Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 126 - PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Division 04 - Legal › Rule 126.04.12-001 - Telecommunication Provider Rules

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
DEFINITIONS
Access Code
A sequence of numbers that when dialed, connect the caller to
				an interexchange carrier or provider of operator services associated with that
				sequence.
Aggregator
Any person or entity, excluding local exchange carriers and
				commercial mobile service providers, that, in the ordinary course of its
				operations, makes telephones available to the public or to transient users of
				its premises, for intrastate telephone calls using a provider of operator
				services.
Applicant
Any person or entity requesting telecommunications
				service.
Arkansas Calling Plan Fund or "ACPF"
An annual allocation of Arkansas Intrastate Carrier Common Line
				Pool (AICCLP) funds to assist in providing calling plans in telephone exchanges
				pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
								23-17-404(e)
				(4) (D) (iii).
Automated Message Delivery Services (AMDS)
A service which provides a consumer who receives a busy signal
				or no answer the option to automatically leave a message for subsequent
				delivery.
Base Rate Area
A populated geographical area within the exchange service area
				in which local exchange service is furnished at the same rate to all
				subscribers without line mileage or construction charges. A map and legal
				description of every base rate area must be filed as a tariff.
Branding
The process by which an operator service provider audibly and
				distinctly identifies itself to every person using its operator
				services.
Business Office
A location designated by a telecommunications provider where an
				individual may arrange for service connection, make or arrange to make payments
				on his bill, and ask questions regarding service or the status of his
				account.
Busy Hour
Within the busy season, the sixty minute period during which a
				specific central office switch, processes the greatest volume of
				telecommunications traffic.
Busy Season
Within a calendar year, the period of time during which a
				specific central office switch processes the greatest volume of
				telecommunications traffic.
Central Office
A switching unit in a telecommunications system where
				connections are made between customers' lines, and between customers' lines and
				local or toll trunks.
Character of Service
The distinguishing features that identify the type of service
				provided to the customer, for example, call waiting service.
Class of Service
A customer group which has similar characteristics such as
				volume of use, time of use, extent of use and nature and purpose of use, as
				classified by the telecommunications provider. For example, the business or
				residential class of service.
Closed or "Finaled" Account
A permanent shut-off of service by a telecommunications
				provider to a customer account.
Commission
The Arkansas Public Service Commission.
Competing Local Exchange Carrier or "CLEC"
A local exchange carrier that is not an incumbent local
				exchange carrier.
Complaint
Any objection from an applicant or customer concerning a
				charge, facility, rule, service, or other Commission-regulated activity that
				requires:
(1) an investigation or an
			 account review; and
(2) corrective
			 action by a telecommunications provider.
EXCEPTIONS:
Trouble reports, as defined in these Rules, and initial calls
				to the appropriate telecommunications provider resulting in unchallenged,
				voluntary toll adjustments by the telecommunications provider, shall not be
				considered complaints under this definition.
Customer
Any person or entity who has applied for and agreed to pay for
				telecommunications service.
Customer Premises Equipment
Telecommunications equipment which is located on a customer's
				premises, e.g., telephone instruments, PBX switches, etc.
Customer Premises Wiring
Telecommunications wiring which is located on a customer's
				premises between the point of demarcation and the customer premises
				equipment.
Extended Area Service (EAS)
As defined in Ark. Code Ann. §
								23-17-403(28),
				a mandatory fixed rate service that provides customers with unlimited local
				calling that is not part of basic local exchange service.
Demarcation Point
An identifiable point at a customer's premises where operation
				and maintenance responsibilities end for the telecommunications provider as
				defined in Part 68 of the Rules of the Federal Communications
				Commission.
Deposit
An amount paid to a telecommunications provider by an applicant
				or customer to guarantee payment for telecommunications service.
Digital Switching
A connection in which digitally encoded information is routed
				between an input and an output port by means of time-division multiplexing or
				self-routing cell procedures rather than over a dedicated circuit.
Electing Company
A local exchange carrier that elects to be regulated pursuant
				to Sections 6 through 8 or Section 12 of Act 77 of 1997.
Elderly Person
A residential customer who is at least 65 years old.
Eligible Telecommunications Carrier or
				"ETC"
The local exchange carrier determined in accordance with Ark.
				Code Ann. §
								23-17-405
				for the local exchange area. The carrier determined in accordance with
				47
				U.S.C. §
									214(e) (3) for
				an unallocated area (
				47
				CFR §
									54.203 ).
Emergency
A situation in which property or human life is in jeopardy and
				the prompt summoning of aid is essential.
Extended Due Date
Regular monthly extension or change of a bill' s due date by a
				telecommunications provider.
Extension of Telecommunications Facilities
				Fund
An annual allocation of Arkansas Intrastate Carrier Common Line
				Pool (AICCLP) funds to assist in the extension of telecommunications facilities
				to persons not served by the wireline facilities of an ETC pursuant to Ark.
				Code Ann.- §
								23-17-404(e)
				(4) (D) (ii).
