§ 51.333   Notice of network changes: Short term notice, objections thereto
and objections to copper retirement notices.

   (a) Certificate of service. If an incumbent LEC wishes to provide less
   than six months' notice of planned network changes, or provide notice
   of a planned copper retirement, the public notice or certification that
   it files with the Commission must include a certificate of service in
   addition to the information required by § 51.327(a) or § 51.329(a)(2), as
   applicable. The certificate of service shall include:

   (1) A statement that, at least five business days in advance of its
   filing with the Commission, the incumbent LEC served a copy of its
   public notice upon each telephone exchange service provider that
   directly interconnects with the incumbent LEC's network, provided that,
   with respect to copper retirement notices, such service may be made by
   postings on the incumbent LEC's website if the directly interconnecting
   telephone exchange service provider has agreed to receive notice by
   website postings; and

   (2) The name and address of each such telephone exchange service
   provider upon which the notice was served.

   (b) Implementation date. The Commission will release a public notice of
   filings of such short term notices or copper retirement notices. The
   effective date of the network changes referenced in those filings shall
   be subject to the following requirements:

   (1) Short term notice. Short term notices shall be deemed final on the
   tenth business day after the release of the Commission's public notice,
   unless an objection is filed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.

   (2) Copper retirement notice. Notices of copper retirement, as defined
   in § 51.325(a)(3), shall be deemed final on the 90th day after the
   release of the Commission's public notice of the filing, unless an
   objection is filed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, except
   that notices of copper retirement involving copper facilities not being
   used to provision services to any customers shall be deemed final on
   the 15th day after the release of the Commission's public notice of the
   filing. Incumbent LEC copper retirement notices shall be subject to the
   short-term notice provisions of this section, but under no
   circumstances may an incumbent LEC provide less than 90 days' notice of
   such a change except where the copper facilities are not being used to
   provision services to any customers.

   (c) Objection procedures for short term notice and copper retirement
   notices. An objection to an incumbent LEC's short term notice or to its
   copper retirement notice may be filed by an information service
   provider or telecommunications service provider that directly
   interconnects with the incumbent LEC's network. Such objections must be
   filed with the Commission, and served on the incumbent LEC, no later
   than the ninth business day following the release of the Commission's
   public notice. All objections filed under this section must:

   (1) State specific reasons why the objector cannot accommodate the
   incumbent LEC's changes by the date stated in the incumbent LEC's
   public notice and must indicate any specific technical information or
   other assistance required that would enable the objector to accommodate
   those changes;

   (2) List steps the objector is taking to accommodate the incumbent
   LEC's changes on an expedited basis;

   (3) State the earliest possible date (not to exceed six months from the
   date the incumbent LEC gave its original public notice under this
   section) by which the objector anticipates that it can accommodate the
   incumbent LEC's changes, assuming it receives the technical information
   or other assistance requested under paragraph (c)(1) of this section;

   (4) Provide any other information relevant to the objection; and

   (5) Provide the following affidavit, executed by the objector's
   president, chief executive officer, or other corporate officer or
   official, who has appropriate authority to bind the corporation, and
   knowledge of the details of the objector's inability to adjust its
   network on a timely basis:

   “I, (name and title), under oath and subject to penalty for perjury,
   certify that I have read this objection, that the statements contained
   in it are true, that there is good ground to support the objection, and
   that it is not interposed for purposes of delay. I have appropriate
   authority to make this certification on behalf of (objector) and I
   agree to provide any information the Commission may request to allow
   the Commission to evaluate the truthfulness and validity of the
   statements contained in this objection.”

   (d) Response to objections. If an objection is filed, an incumbent LEC
   shall have until no later than the fourteenth business day following
   the release of the Commission's public notice to file with the
   Commission a response to the objection and to serve the response on all
   parties that filed objections. An incumbent LEC's response must:

   (1) Provide information responsive to the allegations and concerns
   identified by the objectors;

   (2) State whether the implementation date(s) proposed by the
   objector(s) are acceptable;

   (3) Indicate any specific technical assistance that the incumbent LEC
   is willing to give to the objectors; and

   (4) Provide any other relevant information.

