Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 515 - RULES OF GEORGIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Chapter 515-12 - TELEPHONE SERVICE › Subject 515-12-1 - TELEPHONE SERVICE › Rule 515-12-1-.35 - Eligible Telecommunications Carriers

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier
				must meet the requirements set forth in
				47 U.S.C. §
										214.(e)(1)(A) and (B) and all rules and
				regulations duly promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission set forth
				in 47 C.F.R. part 54, Subpart C (Carriers Eligible for Universal Service
				Support), Subpart D (Universal Service Support for High Cost Areas), or Subpart
				E (Universal Service Support for Low-Income Consumers), except to the extent
				the FCC has granted a waiver of its rules and regulations.
(2) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier
				shall satisfactorily resolve within a reasonable time period any and all
				complaints filed against it with the Commission's Consumer Affairs
				Unit.
(3) An Eligible
				Telecommunications Carrier shall advertise the availability of Lifeline service
				on its internet website.
(4) An
				Eligible Telecommunications Carrier shall not charge usage (i.e., decrement
				minutes) or charge fees of any kind for calls to customer service.
(5) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier
				shall file the number of Lifeline subscribers that the carrier serves in the
				State of Georgia as of June 30th and December 31st of each year, broken down by
				eligibility criterion. The report shall be filed 15 days from the close of the
				period.
(6) An Eligible
				Telecommunications Carrier that provides no-cost service after application of
				the Lifeline discount shall file with the Commission quarterly reports, due no
				later than 15 days from the close of each quarter, that report the number of
				customers who have been deactivated pursuant to
				47 C.F.R. §
										54.405(e)(3), the number of
				customers who did not pass annual verification, and the number of customers who
				were voluntarily deactivated.
(7)
				Lifeline materials including advertisements, application forms, and
				verification forms must include the following language: "Unresolved complaints
				concerning Lifeline service can be directed to the Georgia Public Service
				Commission's Consumer Affairs Unit at [local and toll free number for the
				Consumer Affairs Unit]."
(8) Any
				proposed increases in an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier's least cost
				service rate available to Lifeline customers, any increase in connection
				charges, or the addition of any proposed surcharges, other than those
				specifically provided for in State or Federal law, shall require 30 days
				written notice to the Commission.
(9) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier
				shall include its lowest cost service offering in all Lifeline
				advertisements.
(10) Under
				47 C.F.R. §
										54.314(a), the Commission
				submits to the Universal Service Administrative Company ("USAC") and the
				Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") an annual certification prior to
				October 1, of each year. The annual certification includes those carriers that
				have certified to the Commission that all federal high-cost support provided to
				such carriers within Georgia was used in the preceding calendar year and will
				be used in the coming calendar year only for the provision, maintenance, and
				upgrading of facilities and services for which support is intended. In order to
				be included in the annual certification that the Commission submits to USAC and
				the FCC for a given year, a carrier shall file its certification with the
				Commission on or before August 1, of that year.
O.C.G.A.
				  §§
											46-2-30,
				  46-5-160 through 174, 46-2-51,
				  47 U.S.C. §
												254(f).