Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 199 - Utilities Division › Utilities and Transportation Divisions › Chapter 39 - Universal Service › Rule 199-39.3 - Applying for Designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1) A
				telecommunications carrier must be designated as an ETC to qualify for support
				from the federal universal service fund. The Iowa utilities commission reviews
				applications for designation as an ETC for compliance with  47 U.S.C. §
										214(e)(1)  and grants ETC designations to qualified applicants for a service
				area designated by the commission. If an applicant requests an expedited ruling
				from the commission on an application to be designated as an ETC or on an
				amendment to an existing ETC designation, the applicant shall specify why an
				expedited process is necessary and why an expedited review would not be
				contrary to the public interest.
(2) An application for an ETC designation
				must contain the following:
a. Where an
				applicant offers more than one type of communications service, a clear
				statement of which entity is requesting the designation.
b. A clear statement of the purposes for
				which the designation is sought, and a statement of financial and technical
				qualification to provide the supported service. An applicant shall specify
				whether designation is sought for purposes of receiving support from the
				high-cost fund or mobility fund; for Lifeline purposes only; or other specified
				purpose recognized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
c. A certification that the applicant offers
				or intends to offer all services designated for support throughout the
				applicant's approved service area. The services designated for support are
				identified in  47 CFR §
											54.101.
d. An explanation of how the carrier will
				provide voice telephony service and broadband service as defined in
				199-39.2(476) and  47 CFR §
											54.101.
e. A certification that the applicant offers
				or intends to offer the supported services either using its own facilities or a
				combination of its own facilities and resale of another carrier's services.
				"Own facilities" includes unbundled network elements, in whole or in part. The
				facilities providing the services supported by the universal service fund need
				not be physically located in the area served. Wireless resellers shall provide
				the name of the facilities-based wireless carrier(s) whose services they are
				reselling and demonstrate they have an agreement with the carrier(s) in Iowa
				that will cover the applicant's proposed designated service area. Except for
				wireless resellers seeking ETC designation for Lifeline purposes only that have
				obtained FCC approval of a compliance plan and committed to certain 911
				conditions, the commission will not designate as an eligible telecommunications
				carrier a carrier that offers the services supported by federal universal
				service support mechanisms exclusively through the resale of another carrier's
				services.
f. A description of how
				the applicant advertises the availability of supported services and the charges
				therefor using media of general distribution.
g. A detailed description, including a map or
				maps, of the geographic service area for which the applicant requests an ETC
				designation from the commission. An applicant seeking designation in connection
				with the connect America fund Phase II auction or other similar conditional
				support mechanism shall file a list of the census blocks in which the applicant
				will serve as an ETC, in addition to the map included with the description
				required by this paragraph. Wireless telecommunications carriers, defined as
				commercial mobile radio service providers in 47 CFR Parts 20 and 24, shall file
				coverage area maps and maps that depict signal strength. Requests to withhold
				from public inspection maps depicting signal strength will be deemed granted as
				provided in 199-paragraph 1.9(5)
"c."
h. Where the application is from a carrier
				seeking a designation as an ETC for an area served by a rural telephone company
				as defined in  47 CFR §
											51.5, a demonstration that the requested
				designation is in the public interest.
i. An affirmative statement that the
				applicant will use the support only for the provision, maintenance, and
				upgrading of facilities to deploy, improve, and support services to consumers
				in the applicant's designated service area. Applicants seeking designation only
				for purposes of receiving support from the Lifeline program need not include an
				affirmative statement or other information concerning network improvements
				planned for the designated service area.
j. An affirmative statement explaining how
				the applicant will remain functional in emergency situations. The statement
				shall include examples illustrating that the applicant has a reasonable amount
				of back-up power to ensure functionality without an external power source, is
				able to reroute traffic around damaged facilities, and is capable of managing
				traffic spikes resulting from emergency situations.
k. A certification that the applicant will
				comply with the service requirements applicable to the support that it seeks to
				receive.
