PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 News media information 202/418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202/418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov DA 98-1506 NSD-L-98-99 Released: July 28, 1998 REQUEST BY BELL ATLANTIC-WEST VIRGINIA FOR INTERIM RELIEF UNDER SECTION 706, OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, A LATA BOUNDARY MODIFICATION Pleading Cycle Established COMMENTS: August 10, 1998 REPLY COMMENTS: August 15, 1998 On July 23, 1998, Bell Atlantic-West Virginia (Bell Atlantic) filed a request for emergency relief to allow Bell Atlantic to provide the State of West Virginia with "high- speed connections to the Internet." Bell Atlantic requests the Commission to grant this relief pursuant to section 706(a), or, in the alternative, as a modification to the Local Access and Transport Areas (LATAs) boundaries in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. In its petition, Bell Atlantic claims that it, and the State of West Virginia, have been unable to find one or more long distance carriers that are willing to provide high-speed links to connect the State of West Virginia's public Internet Access Point to the closest public or private Internet access point across the border in Pennsylvania. Bell Atlantic further claims that, for the past six months, no incumbent Internet backbone provider has agreed to provide an end-to-end link, and that the only provider offering to provide part of one link failed to meet several prior commitments. Bell Atlantic states the consequences to West Virginia of failing to solve this "bandwidth famine" will be severe, causing Internet access to be slowed or blocked at every public institution. According to Bell Atlantic, more than 150 K-12 schools, which already have announced plans to upgrade existing internet connections from 56 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps, may delay or cancel their upgrade plans. Bell Atlantic also asserts that state higher education institutions may postpone or cancel plans to establish high-speed access to the West Virginia 2001 network, a joint Bell Atlantic/West Virginia communications infrastructure. Bell Atlantic requests emergency authority to provide high capacity computer-to-computer links between LATAs within West Virginia and between West Virginia and the nearest Internet Access Points in Pittsburgh and Richmond. Bell Atlantic argues that the Commission has such authority pursuant to the directive in section 706 of the Act that the Commission may encourage the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability through, inter alia, regulatory forbearance. In the alternative, Bell Atlantic argues that the Commission may grant the requested relief as a LATA boundary modification pursuant to section 3(25) of the Act. Pursuant to Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on before August 10, 1998, and reply comments on or before August 15, 1998. Comments and reply comments should reference File No. NSD-L- 98-99. Commenting parties are specifically requested to comment on the Commission's legal authority to grant the relief requested by Bell Atlantic. Such comments should address, but not be limited to, Commission authority under section 706(a), section 3(25), section 10(d), and any other relevant section of the Communications Act, as amended. Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24,121 (1998). Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to . Generally, only one copy of an electronic submission must be filed. If multiple docket or rulemaking numbers appear in the caption of this proceeding, however, commenters must transmit one electronic copy of the comments to each docket or rulemaking number referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions for e-mail comments, commenters should send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and should include the following words in the body of the message, "get form