CCC PPPPP U U CCC N N EEEEE W W W SSS C C P p U U C C NN N E W W W S S C P P U U C N N N E W W W S C PPPPP U U C N N N EEE W W W W SSS C P U U C N N N E WW WW S C C P U U C C N NN E W W S S COC P UUUU CCC N N EEEEE W W SSS California Public Utilities Commission 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 5301 San Francisco, CA 94102 CONTACT: Armando Rendon September 20, 1996 CPUC-078 415-703-1366 (R94-02-003) CPUC STREAMLINES REGULATION OF LONG DISTANCE COMPANIES The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today replaced the burdensome filing of detailed tariffs by long distance companies with generic customer protection rules. This is part of an ongoing effort by the Commission to streamline its regulation and better focus its customer protection efforts. The Commission, rather than continue to rely on tariffs which may vary from company to company and are administratively difficult to track and record, opted for generic customer protection rules that are clear, concise and understandable by both providers and their customers. The change is effective January 1, 1997 and implements state legislation enacted a year ago. Specifically, the Commission is freeing "nondominant interexchange carriers" (NDIECs) from tariff filings as long as they're not affiliates of local phone companies or their competitor counterparts. The NDIECs are those firms which offer long distance toll service within the state and are not rate regulated by the Commission. Later on, even the affiliated companies will be able to seek case-by-case review for the exemption. Those NDIECs that are exempted from the tariff filing requirement will be subjected to the new customer protection rules. These rules do not alter the ability of the Commission to investigate unfair or abusive business practices of any telecommunications provider. ###