Telecom Information

Telephone Deregulation

The telephone industry in Colorado is continuing to undergo changes. While competitive options are often available for large customers, most of Colorado's residential other small customers have only a single service provider available to them. Qwest, the largest telephone company in Colorado, has recently proposed deregulation of virtually all services. The OCC was an active participant in that case, and signed a settlement agreement with Qwest and the Staff of the Public Utilities Commission. Under this agreement, which has been approved by the PUC, only intra-state long distance service would be deregulated. Many other services would receive relaxed regulation, but they would still be under the jurisdiction of the Colorado PUC. Basic local exchange service-single line service, without additional features-is still fully regulated, and its price will not change as a result of this settlement. The OCC considers this settlement to be an experiment; if there is evidence of monopoly pricing by Qwest (or another provider), the PUC can step in and more fully regulate the relevant services.

Emergency 9-1-1 Service In Colorado

The Colorado PUC approved, in 2006, use of $2 million from Qwest Corporation, in settlement of a case concerning interconnection agreements with other local telephone companies, the creation of a Colorado 9-1-1 Resource Center. The purpose of the Resource Center is to provide information to all of the 9-1-1 community in Colorado. The Resource Center hired a director in mid-2007, and has been ramping up its operations. You can click here to visit the Resource Center's web site. The Resource Center is a non-profit coroporation, governed by a board of directors that is chosen by the PUC's 9-1-1 Task Force. Click here to visit the 9-1-1 Task Force's web site. The OCC has a permanent seat on the 9-1-1 Resource Center's Board of Directors, and is also a voting member of the PUC's 9-1-1 Task Force.