Sec.  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]