Section 810-RICR-20-00-1.1 - INTRODUCTIONA. The Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. provides for the submission to state commissions for their approval of interconnection agreements between telecommunications carriers and incumbent local exchange carriers. In the event negotiations between these parties fail, in whole or in part, parties may request mediation and/or arbitration from the state commission. The state commission may, to the extent practicable, consolidate proceedings in order to reduce administrative burdens.B. The Act imposes expedited schedules for commencement of arbitration and for state commission approval of negotiated or arbitrated agreements. In particular, the Act imposes a time limit of nine months from the date a telecommunications carrier requests an interconnection agreement until state resolution by arbitration of any unresolved issues. Once an agreement is submitted for approval, the state commission must act to approve or reject it within ninety days of submission by the parties of an agreement reached through negotiation, and within thirty days of submission of an agreement adopted by arbitration. If the state commission allows these deadlines to lapse, the agreement is to be deemed approved.C. In light of the necessity for expeditious action under the Act, parties are urged to pursue negotiated resolutions of the issues involved in interconnection agreements. The advantages to solutions crafted by the parties themselves, the success of recent collaborative processes, the efficacy of the mediation process for resolution of the complex issues involved, the ongoing litigation on regulated issues, and the time constraints of the Act all suggest the benefits of a negotiated resolution.D. These following regulations are intended to implement 47 U.S.C. § 252, and govern the arbitration, mediation, review and approval of interconnection agreements between telecommunications providers, in order to facilitate orderly decision-making.810 R.I. Code R. 810-RICR-20-00-1.1