California PUC names test administrator

The California Public Utilities Commission has selected Cap Gemini Telecommunications as the test administrator and technical adviser for the testing of Pacific Bell's Section 271 compliance.

CGT was awarded the bid, worth more than $3 million, after rating highest among competitors in an evaluation conducted by the PUC, said Jason Donahue, vice president of marketing and new business development at CGT. Among the final competitors were Lockheed Martin, Telcordia Technologies and Telecom Technologies.

In July, the PUC named GE Information Services as the test transaction generator. GEIS provides the software that performs as a pseudo-competition local exchange carrier (CLEC) by generating requests that run over the CGT gateway to Pacific Bell's operations support system (OSS).

"With our depth of resources, we can move the process along more quickly than others and in turn move competition along more quickly, which is what everyone wants," Donahue said.

Gateway configuration has begun and testing is expected to start in November, said a Pacific Bell spokesman.

In its effort to develop procedures for testing Section 271 compliance, CGT has established a formal practice to assist other state PUCs in testing OSS interconnection for service providers trying to win similar state approval. To maintain the integrity of CGT's existing relationships with incumbent LECs and CLECs, and to create a firewall to protect privacy between this and other CGT practices, the formal practice has been set up as an independent entity.

CGT attributed last week's contract win to its recent acquisition of Beechwood, known for its strong OSS background. "Beechwood provides a substantial breadth of resources in the interconnect space that makes public administrations comfortable," Donahue said.