We're going to get started. Let's go on the record. Good morning. This is the time set for the public comment and evidentiary hearing in the matter of the application of Eaton Fiber Arizona LLC for approval of a certificate of convenience and necessity to provide private line and wholesale services to telecommunications carriers in the state of Arizona. My name is, Donna Sansone, and I am the administrative law judge assigned to preside over this matter. This is docket number TDash21358ADash25Dash0138.
I'll start by taking the appearances of the parties beginning with the company, Eaton Fiber. Good morning, judge Chanson. A little bit of feedback there. Michael Patton Snow Wilmer on behalf of the applicant and we have on WebEx our witness Nick Brown. Thank you. And for staff? Good morning your honor. Robert Reidenour for staff and with us is Alex Abramson for the utility section. Alright. Thank you so much. Before we move to public comment, are there any procedural items or issues that need to be addressed? I'll ask the company first. I don't believe so, your honor. And for staff?
No, your honor. Alright. Then let's move on to public comment. This is the time for any member of the public present to provide comments on this matter. Are they are there any members of the public who would like to provide comment today regarding Eaton Fiber's application? I don't see any in the hearing room, and I don't believe that we have anyone that has called in. In that case, let the record reflect that no one has indicated a desire to speak. In that case, we'll move ahead to opening statements. Would either party like to make an opening statement today starting with the company?
No opening statement, your honor. We would thank you for accelerating the hearing in this matter, though. Of course. And for staff? No opening statement, your honor. Alright. Then we will move into the presentation of witnesses and evidence. Is Eaton Fiber ready to call their first witness? We are, your honor. We call Nick Brown who is appearing by Webex. Alright. And, mister Brown, can you hear us okay? Yes. Hello, everyone. Alright. Good morning. I will have the court reporters swear you in at this time. Can you raise your right hand, please? Do you swear the testimony you're about to give shall be the the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
So help you, god? I do. Thank you. May I proceed? Go ahead. Good morning, mister Brown. Could you please state your name and business address for the record? My name is Nick Brown. My business address is 152 West 57th Street, 34th Floor, New York, New York, ZIP 10019. 19? 10019. Mister Ban, what are your current title and current job responsibilities? I am the chief operating officer of Eaton Fiber. I oversee the day to day operation of our wholesale fiber network,
including construction, maintenance, service activation, and regulatory compliance. I'm responsible for ensuring the network is built safely, operated reliably, and meets all state, municipal, and rights of way requirements. Mister Brown, could you tell us a little bit about your background in the experience in the telecommunications industry? I have nearly twenty years of experience in the communications industry. I also serve as managing director at Tillman Global Holdings where I spearhead new investments. You sir I didn't understand that. You also serve as I'll I'll repeat. I also serve as a managing director at Tillman Global
Holdings, where I spearhead new investments and capital markets activities across technology, media, telecom, and the energy transition sectors. Before joining Tillman Global Holdings, I was executive vice president of corporate finance and development at Altice USA, overseeing corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, treasury, and investor relations, while also serving on Lightpath's sport of managers. Prior to Altice USA, I was head of investor relations for Altice NV in Europe, which I joined from Goldman Sachs global investment research division,
where I was an executive director covering telecoms, satellite, cable, and tower companies. I previously worked at Espirito Cento Investment Bank, which was formerly Execution Noble as an equity research analyst covering European telecoms and media companies. I hold a master's degree in economics from the University of Cambridge in The UK. Thank you, mister Brown. Rona, we've marked four exhibits for the applicant, exhibits a one through a four. And for the record, exhibit a one is the application filed. I think I have the wrong date on this.
Hang on a second. 06/30/2025. The A2 are responses to the first set of data requests that were filed on September, excuse me, 10/28/2025. A3 are responses to staff's second set of data requests filed on 09/22/2025, and a four are supplemental responses to staff's data request filed on 10/24/2025.
