Before the Washington, D.C. 20554 in the Matter of ) ) Section 63.71 Application of ) ) File No. Bellsouth Telecommunications, L
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Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Section 63.71 Application of ) ) File No. BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC ) Illinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC ) Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Incorporated ) Michigan Bell Telephone Company ) Nevada Bell Telephone Company ) Pacific Bell Telephone Company ) Southwestern Bell Telephone Company ) The Ohio Bell Telephone Company ) Wisconsin Bell, Inc. ) ) For Authority Pursuant to Section 214 of ) The Communications Act of 1934, As Amended, ) To Discontinue the Provision of Service ) SECTION 63.71 APPLICATION OF AT&T AT&T Services, Inc., on behalf of its affiliates, BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC, d/b/a AT&T Alabama, AT&T Florida, AT&T Georgia, AT&T Kentucky, AT&T Louisiana, AT&T Mississippi, AT&T North Carolina, AT&T South Carolina, and AT&T Tennessee; Illinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC, d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Incorporated, d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a AT&T Michigan; Nevada Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a AT&T Nevada; Pacific Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a AT&T California; Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma, and AT&T Texas; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a AT&T Ohio; and Wisconsin Bell, Inc., d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin, (collectively referred to herein as “AT&T”) applies for authority under Section 214(a) of the Communications Act, as amended (“the Act”), 47 U.S.C. § 214, and Section 63.71 of the Federal Communications Commission’s (“Commission”) rules, 47 C.F.R. §63.71, to discontinue interstate Metallic, Telegraph Grade, Voice Grade, Direct Analog, Base Rate (DS0), MegaLink Data, High Capacity (64K), Digital Data, Digital Data Access, Derived Data Channel, Generic Digital Transport, and Program Audio Service (“the Affected Services”) throughout its service territories in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. As required by Section 63.71 of the Commission’s rules, AT&T provides the following information: Name and Address of Carrier: BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC Illinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Incorporated Michigan Bell Telephone Company Pacific Bell Telephone Company Nevada Bell Telephone Company Southwestern Bell Telephone Company The Ohio Bell Telephone Company Wisconsin Bell, Inc. The address for purposes of this application is: 208 South Akard Street Dallas, TX 75202 Date of Planned Service Discontinuance: Effective November 1, 2019, pending regulatory approval, the Affected Services will no longer be available to new customers or existing customers seeking to renew their service agreement. Current customers subscribing to these services may retain their existing services subject to the following changes: effective November 1, 2019, AT&T will no longer renew service agreements for the Affected Services, and following the expiration 2 of existing term agreements, AT&T will provide the services on a month-to-month basis until the service is discontinued. AT&T plans to discontinue Metallic, Telegraph Grade, Voice Grade, Direct Analog, Base Rate (DS0), MegaLink Data, High Capacity (64K), Digital Data, Digital Data Access, Derived Data Channel, and Generic Digital Transport Services on or after June 30, 2024 or upon the expiration of the customer’s existing term agreement, whichever is later. AT&T plans to discontinue Program Audio Service on or after November 1, 2020, or upon the expiration of the customer’s existing term agreement, whichever is later. Finally, effective November 1, 2019, AT&T will no longer accept new requests for physical changes to existing service arrangements including the upgrade or downgrade of access/port speed, installation of new service, or moves to different service addresses. Points of Geographic Areas of Service Affected: AT&T will no longer offer the Affected Services throughout its service territory in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. Brief Description of Type of Service Affected: Metallic service is an unconditioned two-wire circuit capable of transmitting low speed varying signals at rates up to 30 baud. This channel is provided by metallic or equivalent facilities. Telegraph Grade service is an unconditioned circuit capable of transmitting binary signals at rates of 0-75 baud or 0-150 baud. This channel is furnished for half-duplex or duplex operation. 