Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) This section does not apply to a
deregulated company holding a certificate of operating authority or to an
exempt carrier under Public Utility Act (PURA) §52.154.
(b) A contract between an operator service
provider (OSP) and a call aggregator for the provision of operator services
through telephones that are intended for public use shall require the call
aggregator to attach to each telephone set that has access to the operator
service and that is intended for public use, a card furnished by the OSP that
provides:
(2) instructions for accessing the OSP, with
a statement that the OSP will quote rate information upon request at no charge
to the caller, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or a statement that
instructions for obtaining rate information are available at a designated
toll-free telephone number, 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
(3) instructions for accessing the operator
of a local exchange company that meets the requirements of §
26.315(d) of
this title (relating to Requirements for Dominant Certificated
Telecommunications Utilities (DCTUs)), or a statement that instructions for
accessing such local exchange company operator are available at a designated
toll-free telephone number, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except local
exchange companies meeting the requirements of §
26.315(d) of
this title are exempt from this paragraph if the local exchange company is the
OSP for which instructions are posted pursuant to paragraph (2) of this
subsection;
(4) instructions for
registering a complaint about the service at a designated toll-free telephone
number;
(5) instructions in English
and Spanish for accessing emergency service; and
(6) a notice that states, "You may use
another long distance carrier. Follow your carrier's instructions, or contact
the local exchange company operator for assistance." or, in the case of
telephones that directly route "0-" calls to the local exchange company
operator, a notice that states, "You may use another long distance carrier.
Follow your carrier's instructions, or dial "0" for assistance." (The local
exchange company referred to in this paragraph must serve the area and meet the
requirements of §
26.315(d) of
this title.) The notice required by this paragraph may use the term "local
exchange carrier operator" in place of the term "local exchange company
operator."
(c)
Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, in the case of pay telephones
owned by the DCTU, where the DCTU is the OSP for intraLATA operator service and
another carrier is the OSP for interLATA operator service, the interLATA OSP
shall inform the DCTU of the appropriate information to be posted, and the DCTU
shall post the information required by subsection (b)(1), (2) and (4) of this
section for the interLATA OSP. In addition, the DCTU shall post the information
required by subsection (b)(5) and (6) of this section. After initial
information cards are posted, DCTUs may file tariffs to recover from the OSPs
presubscribed to pay telephones owned by the DCTUs the incremental cost for
maintaining updated information cards plus a reasonable contribution.
(d) The commission may approve applications
for modification of the requirements contained in this section upon showing of
good cause. Applications for modification may be filed by the call aggregator
or by the OSP. The commission shall process applications for modification using
the following criteria and procedures:
(1)
Each application for modification shall contain a certificate of service
attesting that a copy of the request has been served upon the Office of Public
Utility Counsel.
(2) Each
application for modification shall clearly set forth the good cause for
approval of the modification.
(3)
Each application for modification shall initially be assigned a project control
number, assigned to a presiding officer, and reviewed administratively.
(A) No later than 30 days after the filing
date of the application, interested persons other than the commission staff and
the Office of Public Utility Counsel may file written comments or
recommendations concerning the application. No later than 60 days after the
filing of the application, the commission staff shall, and the Office of Public
Utility Counsel may, file written comments or recommendations concerning the
application.
(B) Within 90 days of
filing, after administrative review, the presiding officer shall approve, deny,
or docket the application. The presiding officer may postpone a decision on the
application beyond the 90th day after filing if he or she finds that additional
information is needed.
(4) Any participating party may request,
within ten days of the presiding officer's order approving or denying the
application, that the application be docketed, and upon such request, the
application shall be docketed.
(5)
If the presiding officer either approves or denies the application for
modification and no participating party has requested that the application be
docketed, a copy of the presiding officer's ruling shall be provided to the
commission. The commission may, within 40 days of the presiding officer's
ruling, overrule the approval or denial and order that the application for
modification be docketed.
(e) The requirements of this section shall
not apply to telephones located in confinement facilities.