Mister Brown, do you have those exhibits in front of you? Yes. I do. And do you have any material updates to these exhibits? No material updates. As of today, we are sealant approved in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Montana, North Carolina, and Ohio. And with that update, do you adopt exhibits a one through a four as part of your direct testimony here today? Yes. I do. Your honor, at this time, I ask exhibits a one through a four be admitted? Any objection from staff? No, your honor. Alright. Exhibits a one,
a two, a three, and a four by are hereby admitted. Thank you, your honor. Mister Brown, have you had a chance to review the staff report that was docketed in this proceeding and has been marked as exhibit s one? Yes. I have reviewed it, and it's in front of me as well. Within the staff report, have you reviewed staff's recommendations and proposed conditions regarding the granting of the CCNN? Yes. I have. And does the company agree to abide by staff's recommendations and conditions? Yes. We agree with staff's recommendations, and we'll abide by the conditions proposed by staff.
Alright. Thank you, mister Brown. And, your honor, with that, mister Brown's available for cross examination. Alright. Thank you. Any cross from staff at this time? No questions, your honor. Alright. I have just a few questions for you, mister Brown. I'm gonna preface this by saying most of which are seeking to clarify my understanding understanding of some of the responses provided by the company in its application and its responses to data requests. The first thing I'd like to do just briefly is confirm my understanding of the company services it's seeking to provide. From the company's responses, it's my understanding that the majority of Eaton Fiber services or their main operations will
involve building and operating a fiber network with the intention of providing and selling Internet access to its anchor tenant on a wholesale basis and potentially other customers. Is that, is my understanding correct? Yes. That's correct. And then the company is seeking the CCNN in this matter specifically for authorization to provide point to point services and backhaul services to its anchor tenant, and potentially other customers because it anticipates that these types of services will be needed or requested by their anchor tenant or other customers.
Is that accurate? Next, I'd like to confirm my understanding of the relationship between Eaton Fiber Arizona and Tillman Fiber Co, Arizona. From the company's answers, it's my understanding while that while they have some common beneficial ownership, the intention if, this application is granted in providing services that not only will they operate it as independent separate entities, they will also serve in different markets to serve the needs of their respective respective anchor tenants. Is that accurate? Yes. That that's accurate. Each of those companies has different anchor customers that that will be focused in building
in different areas. Alright. Thank you. And then aside from this common beneficial ownership, do you know if Eaton Fiber Arizona and Tillman Fiber Co Arizona will share any other resources such as funding or infrastructure? No. They're they're separately capitalized under different entities. Alright. And then, through the application and through the company's responses to staff data requests, I'm specifically looking at the company's response to sdf 2.1 where the company generate generally describes the operating model of Tillman Fiber Co Arizona.
There's talk about how it provides fiber to the premises services with T Mobile as its anchor tenant. And that they work with its anchor tenant to identify target markets in Florida. Then when I looked at the company's responses to staff's first set of data requests on the very last page I believe there's legal entity structure chart for Eaton Fiber Arizona which shows that there's several entities underneath that Tillman global holdings that's structured similarly to
the applicant Eaton Fiber Arizona. So there's affiliate iterations for Nevada, Colorado, Washington, Montana and North Carolina. I believe you covered some of those states already and some of the additional information you provided when asked by your attorney. But I just wanna clarify these Eaton Fiber affiliates, Nevada, Colorado, etcetera, are they associated with the same anchor tenant that Eaton Fiber Arizona is similar to that structure of operating for Tillman Fiber Co. Yes. So, those Eaton Fiber affiliate entities in the different states are to serve the same anchor
customer in the same way that we're looking to build and serve in Arizona. Alright. Thank you. I believe that my last question is if there's anything else that the company would like to note about its relationship with some in FiberCo Arizona that has not already been presented through its application, responses to debt staff data requests, or testimony thus far. Nothing further to add. Alright. Thank you. I'm I'm sorry. Say that again, sir. No. Nothing further to add. Thank you. Alright. In that case, I believe those are all of my questions.