   (e) Resolution. If an objection is filed pursuant to paragraph (c) of
   this section, then the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau, will issue
   an order determining a reasonable public notice period, provided
   however, that if an incumbent LEC does not file a response within the
   time period allotted, or if the incumbent LEC's response accepts the
   latest implementation date stated by an objector, then the incumbent
   LEC's public notice shall be deemed amended to specify the
   implementation date requested by the objector, without further
   Commission action. An incumbent LEC must amend its public notice to
   reflect any change in the applicable implementation date pursuant to
   § 51.329(b).

   (f) Resolution of objections to copper retirement notices. An objection
   to a notice that an incumbent LEC intends to retire copper, as defined
   in § 51.325(a)(3) shall be deemed denied 90 days after the date on which
   the Commission releases public notice of the incumbent LEC filing,
   unless the Commission rules otherwise within that time. Until the
   Commission has either ruled on an objection or the 90-day period for
   the Commission's consideration has expired, an incumbent LEC may not
   retire those copper facilities at issue.

   (g) Limited exemption from advance notice and timing requirements—(1)
   Force majeure events. (i) Notwithstanding the requirements of this
   section, if in response to a force majeure event, an incumbent LEC
   invokes its disaster recovery plan, the incumbent LEC will be exempted
   during the period when the plan is invoked (up to a maximum 180 days)
   from all advanced notice and waiting period requirements under this
   section associated with network changes that result from or are
   necessitated as a direct result of the force majeure event.

   (ii) As soon as practicable, during the exemption period, the incumbent
   LEC must continue to comply with § 51.325(a), include in its public
   notice the date on which the carrier invoked its disaster recovery
   plan, and must communicate with other directly interconnected telephone
   exchange service providers to ensure that such carriers are aware of
   any changes being made to their networks that may impact those
   carriers' operations.

   (iii) If an incumbent LEC requires relief from the notice requirements
   under this section longer than 180 days after it invokes the disaster
   recovery plan, the incumbent LEC must request such authority from the
   Commission. Any such request must be accompanied by a status report
   describing the incumbent LEC's progress and providing an estimate of
   when the incumbent LEC expects to be able to resume compliance with the
   notice requirements under this section.

   (iv) For purposes of this section, “force majeure” means a highly
   disruptive event beyond the control of the incumbent LEC, such as a
   natural disaster or a terrorist attack.

   (v) For purposes of this section, “disaster recovery plan” means a
   disaster response plan developed by the incumbent LEC for the purpose
   of responding to a force majeure event.

   (2) Other events outside an incumbent LEC's control. (i)
   Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, if in response to
   circumstances outside of its control other than a force majeure event
   addressed in paragraph (g)(1) of this section, an incumbent LEC cannot
   comply with the timing requirement set forth in paragraphs (b)(1) or
   (2) of this section, hereinafter referred to as the waiting period, the
   incumbent LEC must give notice of the network change as soon as
   practicable and will be entitled to a reduced waiting period
   commensurate with the circumstances at issue.

   (ii) A short term network change or copper retirement notice subject to
   paragraph (g)(2) of this section must include a brief explanation of
   the circumstances necessitating the reduced waiting period and how the
   incumbent LEC intends to minimize the impact of the reduced waiting
   period on directly interconnected telephone exchange service providers.

   (iii) For purposes of this section, circumstances outside of the
   incumbent LEC's control include federal, state, or local municipal
   mandates and unintentional damage to the incumbent LEC's network
   facilities not caused by the incumbent LEC.

   [ 61 FR 47352 , Sept. 6, 1996, as amended at  67 FR 13226 , Mar. 21, 2002;
    68 FR 52305 , Sept. 2, 2003;  69 FR 77954 ; Dec. 29, 2004;  80 FR 63371 ,
   Oct. 19, 2015;  82 FR 61477 , Dec. 28, 2017;  83 FR 31675 , July 9, 2018]

   Effective Date Note: At  83 FR 31675 , July 9, 2018, § 51.333 was amended
   by revising paragraphs (g)(1)(i), (g)(1)(iii), and (g)(2). These
   paragraphs contain information collection and recordkeeping
   requirements and will not become effective until approval has been
   given by the Office of Management and Budget.

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