (“ Telecom”) and Mid- Maine Telplus d/ b/ a Mid- Maine Long Distance (“ Telplus”) (collectively the “Mid- Maine Companies” or “Transferors”) and Otelco Inc. (“ Otelco” or “Transferee,” Transferors and Transferee will be referred to as “Applicants”), filed an application, pursuant to section 63.04 of the Commission’s rules, 1 requesting authority to transfer control of Communications, the parent company of Telecom and Telplus, to Otelco. 2 Applicants submit that this transaction is entitled to presumptive streamlined treatment under 63.03( b)( 2)( iii) of the Commission’s rules because (i) the proposed transaction would result in Otelco and its subsidiaries having a market share in the interstate, interexchange market of less than 10 %; (ii) to the extent competitive local exchange service is offered, it is offered exclusively by a dominant local exchange carrier that is not a party to the proposed transaction, and (iii) the Otelco local exchange carriers have, in combination, fewer than 2% of the nation’s subscriber lines installed and there are no overlapping or adjacent service areas among Applicants. 3 1 47 C. F. R § 63.04; see 47 U. S. C. § 214. 2 Applicants are also filing applications for transfer of control associated with authorization for international services. Any action on this domestic 214 application is without prejudice to Commission action on other related, pending applications. 3 47 C. F. R. § 63. 03( b)( 2)( iii). Telecom’s incumbent local exchange territories in West Enfield, Lavant and Alton abut the corporate limits of Bangor, Maine, where Telplus offers CLEC services. 1 2 Otelco, a Delaware corporation, is the ultimate parent of five independent LECs serving rural areas of Alabama and Missouri: (1) Otelco Telephone LLC, operating approximately 8,177 lines in one exchange in Blount County, Alabama; (2) through its ownership of Brindlee Holdings LLC, Brindlee Mountain Telephone Company operating approximately 12,312 lines in three exchanges in Blount, Marshall, Morgan, and Cullman counties, Alabama; (3) through its ownership of Hopper Holding Company, Inc., Hopper Telecommunications Company, Inc., operating approximately 3,795 lines in two exchanges in Blount and Etowah counties, Alabama; (4) through its ownership of Page & Kiser Communications, Inc., Blountsville Telephone Company, Inc., operating approximately 3,927 lines in two exchanges in Blount County, Alabama; and (5) through its ownership of Mid- Missouri Holding Corp., Mid- Missouri Telephone Company, operating approximately 4,366 lines in twelve exchanges in Cooper, Moniteau, Morgan, Pettis, and Saline counties, Missouri. Each of these operating companies offers basic local exchange, exchange access, vertical services, and Internet access services, including DSL. Mid Missouri Telephone Company also provides cable television services in the towns of Bruceton and Pilot Grove in Missouri. Otelco does not currently offer competitive telephone exchange service or competitive exchange access service. Otelco also wholly owns Otelco Telecommunications LLC, which resells interstate and international toll service to the customers of the four Alabama rural LECs identified above and provides cable television services in portions of Blount and Etowah counties in Alabama. Otelco is a publicly- held corporation trading on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol “OTT” and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “OTT. un.” No stockholder holds a 5% or greater interest in Otelco. The Applicants propose to transfer control of the domestic Section 214 authorizations of Telecom and Telplus to Otelco through a reverse triangular merger, wherein a single- purpose acquisition subsidiary is formed by Otelco for the purpose of merging with Communications, which will be the surviving entity. Specifically, Otelco has formed a subsidiary, MM Merger Corp., a Delaware corporation, which will merge with Communications. Communications will be the surviving corporation, and the existence of MM Merger Corp. will, upon consummation and effectiveness of the proposed transaction, terminate, leaving Communications a wholly-owned subsidiary of Otelco. After the proposed transaction, Telecom and Telplus will continue to operate in the same service territory, under the same trade name. The companies will continue to offer services pursuant to their current rates, terms and conditions. No carrier change charges are associated with the proposed transaction, and no customer service or billing contact information will change as a result of the transfer. The transaction will not affect customers’ preferred carrier freezes. Applicants submit that the proposed transaction will serve the public interest because (i) the ownership structure and investment participation will enable the continued provision of high-quality communications services to Mid- Maine subscribers; (ii) the economic and strategic efficiencies that will result from the proposed transaction, benefiting the current subscribers of 2 5 (5) James Bird, Office of General Counsel, 445 12th Street, S. W., Room 8- C824, Washington, D. C. 20554; e- mail: james. bird@ fcc. gov. Filings and comments are also available for public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, S. W., Room CY- A257, Washington, D. C. 20554. They may also be purchased from the Commission’s duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street, S. W., Room CYB402, Washington, D. C. 20554, telephone: (202) 488- 5300, fax: (202) 488- 5563, or via e-mail www. bcpiweb. com. For further information, please contact Tracey Wilson- Parker at (202) 418- 1394, or Heather Hendrickson at (202) 418- 7295. - FCC - 5