PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 14-1155 Released: August 8, 2014 DOMESTIC SECTION 214 APPLICATION FILED FOR THE TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF PINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM, INC. TO NORTH-STATE TELEPHONE CO. STREAMLINED PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED WC Docket No. 14-114 Comments Due: August 22, 2014 Reply Comments Due: August 29, 2014 On August 1, 2014, Ron L. Milford, R. Gray Mundell, John B. Hemphill, William T. Alexander, George Alexander, and Alexander Construction (Transferors) and North-State Telephone Co. (North- State) (together, Applicants) filed an application pursuant to section 63.03 of the Commission’s rules to transfer control of Transferor’s holding company, Pine Communications, LLC (Pine LLC), and its subsidiary, Pine Telephone System, Inc. (Pine), to North-State.1. Transferors, U.S. citizens and a U.S. entity, own Pine LLC, a Texas limited liability company that holds 100 percent of the capital stock of Pine, an Oregon corporation. Pine provides incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) service to 880 access lines located in the Granite, Halfway, Three Rivers, and Thorn exchanges in northeast and central Oregon. North-State, an Oregon corporation, is an incumbent LEC serving 486 lines in the Dufur service area in the north central portion of Oregon. Applicants state that Oregon Telephone Corporation (OTC), an Oregon corporation, owns 95 percent of North-State. Garrin Bott, a U.S. citizen, owns 100 percent of the equity of OTC. Applicants state that North-State recently acquired Home Telephone Company, an incumbent LEC serving the Condon service area in north central Oregon. North-State also owns Skyline Telephone Company, an incumbent LEC operating in Washington. Further, OTC has a 60 percent interest in New Florence Telephone Company, an incumbent LEC operating in Missouri. Applicants state that the parties to the application have no overlapping or adjacent service territories. Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, North-State will acquire 100 percent of each of the Transferor’s interests in Pine LLC. Applicants assert that the proposed transaction is entitled to presumptive streamlined treatment under section 63.03(b)(2)(iii) of the Commission’s rules and that a grant of the application will serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity.2 1 47 C.F.R § 63.03; see 47 U.S.C. § 214. Applicants filed a supplement to their domestic section 214 application on August 7, 2014. 2 47 C.F.R. § 63.03(b)(2)(iii). Domestic Section 214 Application Filed for the Transfer of Control of Pine Telephone Systems, Inc. to North-State Telephone Co., WC Docket No. 14-114 (filed August 1, 2014). GENERAL INFORMATION The transfer of control identified herein has been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing as a streamlined application. The Commission reserves the right to return any transfer application if, upon further examination, it is determined to be defective and not in conformance with the Commission’s rules and policies. Pursuant to section 63.03(a) of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 63.03(a), interested parties may file comments on or before August 22, 2014, and reply comments on or before August 29, 2014. Pursuant to section 63.52 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 63.52, commenters must serve a copy of comments on the Applicants no later than the above comment filing date. Unless otherwise notified by the Commission, the Applicants may transfer control on the 31st day after the date of this notice. Pursuant to section 63.03 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 63.03, parties to this proceeding should file any documents in this proceeding using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS): http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. In addition, e-mail one copy of each pleading to each of the following: 1) Tracey Wilson, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, tracey.wilson@fcc.gov; 2) Jodie May, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, jodie.may@fcc.gov; 3) Jim Bird, Office of General Counsel, jim.bird@fcc.gov. People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (tty). The proceeding in this Notice shall be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in accordance with the Commission’s ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter’s written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b), 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules. For further information, please contact Tracey Wilson at (202) 418-1394 or Jodie May at (202) 418-0913. - FCC -