Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Purpose. This section establishes a
uniform method for counting access lines within a municipality by category as
provided by §
26.461 of this title (relating to
Access Line Categories), sets forth relevant reporting requirements, and sets
forth certain reseller obligations under the Local Government Code, Chapter
283.
(b) Application. This section
applies to all certificated telecommunications providers (CTPs) in the State of
Texas.
(c) Definitions. The
following words and terms when used in this section, shall have the following
meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Customer--The retail end-use
customer.
(2) Transmission path--A
path within the transmission media that allows the delivery of switched local
exchange service or provides voice service.
(A) Each individual switched service shall
constitute a single transmission path.
(B) Where services are offered as part of a
bundled group of services, each switched service in that bundled group of
services shall constitute a single transmission path.
(C) Services that constitute vertical
features of a switched service,
e.g., call waiting, caller-ID,
do not constitute a transmission path.
(D) Where a service or technology is
channelized by the CTP and results in a separate switched path for each
channel, each such channel shall constitute a single transmission
path.
(E) Voice service provided
through wireline facilities located at least in part in the public
right-of-way, without regard to the delivery technology, switched or not, and
including Internet protocol technology, shall constitute a single transmission
path.
(3) Wireless
provider--A provider of commercial mobile service as defined by §332(d),
Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. §151
et seq.),
Federal Communications Commission rules, and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1993 (Public Law
103-66).
(d) Methodology for counting access lines. A
CTP's access line count shall be the sum of all lines counted pursuant to
paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, and shall be consistent
with subsections (e), (f) and (g) of this section.
(1) Switched transmission paths and services.
(A) The CTP shall determine the total number
of switched transmission paths, and shall take into account the number of
switched services provided and the number of channels used where a service or
technology is channelized.
(B) All
switched services shall be counted in the same manner regardless of the type of
transmission media used to provide the service.
(C) If the transmission path crosses more
than one municipality, the line shall be counted in, and attributed to, the
municipality where the end-use customer is located. Pursuant to Local
Government Code §
283.056(f),
the per-access-line franchise fee paid by CTPs constitutes full compensation to
a municipality for all of a CTP's facilities located within a public
right-of-way, including interoffice transport and other transmission media that
do not terminate at an end-use customer's premises, even though those types of
lines are not used in the calculation of the compensation.
(2) Nonswitched telecommunications services
or private lines.
(A) Each circuit used to
provide nonswitched telecommunications services or private lines to an end-use
customer, shall be considered to have two termination points, one on each
customer location identified by the customer and served by the
circuit.
(B) The CTP shall count
nonswitched telecommunications services or private lines by totaling the number
of terminating points within a municipality.
(C) A nonswitched telecommunications service
shall be counted in the same manner regardless of the type of transmission
media used to provide that service.
(D) A terminating point shall be counted in,
and attributed to, the municipality where that point is located. In the event a
CTP is not able to identify the physical location of the terminating point,
that point shall be attributed to the municipality identified by the CTP's
billing systems.
(E) Where dark
(unlit) fiber is provided to an end-use customer who then lights it, the line
shall be counted as a private line, by default, unless it is evident that it is
used for providing switched services.
(3) Central office based PBX-type services.
The CTP shall count one access line for every ten stations served.
(4) Voice service.
(A) The CTP shall count each end-use customer
provided voice service as one access line. Services that constitute vertical
features of a voice service, or are bundled with the voice service shall not be
counted as a separate access line.
(B) In the event a CTP is unable to identify
the physical location of an end-use customer utilizing voice service, but that
end-use customer's billing address, as identified in the CTP's billing system,
is located inside the boundaries of a municipality, the end-use customer's
access line shall be attributed to the municipality where such billing address
is located.
(e) Lines to be counted. A CTP shall count
the following access lines:
(1) all access
lines provided to a retail end-use customer;
(2) all access lines provided as a retail
service to other CTPs and resellers for their own end-use;
(3) all access lines provided as a retail
service to wireless telecommunication providers and interexchange carriers
(IXCs) for their own end-use;
(4)
all access lines a CTP provides as employee concession lines and other similar
types of lines;
(5) all access
lines provided as a retail service to a CTP's wireless and IXC affiliates for
their own end-use, and all access lines provided as a retail service to any
other affiliate for their own end-use;
(6) dark fiber, to the extent it is provided
as a service or is resold by a CTP and shall exclude lines sold and resold by
non-CTPs;
(7) any other lines
meeting the definition of access line as set forth in §
26.461 of this title;
(9) all retail pay telephone access lines;
and
(10) all lines that provide
voice service delivered by means of owned facilities, unbundled network
elements or leased facilities, or resale that are not otherwise counted under
paragraphs (1) - (9) of this subsection.
