§  51.807   Arbitration and mediation of agreements by the Commission pursuant
to section 252(e)(5) of the Act.

   (a) The rules established in this section shall apply only to instances
   in which the Commission assumes jurisdiction under section 252(e)(5) of
   the Act.

   (b) When the Commission assumes responsibility for a proceeding or
   matter pursuant to section 252(e)(5) of the Act, it shall not be bound
   by state laws and standards that would have applied to the state
   commission in such proceeding or matter.

   (c) In resolving, by arbitration under section 252(b) of the Act, any
   open issues and in imposing conditions upon the parties to the
   agreement, the Commission shall:

   (1) Ensure that such resolution and conditions meet the requirements of
   section 251 of the Act, including the rules prescribed by the
   Commission pursuant to that section;

   (2) Establish any rates for interconnection, services, or network
   elements according to section 252(d) of the Act, including the rules
   prescribed by the Commission pursuant to that section; and

   (3) Provide a schedule for implementation of the terms and conditions
   by the parties to the agreement.

   (d) An arbitrator, acting pursuant to the Commission's authority under
   section 252(e)(5) of the Act, shall use final offer arbitration, except
   as otherwise provided in this section:

   (1) At the discretion of the arbitrator, final offer arbitration may
   take the form of either entire package final offer arbitration or
   issue-by-issue final offer arbitration.

   (2) Negotiations among the parties may continue, with or without the
   assistance of the arbitrator, after final arbitration offers are
   submitted. Parties may submit subsequent final offers following such
   negotiations.

   (3) To provide an opportunity for final post-offer negotiations, the
   arbitrator will not issue a decision for at least fifteen days after
   submission to the arbitrator of the final offers by the parties.

   (e) Final offers submitted by the parties to the arbitrator shall be
   consistent with section 251 of the Act, including the rules prescribed
   by the Commission pursuant to that section.

   (f) Each final offer shall:

   (1) Meet the requirements of section 251, including the rules
   prescribed by the Commission pursuant to that section;

   (2) Establish rates for interconnection, services, or access to
   unbundled network elements according to section 252(d) of the Act,
   including the rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to that
   section; and

   (3) Provide a schedule for implementation of the terms and conditions
   by the parties to the agreement. If a final offer submitted by one or
   more parties fails to comply with the requirements of this section or
   if the arbitrator determines in unique circumstances that another
   result would better implement the Communications Act, the arbitrator
   has discretion to take steps designed to result in an arbitrated
   agreement that satisfies the requirements of section 252(c) of the Act,
   including requiring parties to submit new final offers within a time
   frame specified by the arbitrator, or adopting a result not submitted
   by any party that is consistent with the requirements of section 252(c)
   of the Act, and the rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to that
   section.

   (g) Participation in the arbitration proceeding will be limited to the
   requesting telecommunications carrier and the incumbent LEC, except
   that the Commission will consider requests by third parties to file
   written pleadings.

   (h) Absent mutual consent of the parties to change any terms and
   conditions adopted by the arbitrator, the decision of the arbitrator
   shall be binding on the parties.

   [ 61 FR 45619 , Aug. 29, 1996, as amended at  66 FR 8520 , Feb. 1, 2001]