Pennsylvania Code › Title 52 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part I - Public Utility Commission › Subpart C - Fixed Service Utilities › Chapter 63 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 63.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
						have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
						otherwise:
Applicant
-A person, association,
						partnership, corporation or government agency making a written or oral request
						for the commencement of or changes in its public utility service.
Application
-A written or oral request to
						a public utility for the commencement of or changes in public utility
						service.
Automatic customer transfer
-The process
						through which the Commission's Bureau of Consumer Services is able to
						immediately and contemporaneously transfer a customer inquiry or service or
						billing complaint to a jurisdictional telecommunications public utility that
						has voluntarily elected to participate in such an arrangement.
Busy hour
-The continuous 1-hour period
						of the day during which the volume of traffic is greater than during another
						continuous 1-hour period of the same day.
Busy season
-The calendar month or 30-day
						period of the year during which the greatest volume of traffic is handled in
						the office.
Calls
-A customer telephone message
						attempted.
Central office
-An operating unit
						equipped with switching apparatus by means of which telephonic communication is
						established between telephones connected to it or by the additional aid of
						trunk lines between the telephones and telephones connected to other central
						offices.
Competitive wire center
-A wire center or
						other geographic area that is defined and served by a local exchange
						telecommunications company where all of its protected, retail nonprotected and
						retail noncompetitive telecommunications services have been declared or
						determined to be competitive by the Commission under
						66 Pa.C.S. §
												3016
						(relating to competitive services).
Customer
-A person, association,
						partnership, corporation or government agency provided with telephone service
						by a regulated public utility.
Exchange
-A unit established by a
						jurisdictional telecommunications public utility for the administration of
						communication services under its specific local exchange service tariff
						provisions consisting of one or more central offices with associated plant
						facilities used in furnishing services and having one point designated for the
						purpose of rating toll calls for customers.
Jurisdictional telecommunications public
						utility
-A person or corporation owning or operating equipment or
						facilities in this Commonwealth for conveying or transmitting messages or
						communications to the public for compensation. The term does not include either
						a person or corporation not otherwise a public utility who or which furnishes
						service only to himself or itself or a bona fide cooperative association which
						furnishes services only to its stockholders or members on a nonprofit
						basis.
Local service area
-The area within which
						customers may call without assessment of toll charges.
Message
-A completed customer or user
						call.
Message unit
-A unit of measurement used
						for a form of exchange service under which originated messages are measured and
						charged for in accordance with the local exchange tariff.
Metering
-The metering of data concerning
						a customer's calls which is used in preparation of the customer's bill for
						service which is made by operators, automatic message accounting, message
						registers or other acceptable data recorder methods.
Noncompetitive wire center
-A wire
						center or other geographic area that is defined and served by a local exchange
						telecommunications company where the jurisdictional telecommunications public
						utility offers retail protected, nonprotected and noncompetitive
						telecommunications services as defined by
						66 Pa.C.S. §
												3012
						(relating to definitions).
Nonprimary service order
- An application
						for simple residential or business, voice grade, public utility service which
						is not primary service.
Primary service order
-An application for
						simple residential or business, voice grade, telecommunications utility service
						to be provided at a customer location which does not have telecommunications
						utility service including, but not limited to, the initial connection of a new
						customer or the transfer of utility service of an existing customer's service
						to a new location.
Subscriber
-A person, firm or corporation
						designated on public utility records as the party responsible for payment of
						bills for telecommunications service.
Surveillance level
-A measurement of
						telecommunications service which indicates a need for the public utility to
						investigate the cause of the problem, to remedy the problem and to inform the
						Commission of the problem.
Trouble report
-A written or oral report
						delivered to an authorized public utility representative by a customer or user
						of public utility services which relates to a defect, difficulty or
						dissatisfaction with the public utility's regulated service.
Trunk
-A communication channel between
						central offices, switching units or private branch exchanges.
Working day
-A day except Saturday,
						Sunday or legal holiday.
The provisions of this §
													63.1 amended under the Public
						  Utility Code,
						  66 Pa.C.S. §
														§
														501,
						  504-506,
						  1301,
						  1501,
						  1504,
						  2901 and
						  3019(b)(2) and
						  (3).