l. A certification that
				the applicant will satisfy applicable consumer protection and service quality
				standards. Wireless ETC applicants shall commit to complying with the following
				minimum consumer protection standards:
(1)
				Disclose rates and terms of service to consumers. For each service plan offered
				to new consumers, wireless carriers will disclose to consumers at point of sale
				and on their websites at least the following information, as applicable:
(a) the coverage area for the service;
(b) any activation or initiation
				fee;
(c) the monthly access fee or
				base charge;
(d) the amount and
				nature of any voice, messaging, or data allowances included in the plan (such
				as night and weekend minutes);
(e)
				the charges for domestic usage in excess of any included allowances or outside
				of the coverage area;
(f) for
				prepaid service plans, the period of time during which any balance is available
				for use;
(g) whether there are
				prohibitions on data service usage and whether there are network management
				practices that will have a material impact on the customer's wireless data
				experience;
(h) whether any
				additional taxes, fees or surcharges apply;
(i) the amount or range of any such fees or
				surcharges that are collected and retained by the carrier;
(j) the amount or nature of any late payment
				fee;
(k) whether a fixed-term
				contract is required and its duration;
(l) the amount and nature of any early termination fee
				that may apply; and
(m) the trial
				period during which a consumer may cancel service without any early termination
				fee, as long as the consumer complies with any applicable return
				policy.
(2) Make
				available maps showing where service is generally available. Wireless carriers
				will make available at point of sale and on their websites maps depicting
				approximate domestic coverage applicable to each of their service plans
				currently offered to consumers. To enable consumers to make comparisons among
				carriers, these maps will be generated using generally accepted methodologies
				and standards to depict the carrier's outdoor coverage. All such maps will
				contain or link to an appropriate legend concerning limitations or variations,
				or both, in wireless coverage and map usage, including any geographic
				limitations on the availability of any services included in the plan. Wireless
				carriers will periodically update such maps as necessary to keep them
				reasonably current. If necessary to show the extent of service coverage
				available to customers from carriers' roaming partners, carriers will request
				from roaming partners and incorporate coverage maps that are generated using
				similar industry-accepted criteria, or if such information is not available,
				incorporate publicly available information regarding roaming partners' coverage
				areas.
(3) Provide contract terms
				to customers and confirm changes in service. When a customer initiates new
				service or a change in existing service, the carrier will provide or confirm
				any new material terms and conditions of the ongoing service with the
				customer.
(4) Allow a trial period
				for new service. When a customer initiates postpaid service with a wireless
				carrier, the customer will be informed of and given a period of not less than
				14 days to try out the service. The carrier will not impose an early
				termination fee if the customer cancels service within this period, provided
				that the customer complies with applicable return policies and exchange
				policies. Other charges, including usage charges, may still apply.
(5) Provide specific disclosures in
				advertising. In advertising of prices for wireless service plans or devices,
				wireless carriers will disclose material charges and conditions related to the
				advertised prices and services, including if applicable and to the extent the
				advertising medium reasonably allows:
(a)
				whether activation or initiation fees apply;
(b) monthly access fees or base charges;
(c) the amount and nature of any
				voice, messaging, or data service allowances included in the plan;
(d) the charges for any domestic usage in
				excess of any included allowances or outside of the coverage area;
(e) for prepaid service plans, the period of
				time during which any balance is available for use;
(f) whether there are network management
				practices that will have a material impact on the customer's wireless data
				experience;
(g) whether any
				additional taxes, fees or surcharges apply;
(h) the amount or range of any such fees or
				surcharges that are collected and retained by the carrier;
(i) whether a fixed-term contract is required
				and its duration;
(j) early
				termination fees;
(k) the terms and
				conditions related to receiving a product or service for "free";
(l) for any service plan advertised as
				"nationwide" (or using similar terms), the carrier will have available
				substantiation for this claim; and
(m) whether prices or benefits apply only for
				a limited time or promotional period and, if so, whether any different fees or
				charges will apply for the remainder of the contract term.
