PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 14-806 June 11, 2014 DOMESTIC SECTION 214 APPLICATION FILED FOR THE TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF NEW LONDON TELEPHONE COMPANY, ORCHARD FARM TELEPHONE COMPANY, AND STOUTLAND TELEPHONE COMPANY FROM TDS TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. D/B/A TDS TELECOM TO NEW FLORENCE TELEPHONE COMPANY STREAMLINED PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED WC Docket No. 14-87 Comments Due: June 25, 2014 Reply Comments Due: July 2, 2014 On May 29, 2014, TDS Telecommunications Corp., d/b/a TDS Telecom (TDS Telecom) and New Florence Telephone Company (New Florence) (together, Applicants) filed an application pursuant to section 63.03 of the Commission’s rules to transfer control of three TDS Telecom direct subsidiaries, New London Telephone Company (New London), Orchard Farm Telephone Company (Orchard Farm), and Stoutland Telephone Company (Stoutland) (together, Licensees), to New Florence. 1 Licensees, all Missouri corporations, are incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) in Missouri. New London serves 673 access lines, and Orchard Farm serves 606 access lines. Both companies are located in eastern Missouri. Stoutland serves 1,192 access lines in central Missouri. Licensees are direct subsidiaries of TDS Telecom, a Delaware corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS), a publicly traded Delaware corporation. TDS provides incumbent LEC service through 115 subsidiaries in 28 states and competitive LEC service in Illinois and North Dakota. TDS is controlled by a voting trust whose trustees are LeRoy T Carlson, Jr., Walter C.D. Carlson, Prudence E. Carlson, and Dr. Letitia G.C. Carlson, all U.S. citizens. Applicants state that no other person or entity owns a ten percent or more direct or indirect interest in TDS Telecom. New Florence, a Missouri corporation, is an incumbent LEC serving 347 access lines in eastern Missouri. Applicants state that Oregon Telephone Corporation (OTC), an Oregon corporation, owns 60 1 47 C.F.R § 63.03; see 47 U.S.C. § 214. Applicants filed a supplement to their domestic section 214 application on June 10, 2014. percent of New Florence. Garrin Bott, a U.S. citizen, owns 100 percent of the equity of OTC. 2 Applicants state that the parties to the application have no overlapping or adjacent service territories. Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, New Florence will acquire one hundred percent of the capital stock of the Licensees from TDS Telecom. Applicants assert that the proposed transaction is entitled to presumptive streamlined treatment under section 63.03(b)(2)(iii) of the Commission’s rules and that a grant of the application will serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity. 3 Domestic Section 214 Application Filed for the Transfer of Control of New London Telephone Company, Orchard Farm Telephone Company, and Stoutland Telephone Company from TDS Telecommunications Corp., d/b/a TDS Telecom to New Florence Telephone Company, WC Docket No. 14-87 (filed May 29, 2014). GENERAL INFORMATION The transfer of control identified herein has been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing as a streamlined application. The Commission reserves the right to return any transfer application if, upon further examination, it is determined to be defective and not in conformance with the Commission’s rules and policies. Pursuant to section 63.03(a) of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 63.03(a), interested parties may file comments on or before June 25, 2014, and reply comments on or before July 2, 2014. Pursuant to section 63.52 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 63.52, commenters must serve a copy of comments on the Applicants no later than the above comment filing date. Unless otherwise notified by the Commission, the Applicants may transfer control on the 31st day after the date of this notice. Pursuant to section 63.03 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 63.03, parties to this proceeding should file any documents in this proceeding using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS): http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. In addition, e-mail one copy of each pleading to each of the following: 1) Tracey Wilson, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, tracey.wilson@fcc.gov; 2) Jodie May, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, jodie.may@fcc.gov; 3) Jim Bird, Office of General Counsel, jim.bird@fcc.gov. People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (tty). 2 Mr. Bott also owns North-State Telephone Company, an incumbent LEC in Oregon that has filed a pending domestic section 214 application to assume control of Home Telephone Company, a direct subsidiary of TDS Telecom that provides incumbent LEC service in Oregon. Application for Consent for Transfer of Control of TDS Telecommunications Corp., d/b/a TDS Telecom and North-State Telephone Co., WC Docket No. 14-88 (filed May 29, 2014). Mr. Bott indirectly owns 7.5% of Direct Communications Long Distance, Inc., an Idaho corporation that provides interexchange services in Missouri. 3 47 C.F.R. § 63.03(b)(2)(iii). The proceeding in this Notice shall be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in accordance with the Commission’s ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter’s written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b), 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules. For further information, please contact Tracey Wilson at (202) 418-1394 or Jodie May at (202) 418-0913. - FCC -