Sharyn Bate Rebecca Beaton Betty Erdahl David Dittemore Kathy Folsom Jing Roth Kristen Russell

1. Sharyn Bate Rebecca Beaton Betty Erdahl David Dittemore Kathy Folsom Jing Roth Kristen Russell Virgil Santos Bob Shirley Tom Spinks Paula Strain Bob Williamson Tom Wilson Tim Zawislak 2005-07 Strategic PlanTelecommunications SectionWashington Utilities and Transportation Commission Glenn Blackmon, Assistant Director 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

2. Mission Statement • The telecom section provides information, analysis, advice, and advocacy in support of the WUTC’s larger telecom objectives of universal service, advanced services, and competition. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

3. Build partnerships with others. • Strategies: • Participate in ROC, NARUC subcommittees, E-911 committee. • Communicate regularly with other state regulatory commissions, other state agencies, and federal agencies. • Work with other sections within the agency. • Participate in task-specific groups: USW settlement, WTAP. • Participate in meetings of other groups: WITA, Public Counsel, etc. • Answer inquiries and questionnaires. • Measures: • Number of events with partners, outside stakeholders. • Telecom-Advice entries. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

4. Encourage telecom services that are efficient, innovative, secure, and consumer-friendly. • Strategies: • Avoid unnecessary area codes. • Assist companies offering new services. • Identify and address service quality problems. • Provide information to consumers. • Participate in infrasturcture, emergency management activities. • Measures: • Utilization ratio of numbering resources. • Service quality measure. • Number of staff visits to company facilities. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

5. Get accurate and timely information from companies • Strategies: • Maintain easy ways for companies to submit information. • Track filing deadlines. • Follow up when deadlines are missed, including penalties and rejection of filings. • Measures: • Filing compliance level. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

6. Increase consumer access to affordable telecom services. • Strategies: • Advocate fair, just, reasonable, and sufficient rates in tariff filings and contested cases. • Assist consumers in line extension requests. • Maintain a viable WTAP. • Assist companies with federal universal service administrators. • Assist consumers in unserved areas. • Assist companies in outreach efforts. • Measures: • WTAP percent of eligible receiving benefit. • Service extensions completed. • WA rank in national subscribership statistics. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

7. Meet public and management expectations for planning and measurement • Strategies: • Keep individual goals current. • Conduct yearly planning exercises. • Measures: • Yes/No on annual planning exercise. • Percent staff w/current goals. • Section staff time spent on evaluation, planning, goal-setting, and measurement. (Target between 2 percent and 4 percent.) 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

8. Open telecom markets to competition. • Strategies: • Process interconnection agreements (ICAs) quickly. • Process eligible telecom carrier (ETC) applications quickly. • Provide informal assistance to companies attempting to increase customer choice. • Measures: • Percent of ICAs/ETCs acted on within 30 days. • Market concentration index. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

9. Provide commissioners with recommendations, alternatives, and background information to assist them in making public interest decisions. • Strategies: • Make open meeting memos clear and balanced. • Provide alternatives in written testimony. • Give commissioners information early in the staff review process. • Meet regularly with commissioners on general topics and for feedback. • Measures: • Percent of staff recommendations in testimony accepted by commission. (Target is to have most, but not all, recommendations accepted.) • Structured commissioner feedback on briefing, memo, and presentation for each open meeting item. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

10. Telecom rules are current, clear, and based on sound policy. • Strategies: • Engage in regular review of rules and policies. • Use the rule waiver process to identify problems in the rules. • Amend rules as necessary with changes in technology, markets, and consumer expectations. • Measures: • Yes/No on annual rules review. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

11. Telecom rules, statutes, and orders are fairly enforced and consistently complied with. • Strategies: • Provide information to companies on requirements. • Take action when companies do not comply. • Carefully review compliance filings and reports. • Measures: • Number of Telecom-Advice entries. • Number of warning letters. • Number of penalty assessments. • Timeliness of updates to web site. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

12. Policy makers know when laws and rules are outdated, ineffective, or wrong. • Strategies: • Inform commissioners about problems with rules, orders, and policy statements. • Educate legislators, legislative staff on telecom issues. • Propose legislative changes to commissioners as needed. • Respond promptly and fully to inquiries. • Develop and maintain a telecom briefing document for policy makers. • Measures: • Number of responses to legislative inquiries. • Timeliness of responses to legislative inquiries. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan

13. Work in the telecom section is rewarding, challenging, entertaining. • Strategies: • Communicate regularly and openly (within reason). • Help each other. • Give people a variety of work assignments. • Provide training opportunities. • Contribute to the UTC daily rag. • Accommodate employee needs with telecommuting, flex schedules, and part-time work. • Measures: • Attendance at monthly lunches. • Employee satisfaction index. • Frequency of staff meetings. 2005-07 Telecom Section Strategic Plan