220 ILCS 5/13-712
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 220 - UTILITIES|220 ILCS 5/ - Public Utilities Act.|Article XIII - Telecommunications

(Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2026)Sec. 13-712. Basic local exchange service quality; customer credits.(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that every telecommunications  carrier meet  minimum service quality standards in providing noncompetitive basic local exchange service on  a non-discriminatory basis to all classes of customers.(b) Definitions:(1) (Blank).(2) "Basic local exchange service" means residential     and business lines used for local exchange telecommunications service as defined in Section 13-204 of this Act, that have not been classified as competitive pursuant to either Section 13-502 or subdivision (c)(5) of Section 13-506.2 of this Act, excluding:(A) services that employ advanced         telecommunications capability as defined in Section 706(c)(1) of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996;(B) vertical services;(C) company official lines; and(D) records work only.(3) "Link Up" refers to the Link Up Assistance     program defined and established at 47 C.F.R. Section 54.411 et seq. as amended.(c) The Commission shall promulgate service quality rules  for basic local exchange service, which may include fines, penalties, customer  credits, and other enforcement mechanisms.  In developing such service quality  rules, the Commission shall consider, at a minimum, the carrier's gross annual  intrastate revenue; the frequency, duration, and recurrence of the violation;  and the relative harm caused to the affected customer or other users of the  network.  In imposing fines, the Commission shall take into account  compensation or credits paid by the telecommunications carrier to its customers  pursuant to this Section in compensation for the violation found pursuant to  this Section.  These rules shall become effective within one year after the  effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly.(d) The rules shall, at a minimum, require each telecommunications carrier  to do all of the following:(1) Install basic local exchange service within 5     business days after receipt of an order from the customer unless the customer requests an installation date that is beyond 5 business days after placing the order for basic service and to inform the customer of its duty to install service within this timeframe.  If installation of service is requested on or by a date more than 5 business days in the future, the telecommunications carrier shall install service by the date requested.  A telecommunications carrier offering basic local exchange service utilizing the network or network elements of another carrier shall install new lines for basic local exchange service within 3 business days after provisioning of the line or lines by the carrier whose network or network elements are being utilized is complete.  This subdivision (d)(1) does not apply to the migration of a customer between telecommunications carriers, so long as the customer maintains dial tone.(2) Restore basic local exchange service for a     customer within 30 hours of receiving notice that a customer is out of service.  This provision applies to service disruptions that occur when a customer switches existing basic local exchange service from one carrier to another.(3) Keep all repair and installation appointments for     basic local exchange service, when a customer premises visit requires a customer to be present.(4) Inform a customer when a repair or installation     appointment requires the customer to be present.(e) The rules shall include provisions for customers to be  credited by the  telecommunications carrier for violations of basic local exchange service  quality  standards as described in subsection (d).  The credits shall be applied on the statement issued to the  customer for the next monthly billing cycle following the violation or  following the discovery of the violation.  The performance levels established in subsection (c) are solely for the  purposes  of consumer credits and shall not be used as performance levels for the  purposes of  assessing penalties under Section 13-305.  At a minimum, the rules shall  include the following:(1) If a carrier fails to repair an out-of-service     condition for basic local exchange service within 30 hours, the carrier shall provide a credit to the customer. If the service disruption is for over 30 hours but less than 48 hours, the credit must be equal to a pro-rata portion of the monthly recurring charges for all local services disrupted.  If the service disruption is for more than 48 hours, but not more than 72 hours, the credit must be equal to at least 33% of one month's recurring charges for all local services disrupted.  If the service disruption is for more than 72 hours, but not more than 96 hours, the credit must be equal to at least 67% of one month's recurring charges for all local services disrupted.  If the service disruption is for more than 96 hours, but not more than 120 hours, the credit must be equal to one month's recurring charges for all local services disrupted.  For each day or portion thereof that the service disruption continues beyond the initial 120-hour period, the carrier shall also provide an additional credit of $20 per day.(2) If a carrier fails to install basic local     exchange service as required under subdivision (d)(1), the carrier shall waive 50% of any installation charges, or in the absence of an installation charge or where installation is pursuant to the Link Up program, the carrier shall provide a credit of $25.  If a carrier fails to install service within 10 business days after the service application is placed, or fails to install service within 5 business days after the customer's requested installation date, if the requested date was more than 5 business days after the date of the order, the carrier shall waive 100% of the installation charge, or in the absence of an installation charge or where installation is provided pursuant to the Link Up program, the carrier shall provide a credit of $50.  For each day that the failure to install service continues beyond the initial 10 business days, or beyond 5 business days after the customer's requested installation date, if the requested date was more than 5 business days after the date of the order, the carrier shall also provide an additional credit of $20 per day until service is installed.(3) If a carrier fails to keep a scheduled repair or     installation appointment when a customer premises visit requires a customer to be present, the carrier shall credit the customer $25 per missed appointment. A credit required by this subsection does not apply when the carrier provides the customer notice of its inability to keep the appointment no later than 8 p.m. of the day prior to the scheduled date of the appointment.(4) If the violation of a basic local exchange     service quality standard is caused by a carrier other than the carrier providing retail service to the customer, the carrier providing retail service to the customer shall credit the customer as provided in this Section. The carrier causing the violation shall reimburse the carrier providing retail service the amount credited the customer. When applicable, an interconnection agreement shall govern compensation between the carrier causing the violation, in whole or in part, and the retail carrier providing the credit to the customer.(5) (Blank).(6) Credits required by this subsection do not apply     if the violation of a service quality standard:(i) occurs as a result of a negligent or willful         act on the part of the customer;(ii) occurs as a result of a malfunction of         customer-owned telephone equipment or inside wiring;(iii) occurs as a result of, or is extended by,         an emergency situation as defined in Commission rules;(iv) is extended by the carrier's inability to         gain access to the customer's premises due to the customer missing an appointment, provided that the violation is not further extended by the carrier;(v) occurs as a result of a customer request to         change the scheduled appointment, provided that the violation is not further extended by the carrier;(vi) occurs as a result of a carrier's right to         refuse service to a customer as provided in Commission rules; or(vii) occurs as a result of a lack of facilities         where a customer requests service at a geographically remote location, a customer requests service in a geographic area where the carrier is not currently offering service, or there are insufficient facilities to meet the customer's request for service, subject to a carrier's obligation for reasonable facilities planning.(7) The provisions of this subsection are cumulative     and shall not in any way diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies available to a customer or a class of customers.(f) The rules shall require each telecommunications carrier to provide to  the Commission, on  a quarterly basis and in a form suitable for posting on the Commission's  website, a public  report that includes performance data for basic local exchange service quality  of service.  The performance data shall be disaggregated for each geographic area and each  customer class of the  State for  which the telecommunications carrier internally monitored performance data as  of a date  120 days preceding the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd  General Assembly. The report shall  include, at  a minimum, performance data on basic local exchange service installations,  lines out of  service for more than 30 hours, carrier response to customer calls, trouble  reports, and  missed repair and installation commitments.(g) The Commission shall establish and implement carrier to carrier  wholesale service  quality rules and establish remedies to ensure enforcement of the rules.  (Source: P.A. 100-20, eff. 7-1-17.)