Indiana Utility
Regulatory Commission
302 West Washington
Street, Room 306
Indianapolis
Indiana 46204
317.232.2297 office
317.233.1982 fax
Today the Indiana
Utility Regulatory Commission opened a process aimed at streamlining some
regulatory and administrative procedures that have been in place since 1999.
In Cause No. 39983,
the Commission is considering ways to reduce as many regulatory obstacles as
possible to competition in the telephone industry.
Based on the
Commission’s experience and practice, it appears that the requirement to hold
an evidentiary hearing in some circumstances may place an unnecessary time and
expense on the competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), and inhibit
competition.
The Commission
proposes allowing CLECs to submit forms in lieu of a petition that requires a
hearing in some instances. The forms
will inform the Commission and other interested parties about changes a CLEC is
considering. The Commission will
publish notice of the proposed change and review the form to determine if the
proposed change raises any issue of public interest that would require an
evidentiary hearing. The issues
addressed in this proposal are rarely contested and are generally completed
with the support of the Indiana Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor.
The Commission will
receive and consider comments about the proposed changes in regulatory and
administrative procedures 30-days after the evidentiary hearing.
A recent survey by
the IURC finds that Incumbent phone companies serve 98% of Hoosier phone
customers. Competitive exchange
carriers have just 8% of the market.
Most of those companies cater to the business community. The Commission believes it is in the best
interest ratepayers to do what it can to facilitate competition.
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