Sec. 51.305  Interconnection.

    (a) An incumbent LEC shall provide, for the facilities and equipment 
of any requesting telecommunications carrier, interconnection with the 
incumbent LEC's network:
    (1) For the transmission and routing of telephone exchange traffic, 
exchange access traffic, or both;
    (2) At any technically feasible point within the incumbent LEC's 
network including, at a minimum:
    (i) The line-side of a local switch;
    (ii) The trunk-side of a local switch;
    (iii) The trunk interconnection points for a tandem switch;
    (iv) Central office cross-connect points;
    (v) Out-of-band signaling transfer points necessary to exchange 
traffic at these points and access call-related databases; and
    (vi) The points of access to unbundled network elements as described 
in Sec. 51.319;
    (3) That is at a level of quality that is equal to that which the 
incumbent LEC provides itself, a subsidiary, an affiliate, or any other 
party, except as provided in paragraph (4) of this section. At a 
minimum, this requires an incumbent LEC to design interconnection 
facilities to meet the same technical criteria and service standards 
that are used within the incumbent LEC's network. This obligation is not 
limited to a consideration of service quality as perceived by end users, 
and includes, but is not limited to, service quality as perceived by the 
requesting telecommunications carrier;
    (4) That, if so requested by a telecommunications carrier and to the 
extent technically feasible, is superior in quality to that provided by 
the incumbent LEC to itself or to any subsidiary, affiliate, or any 
other party to which the incumbent LEC provides interconnection. Nothing 
in this section prohibits an incumbent LEC from providing 
interconnection that is lesser in quality at the sole request of the 
requesting telecommunications carrier; and
    (5) On terms and conditions that are just, reasonable, and 
nondiscriminatory in accordance with the terms and conditions of any 
agreement, the requirements of sections 251 and 252 of the Act, and the 
Commission's rules including, but not limited to, offering such terms 
and conditions equally to all requesting telecommunications carriers, 
and offering such terms and conditions that are no less favorable than 
the terms and conditions upon which the incumbent LEC provides such 
interconnection to itself. This includes,

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but is not limited to, the time within which the incumbent LEC provides 
such interconnection.
    (b) A carrier that requests interconnection solely for the purpose 
of originating or terminating its interexchange traffic on an incumbent 
LEC's network and not for the purpose of providing to others telephone 
exchange service, exchange access service, or both, is not entitled to 
receive interconnection pursuant to section 251(c)(2) of the Act.
    (c) Previous successful interconnection at a particular point in a 
network, using particular facilities, constitutes substantial evidence 
that interconnection is technically feasible at that point, or at 
substantially similar points, in networks employing substantially 
similar facilities. Adherence to the same interface or protocol 
standards shall constitute evidence of the substantial similarity of 
network facilities.
    (d) Previous successful interconnection at a particular point in a 
network at a particular level of quality constitutes substantial 
evidence that interconnection is technically feasible at that point, or 
at substantially similar points, at that level of quality.
    (e) An incumbent LEC that denies a request for interconnection at a 
particular point must prove to the state commission that interconnection 
at that point is not technically feasible.
    (f) If technically feasible, an incumbent LEC shall provide two-way 
trunking upon request.
    (g) An incumbent LEC shall provide to a requesting 
telecommunications carrier technical information about the incumbent 
LEC's network facilities sufficient to allow the requesting carrier to 
achieve interconnection consistent with the requirements of this 
section.

[ 61 FR 45619 , Aug. 29, 1996, as amended at  61 FR 47351 , Sept. 6, 1996]