Does the company have any redirect at this time for the witness? No redirect, your honor. Alright. And does the staff have any additional or any cross? No, your honor. Alright. I believe that is all that I need. Thank you, mister Brown. Mister Patton, does the company have any additional witnesses at this time? No additional witnesses, your honor, and we would rest. Alright. Thank you. Then let's move over to staff. Staff, go ahead and call your first witness. Staff calls Alex Abramson to the stand. Alright. Mister Abramson, you'll just go over here to the witness
stand. And then I will have the court reporter swear you in. Could you raise your right hand, please? Do you swear the testimony you're about to give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth So help you God? Yes. Thank you. Alright. Mister Reidenour, you can go ahead and question the witness. Thank you, your honor. Can you please state your name and spell your name for the record? My name is Alex Abramson, spelled a l e x. Abramson spelled a b r a m s o n. Thank you. And,
tell us your employer and your business address. My employer is the Arizona Corporation Commission, and the business address is 1200 West Washington in Phoenix, Arizona. And what is your role at the commission? My role is as a public utilities analyst, five. And how long have you been with the corporation commission? I have been with the corporation commission, a little over two years now. And as part of your role with the Corporation Commission, were you tasked with reviewing the application for meat and fiber? Yes. Can you describe what you did as well as,
what you reviewed with this application? I went through first the initial application as well as determine what information was missing from the original filing. Subsequently I put together data requests in conjunction with, analysis to determine whether or not, Eaton was fit to provide service here in Arizona. K. Do you have a copy of the staff report in front of you? Yes. I do. And it's marked as exhibit s one. Correct? Correct. Is did you prepare the staff reports?
Yes. I did. Do you have any substantial changes or material changes to this at this point? No. I do not. Do you hereby adopt this staff report as your testimony here today? Yes. I do. Your honor, based on that, I'd like to move for exhibit admission of exhibit s one. Any objections from the company? No objection, honor. Alright. Exhibit s one is hereby admitted. Thank you. Based on the company's application, were you able to draw any conclusions regarding the company's fitness provide private line telecom services within the state of Arizona? Yes, I was. State of Arizona? Yes. I was. I deemed them fit based on my analysis.
Is there an established market for this CCNN? Yes. For both private line and wholesale telecommunication services sorry. Wholesale services to telecommunications providers, there is established markets in Arizona. Okay. Thank you. And in your professional perspective, is is the requested application in within the public interest? Yes. I believe so. Do you have anything else to add at this point? No. Not at this time. With that, your honor, I have no further questions and make the witness available for cross exam. Alright. Mister Patton, any questions for this witness? No questions, your honor.
Alright. I have just a few questions, mister Abramson. First, I'd like to confirm that, the staff believe that Eaton Fiber possesses the technical capability to provide the requested services in Arizona. Yes. I believe so. The staff believe that Eaton Fiber possesses the managerial capacity to provide the proposed services in Arizona? Yes. I also believe so. Can you briefly describe why this is staff's belief or generally how staff came to this conclusion? Reviewing the information provided in both the application and in the subsequent,
data requests, I came to the conclusion that Eaton Fiber possesses both the technical and managerial competence to provide telecommunications services here in Arizona. Alright. Thank you. In its application which we've already marked as exhibit a one specifically an attachment b three to the application. I don't believe there's a copy at the stand, but I'll describe, specifically what I'm looking for in that exhibit. The company indicates that it has a quote non binding capital commitment letter end quote from its parent company Tillman Global Holdings.
Additionally, in responses to staff's second set of data requests which has been marked as exhibit three, specifically in response to STF two point two, the company indicates that Tillman Global Holdings will fund up to 10,000,000 of initial capital contingent on due diligence. Does staff have any question or excuse me. Does staff have any concerns related to the contingent nature of the funding from Tilghman Global Holdings. With any non certain items such as that, staff does have some concerns,
but it was not enough to be disqualifying. Alright. Thank you. Does staff believe that Eaton Fiber possesses the financial capacity to provide the proposed services in in, Arizona? Yes. Staff does. Thank you. The company, through its application and responses to staff data request, makes it clear that its cost of service for customers will most likely be determined on an individual case basis. However, the company has provided a proposed tariff which includes the maximum recurring rates and non recurring charges for its Ethernet on net transport services.
