VeriZon & Frontier: Details on CA/OR/NV/AZ and WV/MD/VA/NC [telecom]

In mid-May 2009, VeriZon and Frontier announced that VeriZon intends to sell off its ILEC landline operations in more than a dozen states, over to Frontier ...

NOTE that ALL of this is still PENDING STOCKHOLDER APPROVAL (from both VeriZon and Frontier investors) AND ALSO REGULATORY/GOVERNMENT APPROVAL (state and federal, both utility/telecom regulatory agencies as well as any other government agencies).

It was determined that VeriZon is intending to sell off virtually all of the remaining legacy GTE and Contel that it still holds, with the exception of GTE in the Tampa FL area, the GTE and Contel in Texas that VeriZon still retained after some was sold to Valor (now part of Windstream) back in 2000 shortly after BA/NYNEX took over GTE/Contel to form VZ), and that VZ will retain MOST of GTE and Contel in California (only a few parts of VeriZon-legacy GTE and Contel in California, near the border with Oregon, Nevada, Arizona are supposed to be sold off to Frontier).

BTW, these three states, California, Texas, and Florida, have the MOST number of area codes when compared to any other state, province, territory, island, etc. within the North American Numbering Plan/ DDD Network -- California has about 30 area codes, Texas has about

24 area codes, and Florida has about 17 area codes.

The GTE and Contel states of VeriZon which are to be sold off completely to Frontier, are supposed to be North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state, Idaho. Note that back in 2000 and 2002, there were other legacy GTE/Contel states that VeriZon sold to others, and at various times during the 1990s, GTE sold off some Contel and even long-time GTE areas, after having taken over Contel in the early 1990s. In both waves of sales of legacy GTE including Contel, during the 1990s and the early 2000s, Frontier or Citizens was one of several companies that GTE or VeriZon sold exchange territory to.

VeriZon ALSO intends on selling to Frontier, its landline ILEC exchanges in West Virginia. This would be legacy Bell-Atlantic/C&P Tel of West Virginia, a BOC yet, since all old GTE and Contel exchanges in West Virginia were already sold to Citizens (now part of Frontier) by GTE back in the early 1990s, shortly after GTE bought out Contel. (In some ways, this parallels the sale of legacy BA/NYNEX/New England Tel and Tel in the three uppermost northeastern states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, to FairPoint, which officially took effect in Spring 2008. Also, there was old Contel in ME/NH/VT that GTE inherited in the early 1990s with the takeover of Contel, these area temporarily renamed GTE, but by the mid-1990s, GTE sold these ME/NH/VT one-time Contel exchanges to an industry consortium which divided up these exchanges, the company that eventually picked up most of them eventually "evolved" into FairPoint by the early 2000s, the same FairPoint which just took over old NET&T in ME/NH/VT from VeriZon/BA/NYNEX!)

Legacy GTE and Contel areas in Pennsylvania and Virginia will continue to be retained by VeriZon, NOT transferred to Frontier. The legacy BOC in both states in Bell Atlantic, and after GTE (including Contel) was taken over by BA/NYNEX in 2000 to form VeriZon, the regular day-to-day operations of legacy GTE and Contel in these two Bell Atlantic states was mostly consolidated into those of BOC Bell Atlantic, whether the GTE and Contel exchanges were in a Bell Atlantic LATA or in a legacy GTE or Contel LATA.

BTW, Frontier/Citizens/etc., prior to any takeover of legacy GTE and Contel (and legacy Bell-Atlantic/C&P-West Virginia) from VeriZon THIS time around, is already present in the following 27 states:

New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia (*); Michigan (*) [and Ohio (*)], Indiana (*), Illinois (*), Wisconsin (*); Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi; Minnesota [and North Dakota, South Dakota], Iowa, Nebraska [and Kansas]; Montana, Idaho (*), Utah, Arizona (*), New Mexico, Oregon (*); California (*), Nevada (*).

(*) these are states where VeriZon wants to sell legacy GTE and Contel to Frontier, as well as West Virginia BOC Bell-Atlantic/C&P. Presently, Frontier has no presence in Washington state, nor North Carolina or South Carolina, these three states where VeriZon wants to sell legacy GTE and Contel to Frontier.

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As for WHICH legacy GTE and Contel exchanges in California VeriZon would sell to Frontier and which VZ would retain, it has been indicated that some smaller rural areas near the Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona state lines would be sold to Frontier. When VeriZon and Frontier first announced this sale of these (mostly legacy GTE and Contel) exchanges back in mid-May 2009, the news/press/media stories, including those from VeriZon and Frontier, did not give any detail as to which specific California exchanges would be sold to Frontier.

