DE 98-074
                                     
                          icg telecom group, inc.
                                     
                  Application for Certification as a CLEC
                                     
             Order Granting Motion for Proprietary Treatment 
                                     
                         O R D E R  N O.  22,955 
                                     
                               June 8, 1998
                                     
         On May 7, 1998, ICG Telecom Group, Inc. (ICG) filed
     with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (Commission),
     pursuant to RSA 374:22-g and N.H. Admin. Rules Chapter Puc 1300,
     an application for authority to operate as a Competitive Local
     Exchange Carrier (CLEC) in New Hampshire.  On the same date, ICG
     filed a Motion for Confidential Treatment to exempt from
     disclosure Exhibit F of the application pursuant N.H. Admin. Rule
     Puc 204.06.  ICG does not indicate that it has sought concurrence
     from the Office of the Consumer Advocate or the Commission Staff.
         ICG filed the application in redacted form as well as
     full, unredacted copies.  Pursuant to N.H. Admin. Rule Puc
     204.05(b), documents submitted to the Commission or Commission
     Staff accompanied by a motion for confidentiality are not
     disclosed to the public and are maintained as provided in N.H.
     Admin. Rule Puc 204.06(d) until the Commission acts on the Motion
     for Confidential Treatment.
         In its motion, ICG argues that Exhibit F contains
     confidential financial information, specifically an income
     statement, which is within the exemptions from disclosure
     permitted by RSA 91-A:5,IV, as demonstrated by information
     submitted pursuant to N.H. Admin. Rule Puc 204.06(b) and (c).   
     According to ICG, the income statement is not generally available
     to the public and ICG makes efforts to prevent its disclosure. 
     ICG claims that disclosure would reveal to competitors the
     financial condition of the company with greater particularity
     than is revealed by compliance with the minimum capitalization
     requirement of N.H. Admin. Rule Puc 1304.01(b)(1).  ICG argues
     that Puc 1304.01(b)(1) adequately protects the public interest by
     assuring the financial integrity of New Hampshire CLECs, whereas
     further disclosure of confidential financial information, beyond
     that required by Puc 1304.01(b)(1), would be harmful.  For
     further information about ICG's status, the company has submitted
     the consolidated financial statements of its parent company and
     its subsidiaries at Exhibit G of its application, for which no
     claim of confidentiality is made.  ICG describes the benefits of
     nondisclosure of Exhibit F as the protection of commercial
     information and encouragement of additional CLEC applications.   
         We review ICG's motion by the standards set forth in
     Puc 204.06.  Insofar as Exhibit F contains detailed financial
     information which is valuable to competitors, ICG has
     demonstrated that the information, if made public, would likely
     create a competitive disadvantage, pursuant to Puc 204.06(c)(1).  
         Based on the company's representations, under the
     balancing test we have applied in prior cases, e.g., Re US WEST
     Interprise America, Inc., Order No. 22,642 (July 7, 1997); Re New
     England Telephone Company (Auditel), 80 NHPUC 437 (1995); Re Bell
     Atlantic, Order No. 22,851 (February 17, 1998); Re EnergyNorth
     Natural Gas, Inc., Order No. 22,859 (February 24, 1998), we find
     that the benefits to ICG of non-disclosure in this case outweigh
     the benefits to the public of disclosure.
         Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
         ORDERED, that ICG's Motion for Confidential Treatment
     of Exhibit F is granted; and it is
         FURTHER ORDERED, that this Order is subject to the
     ongoing rights of the Commission, on its own motion or on the
     motion of Staff, any party or any other member of the public, to
     reconsider this Order in light of RSA 91-A, should circumstances
     so warrant.
     
     
         By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
     Hampshire this eighth day of June, 1998.
     
     
                                                                     
        Douglas L. Patch    Bruce B. Ellsworth        Susan S. Geiger
            Chairman           Commissioner            Commissioner
     
     Attested by:
     
     
                                      
     Thomas B. Getz
     Executive Director and Secretary