After reviewing these proposed rates and charges and comparing them to other carriers for for similar services. Does staff find that these proposed rates and charges are just and reasonable? Yes. Staff believes that, these rates are just and reasonable, especially in a actively competitive market. Now I didn't see anything in the staff report about whether a bond is appropriate in this case pursuant to Arizona administrative code r fourteen two one one zero five d. Does I just wanna confirm, does staff believe that a bond is appropriate in this case?
I don't believe so. Alright. Thank you. And does staff believe that the proposed services should be classified as competitive? Yes. Alright. My last question, is related to Eaton Fiber's request for a waiver under administrative Arizona administrative code r fourteen dash two dash one one one fifteen c three Specifically in its staff report staff finds that Eaton Fiber's request is reasonable and recommends that the Commission approve the company's request subject to the condition that Eaton fire be required to provide its individual
case basis contracts to staff at any time upon request. Can you briefly just, elaborate on why staff finds the the company's request to be reasonable and recommends the conditional approval of the request? For the most part, all requests for this particular waiver have been granted in the past. I can't think on the top of my head any that have been refused. Since the practice started becoming more common, in the mid twenty tens, many CCN applications have included either at the hearing or inside the application themselves,
a request for this specific waiver. As such, staff believes that this request is reasonable. Alright. Thank you. I believe those are all of my questions. Does staff any have any redirect at this time for this witness? Witness? No, your honor. Alright. Sorry. And does the company have any cross? Nothing further, your honor. Alright. Alright. Thank you. Does staff have any additional witnesses at this time? No, your honor. Alright. Mister Abramson, I believe you are done. You can go ahead and step down. With that, let's move into closing statements. Would either party like to make a closing statement at this time starting with the
company? Yes, your honor. Just briefly. Again, thank you for accelerating the hearing. As we indicated in our ordering a expedited transcript. And if there's anything your honor could do to get this on the March open meeting, we would be much appreciative. But we thank you for your time and attention today. I will do my best on that, March open meeting request. And, staff, would you like to make a closing statement at this time? Again, just briefly, your honor, we think that the company is, has complied with all the requirements and should be granted the CCNN in this situation and request that it be done that way.
Thank you. Alright. Thank you. Now before we finish up, I'm gonna make sure I believe we have admitted all of the the exhibits that were offered for evidence today. I just wanna briefly go off the record really quick to confirm with the court reporter. Is there any additional questions, anything else that you need clarified from any of the parties today? Something that would be very very helpful for me is some type of a CV curriculum vitae for mister Brown. He has quite an extensive background,
and I wondered if that might be able to be provided to me. Mister Patton. Yes, your honor. We could probably provide the text that he was referring to, in responding, which should be helpful. Okay. Alright. So they're part of the they're in the exhibits. Right? Or you'll provide the I can just send an email actually to the court reporter. K. Yeah. I think it'll help her with the spelling and and making sure that she gets it accurately. And I'll do that in combination with my request for an expedited transcript to them.
Alright. That sounds great. Anything else from the court reporter at this time? I don't think so at this time, but thank you very much. I do appreciate that help, especially knowing that it's gonna be on an expedited basis. Of course. In that case, I'm going to go back on the record. While we were off the record, I confirmed with the court reporter whether they needed anything else clarified. Specifically, our court reporter asked if they could get a CV or some some additional documentation to, confirm the company's witnesses,
background. And the company has indicated that with a request for a expedited transcript, they will also provide that information to the court reporter. With that, is there anything else that needs to be addressed before we adjourn? I'll start with the company. I don't believe so, your honor. Alright. And staff? No, your your honor. In that case, I wanna thank you all for your participation today. This matter will be taken under advisement and recommended opinion and order will be issued for the commission's consideration at a future open meeting. With that, our hearing is adjourned. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much.