Opinion ID: 2050767
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Undertaking to Serve Independent of Acceptance of Indeterminate Permit.

Text: The PSC, in its opinion filed with the instant order, stated: If the community of Royalton was incorporated all three telephone utilities serving in the community would be required under sec. 196.50 (2), Stats., to extend service upon demand to the limits of the village to fill applications for service. In the past the commission has taken the position in somewhat-similar cases that an unincorporated community may properly be treated as an incorporated community in so far as extensions of telephone service are concerned, where more than one company serves the community. In the absence of a correlative obligation by Wis. Tel. Co. to extend service in the town of Royalton arising from its acceptance of an indeterminate permit in the town, we hold that extension of service to a part of an unincorporated urban community does not constitute a profession to serve the entire community. Therefore, in such a situation the PSC would possess no power to compel extension of service to other parts of the community whenever a prospective user should so demand. The legislature has restricted the duty of a telephone utility to provide service upon demand of a prospective user to cities and villages. For the PSC to extend the requirement to unincorporated urban communities would be an act of unauthorized legislation on its part.