Sec. 51.807  Arbitration and mediation of agreements by the Commission 
          pursuant to section 252(e)(5) of the Act.

    (a) The rules established in this section shall apply only to 
instances in which the Commission assumes jurisdiction under section 
252(e)(5) of the Act.
    (b) When the Commission assumes responsibility for a proceeding or 
matter pursuant to section 252(e)(5) of the Act, it shall not be bound 
by state laws and standards that would have applied to the state 
commission in such proceeding or matter.
    (c) In resolving, by arbitration under section 252(b) of the Act, 
any open issues and in imposing conditions upon the parties to the 
agreement, the Commission shall:
    (1) Ensure that such resolution and conditions meet the requirements 
of section 251 of the Act, including the rules prescribed by the 
Commission pursuant to that section;
    (2) Establish any rates for interconnection, services, or network 
elements according to section 252(d) of the Act, including the rules 
prescribed by the Commission pursuant to that section; and
    (3) Provide a schedule for implementation of the terms and 
conditions by the parties to the agreement.
    (d) An arbitrator, acting pursuant to the Commission's authority 
under section 252(e)(5) of the Act, shall use final offer arbitration, 
except as otherwise provided in this section:
    (1) At the discretion of the arbitrator, final offer arbitration may 
take the form of either entire package final offer arbitration or issue-
by-issue final offer arbitration.
    (2) Negotiations among the parties may continue, with or without the 
assistance of the arbitrator, after final arbitration offers are 
submitted. Parties may submit subsequent final offers following such 
negotiations.
    (3) To provide an opportunity for final post-offer negotiations, the 
arbitrator will not issue a decision for at least fifteen days after 
submission to the arbitrator of the final offers by the parties.
    (e) Final offers submitted by the parties to the arbitrator shall be 
consistent with section 251 of the Act, including the rules prescribed 
by the Commission pursuant to that section.
    (f) Each final offer shall:
    (1) Meet the requirements of section 251, including the rules 
prescribed by the Commission pursuant to that section;
    (2) Establish rates for interconnection, services, or access to 
unbundled network elements according to section 252(d) of the Act, 
including the rules prescribed by the Commission pursuant to that 
section; and
    (3) Provide a schedule for implementation of the terms and 
conditions by the parties to the agreement. If a final offer submitted 
by one or more parties fails to comply with the requirements of this 
section, the arbitrator has discretion to take steps designed to result 
in an arbitrated agreement that satisfies the requirements of section 
252(c) of the Act, including requiring parties to submit new final 
offers within a time frame specified by the arbitrator, or adopting a 
result not submitted by any party that is consistent with the 
requirements of section 252(c) of the Act, and the rules prescribed by 
the Commission pursuant to that section.
    (g) Participation in the arbitration proceeding will be limited to 
the requesting telecommunications carrier and the incumbent LEC, except 
that the Commission will consider requests by third parties to file 
written pleadings.
    (h) Absent mutual consent of the parties to change any terms and 
conditions adopted by the arbitrator, the decision of the arbitrator 
shall be binding on the parties.

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