(a) This Section provides additional State requirements contemplated by, but not inconsistent with, Section 261(c) of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, and not preempted by orders of the Federal Communications Commission. A telecommunications carrier not subject to regulation under an alternative regulation plan pursuant to Section 13-506.1 of this Act shall not be subject to the provisions of this Section, to the extent that this Section imposes requirements or obligations upon the telecommunications carrier that exceed or are more stringent than those obligations imposed by Section 251 of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and regulations promulgated thereunder. An incumbent local exchange carrier shall provide a requesting telecommunications carrier with interconnection, collocation, network elements, and access to operations support systems on just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory rates, terms, and conditions to enable the provision of any and all existing and new telecommunications services within the LATA, including, but not limited to, local exchange and exchange access. The Commission shall require the incumbent local exchange carrier to provide interconnection, collocation, and network elements in any manner technically feasible to the fullest extent possible to implement the maximum development of competitive telecommunications services offerings. As used in this Section, to the extent that interconnection, collocation, or network elements have been deployed for or by the incumbent local exchange carrier or one of its wireline local exchange affiliates in any jurisdiction, it shall be presumed that such is technically feasible in Illinois.
(d) Network elements. The incumbent local exchange carrier shall provide to any requesting telecommunications carrier, for the provision of an existing or a new telecommunications service, nondiscriminatory access to network elements on any unbundled or bundled basis, as requested, at any technically feasible point on just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory rates, terms, and conditions. (1) An incumbent local exchange carrier shall provide unbundled network elements in a manner that allows requesting telecommunications carriers to combine those network elements to provide a telecommunications service.(2) An incumbent local exchange carrier shall not separate network elements that are currently combined, except at the explicit direction of the requesting carrier.(3) Upon request, an incumbent local exchange carrier shall combine any sequence of unbundled network elements that it ordinarily combines for itself, including but not limited to, unbundled network elements identified in The Draft of the Proposed Ameritech Illinois 271 Amendment (I2A) found in Schedule SJA-4 attached to Exhibit 3.1 filed by Illinois Bell Telephone Company on or about March 28, 2001 with the Illinois Commerce Commission under Illinois Commerce Commission Docket Number 00-0700. The Commission shall determine those network elements the incumbent local exchange carrier ordinarily combines for itself if there is a dispute between the incumbent local exchange carrier and the requesting telecommunications carrier under this subdivision of this Section of this Act. The incumbent local exchange carrier shall be entitled to recover from the requesting telecommunications carrier any just and reasonable special construction costs incurred in combining such unbundled network elements (i) if such costs are not already included in the established price of providing the network elements, (ii) if the incumbent local exchange carrier charges such costs to its retail telecommunications end users, and (iii) if fully disclosed in advance to the requesting telecommunications carrier. The Commission shall determine whether the incumbent local exchange carrier is entitled to any special construction costs if there is a dispute between the incumbent local exchange carrier and the requesting telecommunications carrier under this subdivision of this Section of this Act.
(4) A telecommunications carrier may use a network elements platform consisting solely of combined network elements of the incumbent local exchange carrier to provide end to end telecommunications service for the provision of existing and new local exchange, interexchange that includes local, local toll, and intraLATA toll, and exchange access telecommunications services within the LATA to its end users or payphone service providers without the requesting telecommunications carrier's provision or use of any other facilities or functionalities.(5) The Commission shall establish maximum time periods for the incumbent local exchange carrier's provision of network elements. The maximum time period shall be no longer than the time period for the incumbent local exchange carrier's provision of comparable retail telecommunications services utilizing those network elements. The Commission may establish a maximum time period for a particular network element that is shorter than for a comparable retail telecommunications service offered by the incumbent local exchange carrier if a requesting telecommunications carrier establishes that it shall perform other functions or activities after receipt of the particular network element to provide telecommunications services to end users. The burden of proof for establishing a maximum time period for a particular network element that is shorter than for a comparable retail telecommunications service offered by the incumbent local exchange carrier shall be on the requesting telecommunications carrier. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, unless and until the Commission establishes by rule or order a different specific maximum time interval, the maximum time intervals shall not exceed 5 business days for the provision of unbundled loops, both digital and analog, 10 business days for the conditioning of unbundled loops or for existing combinations of network elements for an end user that has existing local exchange telecommunications service, and one business day for the provision of the high frequency portion of the loop (line-sharing) for at least 95% of the requests of each requesting telecommunications carrier for each month. In measuring the incumbent local exchange carrier's actual performance, the Commission shall ensure that occurrences beyond the control of the incumbent local exchange carrier that adversely affect the incumbent local exchange carrier's performance are excluded when determining actual performance levels. Such occurrences shall be determined by the Commission, but at a minimum must include work stoppage or other labor actions and acts of war. Exclusions shall also be made for performance that is governed by agreements approved by the Commission and containing timeframes for the same or similar measures or for when a requesting telecommunications carrier requests a longer time interval.
(6) When a telecommunications carrier requests a network elements platform referred to in subdivision (d)(4) of this Section, without the need for field work outside of the central office, for an end user that has existing local exchange telecommunications service provided by an incumbent local exchange carrier, or by another telecommunications carrier through the incumbent local exchange carrier's network elements platform, unless otherwise agreed by the telecommunications carriers, the incumbent local exchange carrier shall provide the requesting telecommunications carrier with the requested network elements platform within 3 business days for at least 95% of the requests for each requesting telecommunications carrier for each month. A requesting telecommunications carrier may order the network elements platform as is for an end user that has such existing local exchange service without changing any of the features previously selected by the end user. The incumbent local exchange carrier shall provide the requested network elements platform without any disruption to the end user's services. Absent a contrary agreement between the telecommunications carriers entered into after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly, as of 12:01 a.m. on the third business day after placing the order for a network elements platform, the requesting telecommunications carrier shall be the presubscribed primary local exchange carrier for that end user line and shall be entitled to receive, or to direct the disposition of, all revenues for all services utilizing the network elements in the platform, unless it is established that the end user of the existing local exchange service did not authorize the requesting telecommunications carrier to make the request.