I did find out from the California PUC and from VeriZon that "some" VeriZon (old GTE and old Contel) exchanges in the following COUNTIES "could" be sold to Frontier (pending regulatory/government approval, as well as approval from the shareholders of both VeriZon and Frontier):

- Delnorte County

- Humboldt County (along the Pacific Ocean, Delnorte borders Oregon, Humboldt is just to the south of Delnorte)

- Alpine County

- Mono County (bordering Nevada in the Lake Tahoe area)

- San Bernardino County

- Riverside County (bordering Arizona)

I did ask about Inyo County (which borders Nevada in the "Death Valley" area, and is completely old Contel for its ILEC), and Imperial County where there is one old Contel ratecenter at the Arizona state-line, but at the time, neither VeriZon nor the Ca.PUC had these two California counties on their list of areas where old GTE/Contel "could" be sold by VeriZon to Frontier.

There have been some more recent announcements from the Ca.PUC and from VeriZon as to which specific (legacy GTE and Contel) exchanges in California are to be sold to Frontier.

Those bordering the Oregon state-line include:

707-457 GSQTCAXFRS2 Crescent City CA (Gasquet) 707-458 HICHCAXFRS2 Crescent City CA (Hiouchi) 707-464,465 CRCYCAXFDS1 Crescent City CA 707-482 KLMTCAXFRS1 Klamath CA 707-487 SMRVCAXFDS1 Smith River CA 707-488 ORICCAXFRS1 Orick CA

Orick CA is the only VZ/GTE exchange in Humboldt County which will be sold to Frontier, the others are all in Delnorte County.

This "cluster" of VZ/GTE along the Oregon state-line and the Pacific Coast are NOT associated with (OCN 2319) "VeriZon of California (GTE)", but rather are part of (OCN 2344) "VeriZon - West Coast". This operation is historically part of the old "West Coast Telephone Company" which was owned by Western Utilities Inc, acquired by GT&E in the mid/late

1960s, later to become General Telephone of the Northwest or VeriZon Northwest, covering Washington, Oregon, (northern) Idaho, and this small part of California at/near the Oregon state-line. Even though these VZ/GTE exchanges are in the San Francisco CA LATA #722 and have their own local central-office dialtone switches within California, and are NOT part of the Eugene Oregon LATA #672, they are managed under GTE/VZ of the Northwest, and thus treated for management purposes "as if" they are part of Oregon. Note that VZ intends on selling off old GTE (and Contel) in WA and OR, as well as old GTE in north Idaho, to Frontier, so it seems logical that this part of California would be part of the transfer to Frontier.

And as for the specifics of which exchanges bordering Nevada and Arizona, as to which would be retained and which sold off, I had thought that maybe all of Mono and Inyo Counties might be sold to Frontier. It had been mentioned that Mono County was one of the California counties which "could" have "some" VeriZon (old Contel) ratecenters sold to Frontier, it didn't seem from early references that any one-time Contel in Inyo County are intended to be sold to Frontier. Inyo County (as well as Mono County) border Nevada. And as I mentioned earlier, there is also a VeriZon exchange in Imperial County bordering Arizona, but Imperial County wasn't mentioned in the early reports based on counties of which California one-time Contel and GTE exchanges to be sold by VeriZon to Frontier.

More recently, documentation at VeriZon's tariff/regulatory/network/etc. section of their website, as well as at the Ca.PUC's website, indicate the specific one-time Contel exchanges bordering Nevada and Arizona, to be sold by VeriZon to Frontier.

In addition to the "VeriZon West Coast" (aka GT&E/VZ of the Northwest, aka West Coast Telephone Company) exchanges bordering Oregon, listed above, the following seven exchanges bordering Nevada and Arizona, all legacy Contel ratecenters (OCN 4420), are now referenced by both VeriZon and Frontier as to be sold by VeriZon to Frontier, of course pending regulatory and stockholder approval:

bordering Nevada, in LATA #720 "Reno and northern NV":

530-694 WDFRCAXFRS1 Alpine-Woodfords CA (in Alpine County) 530-495 CEVLCAXFRS6 coleville CA (in Mono Coun ty)

(There are several other ratecenters in Mono County, within the Los Angeles Metro LATA #730, within NPAs 760/442 (in overlay), which either border Nevada, or are close to Nevada without actually bordering the state, as well as several ratecenters in Inyo County also in the same LATA and NPAs, all old Contel, which VZ seems to be retaining. These are in the "Death Valley" area, and it might seem that VZ would have probably desired to sell these off to Frontier, but apparently will retain them at this time. In Mono County, these would be ... Bridgeport CA and Benton CA, as well as ... Lee Vining CA, June Lake CA, Mammoth Lakes CA, Crowley Lake CA. In Inyo County, these would be ... Pine Creek CA, Bishop CA, Big Pine CA, Independence CA, Lone Pine CA, Olancha CA. So, it would seem that, at least for now, VeriZon intends on retaining these above indicated old Contel exchanges in the "Death Valley" area bordering or close by Nevada, in Mono County and Inyo County).