Equal Access Code
An access code that allows the public to obtain equal access
				connection to the carrier associated with that code.
Exchange Service Area
A unit established by a telecommunications provider for the
				administration of telecommunications service in a specified area for which a
				separate local rate schedule is provided. It may consist of one or more central
				offices together with associated plant facilities used in furnishing
				telecommunications services in that area.
Failure to Pay
Failure to pay includes payment by check, other negotiable
				instrument, or automatic draft that is dishonored by a bank for reasons other
				than bank error.
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier or "ILEC"
With respect to a local exchange area, a local exchange
				carrier, including successors and assigns, that is certified by the Commission
				and was providing basic local exchange service on February 8, 1996.
Individual with Disabilities
Any residential customer who is certified to the
				telecommunications provider as having a severe physical or mental impairment
				which substantially limits his ability to pay for telecommunications service.
				Certification shall be provided by a physician, licensed psychologist, the
				United States Veterans Administration, the Social Security Administration, the
				Arkansas Department of Human Services, the Arkansas State Hospital, or a
				licensed mental health center.
Insufficient Funds Check
Any negotiable instrument such as a check or automatic bank
				draft dishonored by a bank for reasons other than bank error.
Intercept Service
A service provided by the telecommunication provider which
				intercepts calls placed to a disconnected telephone number and informs the
				calling party of the status of the called number.
Interest
Interest rate set annually by the Commission for customer
				deposits as required by Ark. Code Ann. §
								23-4-206(b).
Interexchange Carrier
Any entity that is not a local exchange carrier and that
				provides interexchange communication services to the public for compensation in
				the State of Arkansas.
Interruption of Service
Temporarily stopping service for maintenance, testing, repair,
				or safety.
Local Exchange Carrier or "LEC"
A telecommunications provider of basic local exchange service
				and switched access service. Such term does not include commercial mobile
				service providers.
Operator Services - Aggregator Location
Any intrastate telecommunications service initiated from an
				aggregator location that includes, as a component, any automatic or live
				assistance to a consumer to arrange for billing or completion, or both, of any
				intrastate telephone call through a method other than automatic completion with
				billing to the telephone from which the call originated, or completion through
				an access Code used by the consumer with billing to an account previously
				established with the carrier by the consumer.
Outage
An unplanned temporary loss of telecommunications service
				caused by a malfunction of or damage to telecommunications provider facilities.
				For example, a subscriber loop service outage exists if a dial tone is not
				obtained, signaling in either direction is disabled, or transmission standards
				are not maintained.
Payment Agent
A business located in the community which acts as an agent for
				the telecommunications provider by accepting payments from customers.
Payment Date
The date the telecommunications provider or its authorized
				agent receives payment on an account.
Petitioning Exchange Customers
Residential and business basic local exchange customers of the
				ILEC requesting EAS.
Physician
Any person licensed to practice medicine by the Arkansas State
				Medical Board or a comparable licensing authority of another state.
Pre-subscribed
Provider of Operator
				Services
The intrastate provider of operator services to which the
				consumer is connected when the consumer places a call using a provider of
				operator services without dialing an access code.
Public Utility or Utility
A jurisdictional utility as defined by Ark. Code Ann. §
								23-1-101.
Rules or Commission Rules
These Telecommunications Providers Rules.
Serious Medical Condition
An illness or injury which results in a physician's
				determination that the loss of telecommunications service would give rise to a
				substantial risk of death or gravely impair health. A serious medical condition
				shall exist in the case of elderly persons or infant children under the age of
				12 months if a physician certifies that the loss of telecommunications service
				will gravely impair health, regardless of the current existence of illness or
				injury.
Splashing
The transfer of a telephone call from one operator service
				provider to another in a manner that the subsequent provider is unable or
				unwilling to determine the location of the origination of the call and, because
				of such inability or unwillingness, is prevented from billing the call on the
				basis of the originating location.
Subscriber Loop
A telecommunications circuit which provides a
				telecommunications link between a customer's service location and the serving
				switch.
Suspension of Service
A temporary shut-off of service by a telecommunications
				provider without a customer request -- not an outage or an interruption of
				service.
Tariff
A rate schedule, service regulation, price list, or other
				document required to be filed as a tariff by the Commission's Rules of Practice
				and Procedure.
Telecommunications Provider or "TP"
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or
				other entity that offers telecommunications services to the public for
				compensation.
Telecommunications Services
The offering to the public for compensation the transmission of
				voice, data, or other electronic information at any frequency over any part of
				the electromagnetic spectrum, notwithstanding any other use of the associated
				facilities. Such term does not include radio and television broadcast or
				distribution services, or the provision of publishing of yellow pages,
				regardless of the entity providing such services, or services to the extent
				that such services are used in connection with the operation of an electric
				utility system owned by a government entity.
Telecommunications Traffic
A measure of the number of telecommunication calls processed
				during a specific period. The measure includes the distribution in time and the
				duration of calls.
