Voluntary Withdrawal/Cancellation of Operating Authority

Effective January 14, 2021, all telephone corporations must comply with the Commission adopted Resolution T-17723 that established the Advice letter process for telephone corporations seeking to voluntarily surrender or relinquish their operating authority.

A carrier with operating authority in California must submit a Tier II Advice Letter, and request approval to voluntarily surrender or relinquish that operating authority in California at least 30 days prior to the requested date that the carrier seeks to exit the market. Before filing this request, the carrier must satisfy the following requirements:

1. The request does not fall under the mass migration rules;
2. The carrier meets the requirements associated with the “Withdrawal of Service” including but not limited to issuance of Customer Notice requirements;
3. The carrier does not have Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) status;
4. The carrier does not actively participate in or owe monies to any of the Telecommunications Public Purpose Program:
   • California Advanced Services Fund (CASF)
   • California High-Cost Fund A (CHCF-A)
   • California High-Cost Fund B (CHCF-B)
   • California LifeLine
   • Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP)
   • California Teleconnect Fund (CTF)
5. The carrier does not have existing customers;
6. The carrier has not advertised or marketed its services to customers or have not participated in any CPUC public purpose program within the past six months prior to submitting their Advice letter;
7. The carrier complied with all its regulatory obligations prior to the filing of the AL (e.g. annual reports, annual performance bond, reporting/payment of surcharges and user fees);
8. The carrier has no outstanding customer complaints filed with CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch (CAB), citations issued and/or enforcement actions by CPUC; or if one or more citations or enforcement actions have been issued, penalties and/or fines have been paid and the citation(s) and the enforcement action(s) have been closed; and
9. The carrier has no pending or outstanding advice letter filings.

A completed Advice Letter package must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the requested date the carrier seeks to exit the market. The AL package must include the below documents submitted in PDF format by email to TD._PAL@cpuc.ca.gov:

• Completed Advice Letter Filing Summary Form
• Attached declaration or affidavit signed by a principal of the company
• Completed Cover Letter
• Copy of Supporting documents (copy of payment confirmation from TUFFS verifying that all payments were made through the system and copy of payment confirmation for any citations issued (copy of check issued and date sent to CPUC Fiscal office))
• Copy of telco Advice Letter service list

For more Advice Letter information please click here.

Additional Resources  

G.O. 96-B, Industry Rule 1.16 Withdrawal of Service
G.O. 96-B, Industry Rule 3. Notice of Affected Customers
G.O. 96-B, Telecommunications Rule 7.2 Tier II Advice Letter
G.O. 96-B, Industry Rule 8. Withdrawing Basic Service
Decision 10-07-024 /D.06-10-021 Mass Migration Rules