The "Los Angeles Metro" LATA #730 and NPAs 760/442 in overlay apply to the remaining counties further south, bordering Arizona, where SOME legacy Contel ratecenters are to be sold by VeriZon to Frontier.

Further south, San Bernardino County is a rather large county in California which extends from the Los Angeles metro area on the west, all the way to the Nevada and Arizona state lines on the east. The Victorville CA region (legacy Contel) and the other ratecenters near the Los Angeles CA metro area (both legacy GTE and legacy Contel) will be retained by VeriZon. (Much of this long-time GTE in this area was probably CW&T/Western Utilities, acquired by GT&E in the mid/late 1960s) The following legacy Contel ratecenters at the Arizona state line are intended to be sold to Frontier:

760-858 HVSUCAXFRS1 Havasu Lake CA (aka Havasu Landing CA) 760-663 PRDMAZXCDS0 Parker Dam CA -- (*) see note below (OLD CA-based CLLI: PRDMCAXF663) 760-665 BGRVCAXFRS1 Earp: Earp 'DA' CA (based in Big River CA ) (OLD switch/CLLI: EARPCAXC665)

Riverside County is another rather large county in California which extends from the Los Angeles metro area on the west, all the way to the Arizona state line on the east. The exchanges near the Los Angeles metro area (legacy GTE) will most likely be retained by VeriZon. However, there only seems to be two legacy Contel ratecenter at the Arizona state line which VeriZon will sell to Frontier:

760-664 PSTNAZXCRS1 Earp: Lost Lake 'DA' CA -- (*) see note b elow 760-921,922 BLYTCAXF92K Blythe CA

(*) Note that:

-- Parker Dam in CA now gets dialtone from VZ/GTE/Contel (4419) in Parker Dam AZ (PRDMAZXCDS0).

-- Earp: Lost Lake 'DA' in CA gets dialtone from VZ/GTE/Contel (4419) in Poston AZ (PSTNAZXCRS1).

In both San Bernardino and Riverside Counties (and a small part of Imperial County for the Salton CA ratecenter) is the legacy-GTE LATA #973 Palm Springs CA area. This is to be retained by VeriZon. (Prior to the mid/late 1960s, this was California Water & Telephone, held by Western Utilities, which was taken over by GT&E at that time).

Also, Imperial County was NOT initially indicated as one of the counties by the Ca.PUC's or VeriZon's first reports of which California counties which had some legacy GTE and/or Contel that "could" be sold to Frontier. There is one legacy Contel ratecenter right at the Arizona state-line which will be one that VeriZon intends to sell to Frontier according to more recent documentation/lists:

760-854 PLVRCAXFRS1 Palo Verde CA

Note that in all cases, those VeriZon ratecenters (once GTE or once Contel) near Oregon, near Nevada, and near Arizona, which are intended to be sold to Frontier -- there already is VeriZon (once GTE or once Contel) to be sold to Frontier right across the state line in those adjacent states of Oregon, Nevada, Arizona. And, there is also some Frontier-legacy-Citizens exchange area close by in those adjacent states as well (and even Frontier-once-Citizens in a few California locations too). Even back in the 1990s, GTE sold a few one-time Contel and long-time GTE exchanges in California over to Citizens-now-Frontier as well, so there is a precedent of Frontier taking over old GTE and Contel in California.

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West Virginia, Maryland (and Virginia)

VeriZon has also indicated that it intends to sell off its landline operations in West Virginia (all BOC exchanges throughout the state, VZ/Bell-Atlantic/C&P-of-West Virginia) to Frontier as well, an entire BOC state. There is NO old one-time GTE or Contel in West Virginia that has ever been part of VeriZon. When GTE acquired Contel in 1991/92, they almost immediately sold off all of Contel and even long-time GTE in West Virginia, to Citizens, which has since become part of Frontier.

This somewhat parallels the situation in New England recently, when three entire legacy BOC (BA/NYNEX/New England Tel & Tel) states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, were sold by VeriZon to FairPoint. Also, the predecessor to FairPoint back in 1995 had bought all old Contel, which GTE had acquired in 1991/92 (and temporarily re-branded it as GTE), but a few short years later decided not to retain. The industry group that bought this old GTE-once-Contel in ME/NH/VT has since become part of FairPoint. (NOTE that VZ/BA/NYNEX/NET&T in Massachusetts and Rhode Island is still to be retained by VeriZon).

Also paralleling the New England situation, is the fact that there are a few VZ/BA/C&P central office switches in Maryland which provide dialtone to current VZ/BA/C&P West Virginia customers, and vice-versa, a couple of current VZ/BA/C&P West Virginia c.o.switches which provide dialtone to VZ/BA/C&P Maryland customers!

