South Dakota Administrative Rules › Title 20 - PUBLIC SAFETY › Article 20:10 - PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 20:10:34 - Prohibition against unauthorized changing of telecommunications company and charging for unauthorized services › Section 20:10:34:02.02 - Exception for acquisition of subscriber base - Notification requirements

Current through Register Vol. 51, page 10, July 15, 2024
A telecommunications carrier may acquire, through a sale or
				  transfer, either part or all of another telecommunications carrier's subscriber
				  base without obtaining each subscriber's authorization and verification if the
				  acquiring carrier complies with the following:
(1) No later than 30 days before the planned
				transfer of the affected subscribers from the selling or transferring carrier
				to the acquiring carrier, the acquiring carrier shall file with the commission
				a letter notification providing the name of each party to the transaction, the
				types of telecommunications services to be provided to the affected
				subscribers, and the date of the transfer of the subscriber base to the
				acquiring carrier. In the letter notification, the acquiring carrier also shall
				certify compliance with the requirement to provide advance subscriber notice in
				accordance with subdivision (3) of this section and attach a copy of the notice
				sent to the affected subscribers;
(2) If, subsequent to the filing of the
				letter notification with the commission, any material change to the required
				information develops, the acquiring carrier shall file written notification of
				any change with the commission no more than 10 days after the transfer date
				announced in the letter notification. The commission reserves the right to
				require the acquiring carrier to send an additional notice to the affected
				subscribers regarding such material changes; and
(3) Not later than 30 days before the
				transfer of the affected subscribers from the selling or transferring carrier
				to the acquiring carrier, the acquiring carrier shall provide written notice to
				each affected subscriber of the information specified. The following
				information must be included in the advance subscriber notice:
(a) The date on which the acquiring carrier
				will become the subscriber's new provider of telecommunications
				service;
(b) The rates, terms, and
				conditions of the services to be provided by the acquiring carrier upon the
				subscriber's transfer to the acquiring carrier, and the means by which the
				acquiring carrier will notify the subscriber of any changes to these rates,
				terms, and conditions;
(c) The
				acquiring carrier will be responsible for any carrier change charges associated
				with the transfer, except where the carrier is acquiring customers by default,
				other than through bankruptcy, and state law requires the exiting carrier to
				pay these costs;
(d) The
				subscriber's right to select a different preferred carrier for the
				telecommunications services at issue, if an alternative carrier is
				available;
(e) Each subscriber
				receiving the notice, including a subscriber who has arranged preferred carrier
				freezes through a local service provider on the services involved in the
				transfer, will be transferred to the acquiring carrier, unless the subscriber
				has selected a different carrier before the transfer date. The acquiring
				carrier shall notify the subscriber that the subscriber's existing preferred
				carrier freezes on the services involved in the transfer will be lifted and the
				subscriber must contact the subscriber's local service provider to arrange a
				new freeze;
(f) Whether the
				acquiring carrier will be responsible for handling any complaints filed, or
				otherwise raised, prior to or during the transfer against the selling or
				transferring carrier; and
(g) The
				toll-free customer service telephone number of the acquiring carrier.