Tier One Company
Any ILEC that, together with its Arkansas affiliates that are
				also ILECs, provided basic local exchange services to greater than one hundred
				fifty thousand (150,000} access lines in Arkansas as of February 4,
				1997.
Trouble Report
Any verbal or written report given to a TP concerning an
				operational problem with facilities or equipment. Billing complaints shall not
				be considered as trouble reports for the purpose of this definition.
I.
GENERAL
SECTION 1.
APPLICABILITY, SCOPE AND
			 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Rule 1.01.
Applicability
These Rules shall apply to all TP whose activities bring them
				under the jurisdiction of the Commission except commercial mobile service
				providers.
Rule 1.02.
Purpose and Scope
A. These Rules set forth standards for
			 service by each TP. These Rules are intended to ensure adequate service,
			 prevent discrimination and unfair practices, and protect both the consumers and
			 TPs from unreasonable demands.
B.
			 Any service regulation, policy, procedure, rule, or service application, except
			 those approved in special contracts by this Commission or permitted by Act 77
			 of 1997, that conflicts with these Rules is void and unlawful, unless the TP
			 files a formal application for an exemption and the Commission approves it.
			 These Rules are not intended to, and do not, affect or replace any
			 Commission-approved regulation, policy, procedure, rule, or service application
			 of any TP which addresses items other than those covered in these
			 Rules.
C. Unless the context
			 otherwise requires, wherever the masculine gender is used in these Rules, it
			 shall include the feminine gender.
D. Unless the context otherwise requires,
			 wherever the singular form of a word is used in these Rules, it shall include
			 the plural form, and wherever the plural form is used, it shall include the
			 singular.
Rule 1.03.
Exemption from Rules
Amendments or exemptions to the Commission's Rules may be
				granted by the Commission in conformity with the Commission's Rules of Practice
				and Procedure, or as otherwise provided within these Rules.
Rule 1.04.
Duties under the
			 Law
These Rules shall in no way relieve any person or entity of any
				duty under the laws of the State of Arkansas or the United States of
				America.
Rule 1.05.
Discrimination Prohibited
A TP shall not unlawfully discriminate against an applicant for
				service or an existing customer in the provision of telecommunications service
				based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or
				receipt of public assistance.
Rule
			 1.06.
Retaliation Prohibited
A TP shall not retaliate against any applicant or customer for
				exercising a right or enforcing an obligation created by any Commission Rule or
				for acting within the law.
Rule
			 1.07.
Availability of Rules
A.
Telecommunications Providers
(1)
To Employees
Employees of a TP who are responsible for the application and
				explanation of any of these Rules shall have ready access to those Rules which
				apply to their respective job responsibilities. Ready access to the Rules means
				that they are easily accessible to an employee in his work area at the TP's
				offices.
(2)
To
			 Members of the Public
Each TP shall provide a copy of any pertinent part of these
				Rules to an applicant or customer upon request.
B.
Arkansas Public Service
			 Commission
These Rules shall be on display and available for inspection in
				the Office of the Secretary of the Commission. A copy of the Rules will be
				provided to any member of the public upon request.
Rule 1.08.
Interest Payment
			 on Deposits
A. A TP shall
			 pay interest annually on deposits pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
											23-4-206.
B. Interest shall not accrue on any deposit
			 after the date the TP has made and documented a good faith effort to return the
			 deposit to the depositor.
Rule
			 1.09.
Service Availability
Each TP shall provide all services and offerings on a
				continuous 24 hour basis. For example;
(1) Local and toll switched or non-switched
			 circuits and functions;
(2)
			 Equipment or personnel to receive customer trouble reports; and,
(3) Emergency repair service.
Rule 1.10.
Safe
			 and Adequate Service
A.
			 Each TP shall operate and maintain its entire system so that service is safe,
			 adequate, and reliable.
B. Each TP
			 shall inspect its entire system as necessary to have a reasonable knowledge of
			 the system's condition at all times.
Rule 1.11.
Construction
			 Standards
For new construction of TP plant, the current issues of the
				American National Standard Institute's National Electrical Safety Code (NESC)
				published by The institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.,
				and/or the National Electrical Code (NEC) published by the National Fire
				Protection Association, are designated as the standards.
Construction completed prior to the effective dates of current
				standards shall be in accordance with the standards in effect at the time of
				construction.
Rule 1.12.
Facility Identification
A. TP facilities shall be marked or numbered
			 in accordance with the current issues of the NESC to identify the owner and
			 location; e.g. Sections 217A3, 220D, and 220E in the 1993 NESC. The date the
			 facilities or equipment were first placed into service shall be recorded on
			 appropriate records.
B. When 2 or
			 more utilities jointly own a structure, each utility shall have a
			 distinguishing mark on the structure.
Rule 1.13.
Marking
			 Locations of Underground Facilities
Unless otherwise agreed to by the excavator, each TP shall mark
				the approximate location of its underground facilities, in compliance with Ark.
				Code Ann- §§
											14-271-110
				and
				14-271-111,
				within 2 business days of notification from the One Call Center or the
				excavator.