In northern New England, there was a c.o.switch in Amesbury MA which provided dialtone to customers in South Hampton NH. And a c.o.switch in North Adams MA which provided dialtone to customers in Stamford VT. These once-VZ/NET&T-now-FairPoint customers in NH and VT had to be RE-WIRED to now-FairPoint central office switches in their own home states of NH and VT. The particular once-VZ/NET&T-now-FairPoint central office switches in NH and VT which took over these NH and VT customers who had previously served out of NET&T offices in MA were ones which already existed, and were NOT new constructions in NH and VT. The original MA-side switches are still VZ/NET&T, serving Massachusetts customers/ratecenters. There is still local calling across the state/LATA/NPA lines for these once-VZ/NET&T-now-FairPoint VT or NH customers and still-VZ MA-side customers.

Also, the once-VZ/NET&T c.o.switch in Readsboro VT (now FairPoint) had been providing dialtone to (still) VZ/NET&T customers in Monroe Bridge MA. VZ/NET&T has since RE-WIRED these Monroe Bridge MA side customers to an already existing VZ/NET&T c.o.switch in Massachusetts (not a newly constructed switch). There is still local calling across the state/LATA/NPA line for these VZ MA-side customers and the now FairPoint Vermont-side customers.

In the case of West Virginia, there are some VZ/BA/C&P West Virginia ratecenters which are a part of LATA 240 "Hagerstown MD". (There are also some Frontier/Citizens-once-GTE exchanges in West Virginia also associated with this Maryland-based LATA as well). MOST of these VZ/C&P ratecenters in WV have their own WV-side c.o.switch even though there might be EAS/local calling with the MD-side (and even some EAS across the LATA boundary with customers/ratecenters in the Clarksburg WV LATA).

But there are the following c.o.switches in MD which provide dialtone to WV customers, and WV c.o.switches which provide dialtone to MD-side customers, all within the Hagerstown MD LATA #240:

KTZMMDKMRS0 in Kitzmiller MD (301-453), also currently provides dialtone to Elk Garden WV (304-446).

CMLDMDCMDS0 in Cumberland MD (301-722,723,724,759,774,784), also currently provides dialtone to part of Ridgeley WV (304-738).

CSTWMDCRDS0 in Cresaptown MD (301-729), but part of the Cumberland MD ratecenter, also currently provides dialtone to another part of the Ridgeley WV ratecenter (304-726).

vice-versa ...

KYSRWVMRDS0 is in Keyser WV (304-788), but it also currently provides dialtone to McCoole MD (301-786).

PDMTWVAARS1 is in Piedmont (Mineral County) WV (304-355), but it also currently provides dialtone to Westernport MD.

Also in this part of West Virginia, in the "Hagerstown MD" LATA #240, is GRMNWVGMRS1 Gormania WV (304-693, but this c.o.switch appears not to provide dialtone to anything in nearby Maryland, although there is local calling with some exchanges in Maryland.

I came across some network-related documents at VeriZon's "regulatory/ tariff/network" section of their website which indicate that those customers/ratecenters/304-NNX codes in West Virginia which get dialtone from VZ/BA/C&P-MD c.o.switches in Maryland (301), and vice-versa, those customers/ratecenters/301-NNX codes in Maryland which get dialtone from VZ/BA/C&P-WVa c.o.switches in West Virginia (304), are to be RE-WIRED to nearby c.o.switches in their own home-state. This is in preparation for the sale of West Virginia (BOC) VZ/C&P customers/ratecenters/switches over from VZ to Frontier. The West Virginia customers soon to be served by Frontier will get dialtone from now-Frontier-owned c.o.switches in West Virginia, while the Maryland customers who will continue to be served by VeriZon/C&P-MD customers will get dialtone from continued-to- be-owned by VZ/C&P-MD c.o.switches, despite which state-based c.o.switch they previously received their dialtone from.

304-446 Elk Garden WV currently gets dialtone from KTZMMDKMRS0 in Kitzmiller MD, but Elk Garden WV is to be re-wired to nearby GRMNWVGMRS1 in Gormania WV (which also serves 304-693).

304-726 Ridgeley WV currently gets dialtone from CSTWMDCRDS0 in Cumberland "Cresaptown" MD ... and

304-738 Ridgeley WV currently gets dialtone from CMLDMDCMDS0 in Cumberland "Cumberland" MD.

Both 304-726,738 for Ridgeley will be re-wired to nearby KYSRWVMRDS0 in Keyser WV (which also serves 304-788).

301-359 Westernport MD currently gets dialtone from PDMTWVAARS1 in Piedmont (Mineral County) WV, but Westernport MD is to be re-wired to nearby CMLDMDCMDS0 in Cumberland "Cumberland" MD (which also serves 301-722,723,724,759,774,784).