3 Voice Grade service is a circuit which provides voice frequency transmission capability in the nominal frequency range of 300 to 3000 hertz (Hz) and may be terminated two-wire or four-wire. Direct Analog service is a channel which provides voice frequency transmission capability in the nominal frequency range of 300 to 3000 Hz and may be terminated as two-wire or four-wire. Base Rate service is a 56 Kbps transmission path between a customer designated premises and a Public Switched Digital Service (PSDS) serving office. MegaLink Data service is a channel for duplex four-wire transmission of synchronous serial data at the rate of 2.4, 4.8, 9.6, 19.2, 56 kbps or 64 kbps Clear Channel (CC), 128, 256, 384, 512, or 768 kbps. The actual bit rate is a function of the channel interface selected by the customer. The channel provides a synchronous service with timing provided by AT&T through AT&T's facilities to the customer in the received bit stream. High Capacity service is a channel for the transmission of nominal 64 kbps isochronous serial data. Digital Data service is a channel for duplex four-wire transmission of synchronous serial data at the rate of 2.4, 4.8, 9.6, 56, or 64 kbps. The actual bit rate is a function of the channel interface selected by the customer. The channel provides a synchronous service with timing provided by AT&T through AT&T's facilities to the customer in the received bit stream. Digital Data Access service is a channel for duplex four-wire transmission of synchronous serial data at the rate of 2.4, 4.8, 9.6, 19.2, 56, or 64 kbps. Transmission speeds of 2.4, 4.8, 9.6, and 19.2 kbps are referred to as low speed Digital Data Access service 4 options, and transmission speeds of 56 and 64 kbps are referred to as high speed service options. The actual bit rate is a function of the channel interface selected by the customer. Derived Data Channel service is a digital data channel derived from a two-wire local exchange facility that transmits voice and data signals simultaneously. Generic Digital Transport service is for duplex four-wire transmission of synchronous serial data at the rate of 2.4, 4.8, 9.6, 19.2, 56, or 64 kbps. The actual bit rate is a function of the channel interface selected by the customer. The service is synchronous, with timing provided by AT&T through AT&T's facilities to the customer in the received bit stream. Program Audio service is a channel measured in Hz for the transmission of a complex signal voltage. The actual bandwidth is a function of the network channel interface selected by the customer. Only one-way transmission is provided. AT&T is discontinuing the Affected Services because they are at the end of their product life cycle as circuit demand has declined significantly for low speed analog services. Similarly, in many cases, the electronic equipment needed to support these services is no longer manufactured. The public convenience and necessity will not be impaired by the discontinuance of these services because customers are being given significant notice of these changes, which allows them ample time to transition to alternative service arrangements before they are discontinued. In addition, AT&T offers a variety of services that offer the same capabilities, such as AT&T Switched Ethernet service, DS-1 service, or Wireless Data service. 5 Brief Description of the Dates and Methods of Notice to All Affected Customers: Customer notices were sent via U.S. Mail on August 20, 2019.1 Copies of this Application are being sent, first class U.S. Mail, to the public utility commissions, governors, federally recognized tribes (if any) in the affected states, and to the Special Assistant for Telecommunications to the Secretary of Defense, as required by 63.71(a) of the Commission’s rules.2 Regulatory Classification of Carrier: AT&T offers the Affected Services pursuant to dominant carrier regulation. Questions about this application may be addressed to Joshua Woodbridge, AT&T Services, Inc., Director - Federal Regulatory, 1120 20th Street N.W., Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 457-2139. Conclusion: As discussed above, the public convenience and necessity will not be adversely affected by the discontinuance of the Affected Services because AT&T offers other solutions. AT&T respectfully requests the Commission approve its Section 63.71 Application to discontinue service. Respectfully submitted, By: /s/Terri L. Hoskins__ Terri L. Hoskins Gary L. Phillips David Lawson AT&T Services, Inc. 1 See Attachment A 2 Section 63.71(a) directs applicants to submit a copy of the application to the Secretary of Defense, Special Assistant for Telecommunications. However, due to restructuring within the Department of Defense, that position no longer exists. Commission staff has advised