384
Opinion of the Court
"(c) Standards for Arbitration
"In resolving by arbitration under subsection (b) any open issues and imposing conditions upon the parties to the agreement, a State commission shall—
"(1) ensure that such resolution and conditions meet the requirements of section 251, including the regulations prescribed by the Commission pursuant to section 251;
"(2) establish any rates for interconnection, services, or network elements according to subsection (d); and
"(3) provide a schedule for implementation of the terms and conditions by the parties to the agreement."
Respondents contend that the Commission's TELRIC rule is invalid because § 252(c)(2) entrusts the task of establishing rates to the state commissions. We think this attributes to that task a greater degree of autonomy than the phrase "establish any rates" necessarily implies. The FCC's prescription, through rulemaking, of a requisite pricing methodology no more prevents the States from establishing rates than do the statutory "Pricing standards" set forth in § 252(d). It is the States that will apply those standards and implement that methodology, determining the concrete result in particular circumstances. That is enough to constitute the establishment of rates.
Respondents emphasize the fact that § 252(c)(1), which requires state commissions to assure compliance with the provisions of § 251, adds "including the regulations prescribed by the Commission pursuant to section 251," whereas § 252(c)(2), which requires state commissions to assure compliance with the pricing standards in subsection (d), says nothing about Commission regulations applicable to subsection (d). There is undeniably a lack of parallelism here, but it seems to us adequately explained by the fact that § 251 specifically requires the Commission to promulgate regulations implementing that provision, whereas subsection (d)
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