301-786 McCoole MD currently gets dialtone from KYSRWVMRDS0 in Keyser WV, but McCoole MD is to be rewired to nearby CSTWMDCRDS0 in Cumberland "Crestview" MD (which also serves 301-729).

There will still be continue to be some inter-state intra-LATA EAS between the VZ/C&P-MD side and the soon-to-be-Frontier-formerly-VZ/C&P-WV side though. Note that it will still remain INTRA-LATA, inter-state, only now between two different ILECs within the same LATA. This region of the VZ/BA managed "Hagerstown MD" LATA #240, both the WV-side and the MD-side has its ILEC LATA tandem in Cumberland "Cumberland" MD, CMLDMDCM07T, a Nortel-DMS-100/200, which is likely the same switch as CMLDMDCMDS0 for "end-office" (dialtone) functions.

Further east in the eastern WV panhandle, is another area where the "Hagerstown MD" LATA #240 spills over into West Virginia, however, all of these (currently) VZ/BA/C&P-WV ratecenters/exchanges which are expected to be transferred to Frontier, and Frontier/Citizens (formerly GTE) ratecenters/exchanges, are served by central office switches actually located within West Virginia, and these don't provide dialtone to anything over in Maryland, although there could be some local calling arrangements with nearby Maryland.

9214 VZ/BA/C&P-WVa

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304-26x MRBGWVBUDS0 Martinsburg (HOST) (304-260,262,263,264,267,433) 304-258 BRSPWVWARS1 Berkeley Springs 304-27x FLWTWVFWRS1 Falling Waters (304-270,271,274) 304-754 HDVLWVHVRS1 Hedgesville 304-229 INWDWVIDRS4 Inwood

0270 Frontier/Citizens-WVa (all were once GTE)

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304-72x CHTWWVXADS0 Charles Town (HOST) (304-724,725,728) 304-535 HRFYWVXARS2 Harpers Ferry 304-876 SHPHWVXARS1 Shepherdstown

The Lucent/Alcatel 5ESS MRBGWVBUDS0 Martinsburg WV is also the LATA tandem for this group, MRBGWVBU22T. There can be multiple LATA-tandems within a LATA. There are other tandems based in Maryland for this LATA.

There are also a couple of other state-line situations regarding West Virginia, these two along the West Virginia/Virginia state-line.

There is the ratecenter of Crows-Hematite VA 540-559, right at the VA/WV border and part of the "Charleston WV" LATA #254. Crows-Hematite VA is a rather small "borderline" town that actually gets its dialtone from the remote at White Sulphur Springs WV, 304-536 WSSPWVDRRS1, part of LATA #254. VeriZon/Bell-Atlantic/C&P-of-WV-and-VA is the ILEC for both ratecenters, White Sulphur Springs WV (where the c.o.switch is located) and for the "lesser" Crows-Hematite VA.

Assuming that the WV-PSC approves VeriZon's sale of BOC BA/C&P-WV to Frontier, the Virginia-side Crows-Hematite ratecenter (which gets its dialtone from the West Virginia-side White Sulphur Springs remote switch and ratecenter) _WILL_ALSO_ be sold to Frontier, the only VZ/BA/C&P-VA ratecenter to be sold to Frontier.

If VeriZon were to choose to retain Crows-Hematite VA, since it is in the state of Virginia (not West Virginia), it would be difficult to impossible to re-wire these customers to a VZ/C&P-Virginia switch. For one thing, there are _NO_ other VZ/C&P-Virginia based switches in this WV-based LATA. Crows-Hematite is sort of an "island" in Virginia that bumps up along West Virginia on one side (although in the same LATA), and several independent telco ratecenters/switches in a different LATA (the "Roanoke VA" LATA #244) within Virginia.

There is EAS between Crows-Hematite VA and the White Sulphur Springs WV ratecenter where the dialtone switch is located, intra-LATA inter-state EAS. There is additional intra-state (and intra-LATA) EAS between White Sulphur Springs WV and other nearby West Virginia ratecenters of Frontier/Citizens which was old GTE (maybe even Contel) until GTE sold it off in the early 1990s as well as ratecenters of VeriZon/BA/C&P-WV which are likely to soon be sold to Frontier (pending WV-PSC approval).

And despite the fact that it is inter-LATA between the "Charleston WV" LATA #254 and the "Roanoke VA" LATA #244, there is some such inter-LATA yet intra-state EAS calling between Crows-Hematite VA and some nearby ratecenters of the ILEC "nTelos" (OCN 0226) formerly known as "CFW Tel" (Clifton-Forge/Waynesboro VA) for the towns/ratecenters of:

CFFRVAXARS0 Clifton Forge VA (540-862,863,865) CVTNVAXARS0 Covington VA (540-962,965,969, and CLEC/wireless NX Xes) PTCKVAXARS0 Potts Creek VA (540-747)

(These are hosted by nTelos/CFW's WYBOVAXADS1 Waynesboro VA, a distance away, discontiguous, but still in the Roanoke VA LATA; there is _NO_ EAS between Waynesboro VA and any other ratecenter).

