Verizon will refile its Sec. 271 petition for N.J. very soon, ‘ma...

after it became clear that FCC wasn’t going to approve it, and promised to refile “promptly.” Legg Mason told investors it didn’t see N.J. situation as having “repercussions for Verizon’s long distance entry into other states” such as Me. and N.H., which are teed up for submission to FCC by end of March (CD March 14 p4). “If Verizon were to take steps to address certain issues, such as a rate reduction for hot cuts, it might be able to reduce controversy and speed the process somewhat,” Legg Mason said. One of FCC’s concerns reportedly was procedural: Late submission of order by N.J. Board of Public Utilities (BPU) dealing with rates for unbundled network elements (UNEs). Although BPU had supported Verizon’s Sec. 271 entry, it didn’t issue related order on UNE rates until March 7, less than 2 weeks before March 20 statutory deadline for FCC to act on Sec. 271 petition. Verizon, which sought to submit 299-page N.J. order into record, had argued order simply made official decisions that BPU had reached late last year. FCC’s concern about N.J. petition reportedly extended beyond that procedural issue, however. Agency also was concerned about nonrecurring rates Verizon was charging for “hot cuts.” Hot cut is when local customer’s line is removed from Verizon switch and plugged into competitor’s facilities. Competitors such as AT&T had argued that those rates weren’t cost-based.