PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 14-807 June 11, 2014 DOMESTIC SECTION 214 APPLICATION FILED FOR THE TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF HOME TELEPHONE COMPANY FROM TDS TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. D/B/A TDS TELECOM TO NORTH-STATE TELEPHONE CO. STREAMLINED PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED WC Docket No. 14-88 Comments Due: June 25, 2014 Reply Comments Due: July 2, 2014 On May 29, 2014, TDS Telecommunications Corp., d/b/a TDS Telecom (TDS Telecom) 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 TDS Telecom’s direct subsidiary, Home Telephone Company (Home), to North-State. 1 Home, an Oregon corporation, is an incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) serving 641 lines in the Condon service area in the north central portion of Oregon. Home is a direct subsidiary of TDS Telecom, a Delaware corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS), a publicly traded Delaware corporation. TDS provides incumbent LEC service through 115 subsidiaries in 28 states and competitive LEC service in Illinois and North Dakota. TDS is controlled by a voting trust whose trustees are LeRoy T Carlson, Jr., Walter C.D. Carlson, Prudence E. Carlson, and Dr. Letitia G.C. Carlson, all U.S. citizens. Applicants state that no other person or entity owns a ten percent or more direct or indirect interest in TDS Telecom. 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. 2 Applicants state that the parties to the application have no overlapping or adjacent service territories. 1 47 C.F.R § 63.03; see 47 U.S.C. § 214. Applicants filed a supplement to their domestic section 214 application on June 10, 2014. 2 Mr. Bott also owns New Florence Telephone Company, an incumbent LEC in Missouri that has filed a pending domestic section 214 application to assume control of New London Telephone Company, Orchard Farm Telephone Company, and Stoutland Telephone Company, all direct subsidiaries of TDS Telecom that provide incumbent LEC 2Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, North-State will acquire 100 percent of the capital stock of Home from TDS Telecom. 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. 3 Domestic Section 214 Application Filed for the Transfer of Control of Home Telephone Company from TDS Telecommunications Corp., d/b/a TDS Telecom to North-State Telephone Co., WC Docket No. 14-88 (filed May 29, 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 June 25, 2014, and reply comments on or before July 2, 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) Myrva Charles, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, myrva.charles@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 service in Missouri. Application for Consent for Transfer of Control of TDS Telecommunications Corp., d/b/a TDS Telecom and New Florence Telephone Company, WC Docket No. 14-87 (filed May 29, 2014). Mr. Bott indirectly owns 7.5% of Direct Communications Long Distance, Inc., an Idaho corporation that provides interexchange services in Missouri. 3 47 C.F.R. § 63.03(b)(2)(iii). 3oral 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 Myrva Charles at (202) 418-1506 or Jodie May at 202- 418-0913. - FCC -