There is also LATA #932, "Bluefield WV/VA", which includes roughly an equal number of exchanges/ratecenters for each state. With the exception of two ratecenters -- one each for Virginia and West Virginia which are served by small locally owned ILECs, this entire LATA used to be served by GTE. Shortly after GTE bought out Contel circa 1991, GTE decided to completely exit the state of West Virginia, selling off all old Contel in the state and even all old GTE in the state, to Citizens Tel (now Frontier). Regarding this LATA, the Virginia-side exchanges/ratecenters were RETAINED by GTE at that time, and are now part of VeriZon. I have not seen any indication that VZ intends to sell the VZ-side of this LATA over to Frontier -- it appears that the LATA will continue to be split between Frontier on the WV-side (including the LATA-tandem), and VZ-once-GTE for the Virginia-side.

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FINALLY ... there is the Knotts Island NC ratecenter, legacy Contel, acquired by GTE in the early 1990s (when GTE took over Contel), and since 2000 still retained by VeriZon. North Carolina is one of the states where VeriZon indicates that they intend to sell off legacy GTE and Contel to Frontier. But I have been wondering if Knotts Island NC will be an exception, retained by VeriZon?

Knotts Island is a part of VZ/BA/C&P-Virginia's LATA #252 "Norfolk VA". All legacy GTE and Contel in Virginia (and Pennsylvania) has been mostly integrated into the day-to-day operations of legacy BOC Bell Atlantic, even though there are some GTE (and Contel) ratecenters in both states in their own legacy GTE or Contel LATAs. (Other legacy GTE and Contel areas in both states have been parts of Bell Atlantic LATAs as well).

Knotts Island NC has (inter-state intra-LATA) EAS with Norfolk VA ratecenter zones (some of them are VZ/BA/C&P BOC, some are VZ/GTE/Contel within Virginia in the Norfolk area), and also intra-state inter-LATA EAS with SOME Embarq/Sprint/United/Carolina ratecenters (Coinjock NC, Mamie NC, Moyock NC) in the Embarq/Sprint/United "Rocky Mount NC" LATA #951. (These three Embarq/Carolina-Tel-and-Tel ratecenters that do have inter-LATA intra-state EAS have EAS with each other, and several other Embarq/United/Carolina-Tel North Carolina ratecenters that do not have EAS with VZ/GTE/Contel's Knotts Island NC). ALSO, note that Embarq has recently been acquired by CenturyTel, the merged company is now called CenturyLink.

Knotts Island NC is jurisdictionally within North Carolina, but it is physically connected to a barrier island or peninsula extending from Virginia, and is accessible by road only through southeast Virginia (although there is a ferryboat route within North Carolina that connects Knotts Island with the "mainland" as well.

Knotts Island NC is also tariffed with the NC Utilities Commission by VeriZon (probably going back to the Contel days), SEPARATELY from other VZ legacy GTE or Contel areas in the state! Knotts Island is NOT part of the regular VeriZon (GTE or Contel) "North Carolina General Subscriber Tariff", but rather its OWN UNIQUE tariff filing, known as "General Subscriber Tariff Knotts Island NC (Virginia)", sort of "as if" it is some kind of "afterthought" that is more associated with Virginia even though it is geographically located in the jurisdiction of North Carolina.

Knotts Island NC (252-429) does have its own c.o.switch for dialtone, KNISNCXARS1, a remote hosted by hosted by PRANVAXBDS0 Princess Anne VA VZ/GTE/Contel Norfolk Zn.4 VA, homes on GRBRVAXA01T Great Bridge VA VZ/GTE/Contel Norfolk Zn.1 VA, and in addition to its intra-state inter-LATA EAS with three CenturyLink/Embarq/Carolina-Tel ratecenters in the "Rocky Mount NC" LATA #951, Knotts Island NC has intra-LATA inter-state EAS with several ratecenters on the Virginia-side, both VeriZon/BA/C&P-VA & VeriZon/GTE/Contel, Norfolk VA Zones 1,2,3,4,6 (there is no longer a Norfolk Zone 5, and nothing above Zone 6).

There are _NO_ currently-VeriZon-soon-to-be-Frontier legacy-GTE-or- Contel ratecenters elsewhere close-by in NC. Also, Frontier does NOT have any other current (pre-existing) presence in North Carolina!

I had been wondering if VeriZon intended to retain Knotts Island NC (legacy GTE-once-Contel) since it is part of a Virginia LATA having EAS with other ratecenters/zones of Norfolk VA, and while the remote switch is in North Carolina, it is hosted by a Virginia-based host office. But then again, since Knotts Island is in North Carolina, and if VeriZon wants to sell-off all old GTE and Contel in that state to Frontier, would Knotts Island be part of that sale?