(6) Separately identify carrier charges from
				taxes on billing statements. On customers' bills, carriers will distinguish (a)
				monthly charges for service and features, and other charges collected and
				retained by the carrier, from (b) taxes, fees and other charges collected by
				the carrier and remitted to federal, state or local governments. Carriers will
				not label cost recovery fees or charges as taxes.
(7) Provide customers the right to terminate
				service for changes to contract terms. Carriers will not modify the material
				terms of their postpaid customers' contracts in a manner that is materially
				adverse to those customers without providing a reasonable advance notice of a
				proposed modification and allowing those customers a time period of not less
				than 14 days to cancel their contracts with no early termination fee.
(8) Provide ready access to customer service.
				Customers will be provided a toll-free telephone number to access a carrier's
				customer service during normal business hours. Customer service contact
				information will be provided to customers online and on billing statements.
				Each wireless carrier will provide information about how customers can contact
				the carrier in writing, by toll-free telephone number, via the Internet or
				otherwise with any inquiries or complaints, and this information will be
				included, at a minimum, on all billing statements, in written responses to
				customer inquiries and on carriers' websites. Each carrier will also make such
				contact information available, upon request, to any customer calling the
				carrier's customer service departments.
(9) Promptly respond to consumer inquiries
				and complaints received from government agencies. Inquiries for information or
				complaints to a wireless ETC shall be resolved promptly and courteously. If a
				wireless ETC cannot resolve a dispute with the applicant or customer, the
				wireless ETC shall inform the applicant or customer of the right to file a
				complaint with the commission. The wireless ETC shall provide the following
				commission address and toll-free telephone number: Iowa Utilities Commission,
				Customer Service, 1375 E. Court Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0069; When the
				commission receives a complaint, the procedures set out in 199-Chapter 6,
				"Complaint Procedures," shall be followed to enforce the minimum consumer
				protection standards in paragraph 39.3(2)
"l."
When the
				commission receives a complaint alleging the addition or deletion of a product
				or service for which a separate charge is made to a customer account without
				the verified consent of the customer, the complaint shall be processed by the
				commission pursuant to 199-Chapter 6. In any complaint proceeding pursuant to
				this subparagraph, if the wireless ETC asserts that the complainant is located
				in an area where the wireless ETC is not designated as an ETC, the wireless ETC
				must submit evidence in support of its assertion.
(10) Abide by policies for protection of
				customer privacy. Each wireless carrier will abide by a policy regarding the
				privacy of customer information in accordance with applicable federal and state
				laws, and will make available to the public its privacy policy concerning
				information collected online. Each wireless carrier will abide by the Cellular
				Telecommunications and Internet Association's Best Practices and Guidelines for
				Location-Based Services.
(11)
				Provide consumers with free notifications for voice, data and messaging usage,
				and international roaming. Each wireless provider will provide, at no charge:
(a) a notification to consumers of currently
				offered and future domestic wireless plans that include limited data allowances
				when consumers approach and exceed their allowance for data usage and will
				incur overage charges;
(b) a
				notification to consumers of currently offered and future domestic voice and
				messaging plans that include limited voice and messaging allowances when
				consumers approach and exceed their allowance for those services and will incur
				overage charges; and
(c) a
				notification to consumers without an international roaming plan/package whose
				devices have registered abroad and who may incur charges for international
				usage. Wireless providers will generate the notifications described above to
				postpaid consumers based on information available at the time the notification
				is sent. Wireless consumers will not have to affirmatively sign up in order for
				these notifications to be sent. Wireless providers will clearly and
				conspicuously disclose tools or services that enable consumers to track,
				monitor or set limits on voice, messaging and data usage.
(12) Abide by the mobile wireless device
				unlocking standards established in the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet
				Association's Consumer Code for Wireless Service.
m. A certification that the applicant will
				contribute to the dual party relay service, as provided in Iowa Code section
				447C.7(1).
n. For applications from
				carriers seeking designation as an ETC for any part of tribal lands, the
				applicant shall provide a copy of its application to the affected tribal
				government and tribal regulatory authority at the time it files the application
				with the commission.