The Ohio Public Utilities Commission has refused to modify an earlier ruling that required telecommunications local-exchange carriers to permit their special-contract customers to reexamine their negotiated rates to look for cost-saving alternatives once competition is established in the local market.
The Ohio Telecommunications Industry Association had asked the commission to reconsider the so-called "fresh look" provisions, issued Nov. 7, 1996, claiming the rule should not apply to Centrex service contracts or where the termination liability established under an existing contract does not exceed the remaining revenue paid by the customer.
According to the association, the renegotiation provisions should apply only to contracts for basic local-exchange services (em i.e., services that were truly noncompetitive when negotiated. In rejecting the request, the commission said the fresh look
provisions should apply to all local noncompetitive contracts, including Centrex contracts, that fall within the parameters established under the rules it had set out for the move to a competitive local exchange market. The rules should apply regardless of the termination provisions contained in any individual contract, the commission added. Re Local Exch. Competition and Other Competitive Issues, Case No. 95-845-TP-COI, Feb. 20, 1997 (Ohio P.U.C.).
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