I have been told by some VeriZon contacts, and also saw something on the VeriZon regulatory/tariff/network/etc. section on their website, that VeriZon-once-GTE-once-Contel Knotts Island NC _WILL_BE_RETAINED_ as part of VeriZon, _NOT_ to be sold to Frontier.

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Of course, ALL of this including the intended sale by VeriZon of legacy GTE and Contel in other states, as well as legacy BOC BA/C&P in West Virginia -- to Frontier -- is all subject to regulatory/ government (both Federal and all affected states) approval, as well as approval by the stockholders of both VeriZon and Frontier. I don't know if this VeriZon/Frontier deal is to be an "all-or-nothing" deal, in the sense that _ALL_ state regulatory agencies involved (as well as the FCC and other federal agencies, of course) must approve it for it any/all to take effect? In the 2007-09 VeriZon sale of legacy New England Tel in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, over to FairPoint, all three states had to approve of the sale for any/all of it to take effect. If only one state objected, NONE of the deal could go through, not even the sale of NET&T in the other two states from VZ to FP. But this VeriZon/Frontier transfer involves over a dozen states, and I haven't yet seen the "legal" details, as if "all" states must approve for "any" (and all) of the deal to take effect.

Several states' utility regulatory agencies have already approved of VeriZon's sale of most legacy GTE & Contel to Frontier, but there are still a few states which are having reservations about it, including West Virginia regarding VZ selling off (legacy BOC) C&P-WVa to Frontier. Anyhow, VeriZon and Frontier are expecting that the deal (most? all?) to be approved, and take effect, in the 2nd Quarter of this year (2010), right before mid-year.

Here are some URLs to VeriZon's Network/Regulatory/Tariff/etc. section of their website, where there will be documents regarding some of the specifics regarding the sale of legacy GTE and Contel, as well as legacy Bell-Atlantic/C&P-of-West-Virginia to Frontier:

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While it might not be specifically mentioned in these documents that certain "re-homes"/etc. are planned due to the sale of most legacy GTE or Contel to Frontier, it is most certainly the reason for such. SS7 signaling trunk re-homes, 911 PSAP re-alignments, re-looping to adjacent central offices, etc. are being done in various part of the country so that (pending regulatory approval of the sale), there can be a "clean break" of those areas to be sold to Frontier.

Mark J. Cuccia markjcuccia at yahoo dot com Lafayette LA, formerly of New Orleans LA pre-Katrina ========================= ========================= =====================

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Mark J. Cuccia
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It would seem that the area in the north part of Mono County (from Coleville up to the Nevada state line south of Gardnerville would spin off fairly easy. But, from Bridgeport south to Mammoth Lakes, that would seem to be "joined at the hip" with the Eastern Sierra area southward to Ridgecrest.

BTW, Death Vally south to Baker, CA on I-15 is at&t (Pacific Bell) territory.

Reply to
Sam Spade

I did a bit more digging through my own files, VeriZon's and Frontier's websites, and some more google searches, and have come up with the following additional information on the pending sale of VeriZon's legacy GTE and Contel in more than a dozen states, as well as legacy BOC (Bell Atlantic) C&P-of-West Virginia, over to Frontier, the pending sale was first announced to the public on Wednesday-13-May-2009.

Two years ago (2007/08/09), when VeriZon chose to sell legacy BOC BA/NYNEX/NET&T in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, over to FairPoint, it was an "all or nothing" arrangement. ALL THREE states' agencies HAD to approve the deal before ANY of the deal (which was the same as ALL of the deal) could go through. If ONLY ONE state rejected the request of VZ to sell NET&T in ME/NH/VT to FairPoint, then the whole deal would then fall through. On the Federal level, the FCC obviously had to approve the transaction. Also the stockholders of both VeriZon and FairPoint had to approve, before any/all of the deal could go through. Legacy NET&T/NYNEX/BA/VeriZon in Massachusetts and Rhode Island was NOT included in the transaction to sell old NET&T in ME/NH/VT to FairPoint, MA and RI are still VZ/NET&T.

In the current situation of selling off legacy VZ/GTE-and-Contel in over a dozen states as well as legacy BOC VZ/C&P-WV, all to Frontier, it does NOT seem to be an "all-or-nothing" deal. Apparently if one or more state(s) choose to reject the request from VZ and Frontier but other states approve (as well as the FCC and the stockholders of both companies), then the transaction could take effect in those states which did approve of the sale, but only for those states.

