GA Code § 46-5-63 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 46 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation|Chapter 5 - Telephone Service|Article 2 - Telephone Service|Part 3 - Rural Telephone Cooperatives|§ 46-5-63. Powers of Cooperatives Generally

 A cooperative shall have power:    To sue and be sued in its corporate name;   To have an initial existence for a term of 50 years with right of renewal for one or more like terms unless a shorter term is stated in the articles of incorporation;   To adopt a corporate seal and alter the same;   To furnish, improve, and expand telephone service in rural areas to its members, to governmental agencies and political subdivisions, and to other persons not in excess of 10 percent of the number of its members; provided, however, that, without regard to this 10 percent limitation, telephone service may be made available by a cooperative through interconnection of facilities to any number of subscribers of other telephone systems and through pay stations to any number of users; provided, further, that a cooperative which acquires existing telephone facilities in rural areas may continue service to persons, not in excess of 40 percent of the number of its members, who are already receiving service from such facilities without requiring such persons to become members; but such persons may become members upon such terms as may be prescribed in the bylaws; provided, further, that no cooperative shall furnish any telephone service in any area or territory professed to be served by any other telephone company unless such telephone company is unable or unwilling to furnish or extend reasonably adequate telephone service in such area or territory;  (4.1) To furnish, improve, and expand broadband services. Such broadband services may be furnished separately from telephone service or in conjunction with telephone service and may be furnished in areas that are the same or in areas that are different from those to which the cooperative furnishes telephone service; provided, however, that unless otherwise provided in Code Section 46-5-167, none of the costs of providing broadband services shall be eligible for recovery from the Universal Access Fund provided for in Code Section 46-5-167;   (4.2) To apply for, accept, repay, and utilize loans, grants, and other financing from any person or from the federal government or any state, or any department or agency thereof, to assist such cooperative or its broadband affiliate in the planning, engineering, construction, extension, provision, operation, repair, and maintenance of broadband services;   (4.3) To enter into contracts, agreements, partnerships, or other types of business relationships with any person or with the federal government or any state or local government, or any department or agency thereof, to assist such cooperative or its broadband affiliate in the planning, engineering, construction, extension, provision, operation, repair, and maintenance of broadband services;    To construct, purchase, lease as lessee, or otherwise acquire; to improve, expand, install, equip, maintain, and operate; and to sell, assign, convey, lease as lessor, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of or encumber telephone lines, facilities, systems, lands, buildings, structures, plants, equipment, exchanges, and any other real or personal property, whether tangible or intangible, which shall be deemed necessary, convenient, or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized, provided that no cooperative shall construct, purchase, lease as lessee, take, receive, or otherwise acquire, improve, expand, install, equip, maintain, or operate any telephone lines, facilities, systems, lands, buildings, structures, plants, equipment, exchanges, or any other real or personal property, whether tangible or intangible, within (A) the boundaries of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, village, or borough within this state having a population in excess of 15,000 inhabitants according to the last preceding federal census, and (B) any suburban or populated area contiguous to the boundaries of any such city, town, village, or borough having a common economic, social, or administrative interest within any such city, town, village, or borough;   To connect and interconnect its telephone lines, facilities, or systems with other telephone lines, facilities, or systems, provided that any such connection or interconnection shall be in such manner and according to such specifications as will avoid interference with or hazards to existing telephone lines, facilities, or systems;   To make its facilities available to persons furnishing telephone service within or without this state;   To purchase, lease as lessee, or otherwise acquire; to use and exercise; and to sell, assign, convey, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of or encumber franchises, rights, privileges, licenses, and easements;   To issue membership certificates and nonvoting shares of stock as provided in this part;   To borrow money and otherwise contract indebtedness; to issue or guarantee notes, bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness; and to secure the payment thereof by mortgage, pledge, deed of trust, security deed, or any other encumbrance upon any or all of its then-owned or after-acquired real or personal property, assets, franchises, or revenues;   To construct, maintain, and operate telephone lines along, upon, under, and across publicly owned lands and public thoroughfares, including all roads, highways, streets, alleys, bridges, and causeways, provided that the construction, maintenance, and operation of telephone lines along, upon, under, and across publicly owned lands and public thoroughfares, including all roads, highways, streets, alleys, bridges, and causeways, shall be conditioned upon first having obtained the consent and permission of the governmental authority affected and shall be under such terms and conditions as may be promulgated by that governmental authority;   To exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by Title 22 for the exercise of such power by other corporations constructing or operating telephone lines, facilities, or systems;   To become a member of other cooperatives or corporations or to own stock therein;   To conduct its business and exercise its powers within or without this state;   To adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws;   To make any and all contracts necessary, convenient, or appropriate for the full exercise of the powers granted by this part; and   To do and perform any other acts and things and to have and exercise any other powers which may be necessary, convenient, or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized.    (Ga. L. 1950, p. 192, § 4; Ga. L. 1952, p. 4, § 2; Ga. L. 1953, Jan.-Feb. Sess., p. 132, § 1; Ga. L. 1973, p. 229, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 2107, § 48; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 46; Ga. L. 1994, p. 237, § 2; Ga. L. 2019, p. 233, § 3/SB 17.)    The 2019 amendment,  effective April 26, 2019, added paragraphs (4.1) through (4.3), and substituted "15,000 inhabitants" for "1,500 inhabitants" in paragraph (5).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   C.J.S.   - 86 C.J.S., Telecommunications, § 20 et seq.   ALR.    - Duty of public utility to notify patron in advance of temporary suspension of service, 52 A.L.R. 1078.    Right and duty of telephone companies to make or discontinue physical connection of exchanges or lines, 76 A.L.R. 953.