There are 14 states involved in this pending transaction, although one of them, California, is for the sale of old GTE and old Contel only for certain exchange areas bordering Oregon, Nevada, Arizona. The bulk of old GTE and Contel in California is to be retained by VeriZon, as is the retained old GTE and Contel in Texas (in 2000, shortly after BA/NYNEX bought GTE/Contel to form VZ, some but not all of old GTE and Contel in Texas was sold to Valor-now-part-of-Alltel's Windstream), and the GTE Tampa Bay area exchanges in Florida are also to be retained. Old GTE and Contel in the two VeriZon/Bell Atlantic states of Pennsylvania and Virginia is to be retained, as is BOCs Bell Atlantic and NYNEX (although NET&T in ME/NH/VT was sold to FairPoint two years ago).

These 14 states are: West Virginia (BOC C&P-WV) and thirteen states of old GTE & Contel: North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Idaho, Washington state, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and those parts of California bordering OR/NV/AZ.

On Tuesday-27-October-2009, Frontier's stockholders approved the sale. However, I have not found any reference to any news item if VeriZon's stockholders have also approved of the sale.

The FCC (and any other necessary Federal government agencies) will still need to approve of the VeriZon/Frontier transaction.

Only nine of the fourteen states need to approve of the sale. The other five states apparently don't have it written into their current utility regulatory laws or procedures that regulatory approval is required for such a sale, these states being North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Idaho.

Four states which need to approve the sale have already done so: Nevada on Wednesday-28-October-2009, South Carolina on Wednesday-28-October-2009, California on Thursday-29-October-2009, and most recently from Ohio on Thursday-11-February-2010.

Approval of the pending sale is also still required from the regulatory authorities of the following five states: West Virginia, Illinois, Arizona, Oregon, Washington-state.

VeriZon and Frontier hope to have the transaction completed by mid-2010. I do NOT know if they intend on going through with the deal for those states which have approved, foregoing those states which haven't approved if such is the case by mid-2010. As I mentioned earlier, the FCC (and other necessary Federal government agencies) still must approve this deal, and quite possibly the VeriZon shareholders (although Frontier's shareholders approved back in October 2009).

In my previous posting on this, I mentioned that VeriZon intends on retaining (legacy GTE/Contel) Knotts Island NC which is a part of the Norfolk VA LATA, even though legacy GTE and Contel elsewhere in North Carolina is to be sold to Frontier.

Also, the legacy BA/C&P Virginia-based ratecenter of Crows-Hematite VA is planned to be sold to Frontier, even though everything else in BA/C&P-Virginia is to be retained by VeriZon. Crows-Hematite VA gets its dialtone from White Sulphur Springs WV of BA/C&P-West Virginia, those exchanges being planned for sale to Frontier. White Sulphur Springs WV including Crows-Hematite VA is part of the Charleston WV LATA.

There are also some ratecenters/exchange areas along the Maryland/ West Virginia state-line, where dialtone is provided in one state for customers/ratecenters in the other state. In preparation for the pending sale of BA/C&P-WV to Frontier, while VZ retains BA/C&P-MD, there are plans to re-wire the West Virginia ratecenters/customers who currently get dialtone from Maryland c.o.switches to now get dialtone from nearby existing c.o.switches in their own state of WV, and vice-versa, to rewire the Maryland ratecenters/customers who currently get dialtone from West Virginia c.o.switches to now get dialtone from nearby existing c.o.switches in their own state of MD. This will allow a "clean break" of West Virginia customers/ratecenters over to Frontier pending approval of the sale, while Maryland customers/ratecenters will be retained by VeriZon, and both sets of customers will get their dialtone from their own state-based local telco, no longer having to deal with dialtone from the opposite state

-- and telco.

Additionally, there will need to be other re-alignments and such, both on the technical side and non-technical side, assuming that the transaction/transfer from VZ to Frontier is approved for all states.

There will need to be re-alignments of SS7 signaling trunks in the SS7 part of the network, modifications to network management procedures of both VeriZon and Frontier, possible re-homing of 911/PSAP associations especially involving some California counties if some exchanges in that county are transferred to Frontier while others remain with VeriZon, and other similar technical modifications.

On the "non-technical" side, both VeriZon and Frontier need to prepare for re-alignment of marketing and customer service functions, billing and revenue, and so forth.

I don't have any personal insight or predications as to whether or not all of the states (and especially the FCC/other Federal) will approve of the transaction. But while the Feds and possibly the shareholders of VeriZon STILL DO need to approve, on the individual state-level, it appears that this is NOT an "all or nothing" deal required "each and every" state to approve before ANY (and thus "all") of the deal to "go through". And as of mid-February 2010, four of the nine necessary states (of 14 total) HAVE approved of the pending sale (Nevada, South Carolina, California, and most recently Ohio), the five additional states which still need to approve are West Virginia, Illinois. Arizona, Oregon, Washington-state.

Mark J. Cuccia markjcuccia at yahoo dot com Lafayette LA, formerly of New Orleans LA pre-Katrina

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Mark J. Cuccia

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