(f) Lines not to be counted. A CTP shall not
count the following lines:
(1) all lines that
do not terminate at an end-use customer's premises;
(2) lines used by providers who are not
end-use customers such as CTP, wireless provider, or IXC for interoffice
transport, or back-haul facilities used to connect such providers'
telecommunications equipment;
(3)
lines used by a CTP's wireless and IXC affiliates who are not end-use
customers, for interoffice transport, or back-haul facilities used to connect
such affiliates' telecommunications equipment;
(4) lines used by any other affiliate of a
CTP for interoffice transport; and
(5) any other lines that do not meet the
definition of access line as set forth in §
26.461 of this title.
(g) Reporting procedures and
requirements.
(1) Who shall file. The record
keeping, reporting and filing requirements listed in this section or in §
26.467 of this title (relating to
Rates, Allocation, Compensation, Adjustments and Reporting) shall apply to all
CTPs in the State of Texas.
(2)
Initial reporting requirements.
(A) No later
than January 24, 2000, a CTP shall file its access line count using the
commission-approved
Form for Counting Access Line or Program for
Counting Access Lines with the commission. The CTP shall report the
access line count as of December 31, 1998, except as provided in subparagraph
(C) of this paragraph.
(B) A CTP
shall not include in its initial report any access lines that are resold,
leased, or otherwise provided to a CTP, unless it has agreed to a request from
another CTP to include resold or leased lines as part of its access line
report.
(C) A CTP that cannot file
access line count as of December 31, 1998 shall file request for good cause
exemption and shall file the most recent access line count available for
December, 1999.
(D) A CTP shall not
make a distinction between facilities and capacity leased or resold in
reporting its access line count.
(h) Exemption. Any CTP that does not
terminate a franchise agreement or obligation under an existing ordinance shall
be exempted from subsequent reporting pursuant to §
26.467 of this title unless and
until the franchise agreement is terminated or expires on its own terms. Any
CTP that fails to provide notice to the commission and the affected
municipality by December 1, 1999 that it elects to terminate its franchise
agreement or obligation under an existing ordinance, shall be deemed to
continue under the terms of the existing ordinance. Upon expiration or
termination of the existing franchise agreement or ordinance by its own terms,
a CTP is subject to the terms of this section.
(i) Maintenance and location of records. A
CTP shall maintain all records, books, accounts, or memoranda relating to
access lines deployed in a municipality in a manner which allows for easy
identification and review by the commission and, as appropriate, by the
relevant municipality. The books and records for each access line count shall
be maintained for a period of no less than three years.
(j) Proprietary or confidential information.
(1) The CTP shall file with the commission
the information required by this section regardless of whether this information
is confidential. For information that the CTP alleges is confidential and/or
proprietary under law, the CTP shall file a complete list of the information
that the CTP alleges is confidential. For each document or portion thereof
claimed to be confidential, the CTP shall cite the specific provision(s) of the
Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, that the CTP relies to assert that the
information is exempt from public disclosure. The commission shall treat as
confidential the specific information identified by the CTP as confidential
until such time as a determination is made by the commission, the Attorney
General, or a court of competent jurisdiction that the information is not
entitled to confidential treatment.
(2) The commission shall maintain the
confidentiality of the information provided by CTPs, in accordance with the
Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) §52.207.
(3) If the CTP does not claim confidential
treatment for a document or portions thereof, then the information will be
treated as public information. A claim of confidentiality by a CTP does not
bind the commission to find that any information is proprietary and/or
confidential under law, or alter the burden of proof on that issue.
(4) Information provided to municipalities
under the Local Government Code, Chapter 283, shall be governed by existing
confidentiality procedures which have been established by the commission in
compliance with PURA §52.207.
(5) The commission shall notify a CTP that
claims its filing as confidential of any request for such
information.
(k) Report
attestation. All filings with the commission pursuant to this section shall be
in accordance with §
22.71 of this title (relating to
Filing of Pleadings, Documents and Other Materials) and §
22.72 of this title (relating to
Formal Requisites of Pleadings and Documents to Be Filed With the Commission).
The filings shall be attested to by an officer or authorized representative of
the CTP under whose direction the report is prepared or other official in
responsible charge of the entity in accordance with §
26.71(d) of this
title (relating to General Procedures, Requirements and Penalties). The filings
shall include a certified statement from an authorized officer or duly
authorized representative of the CTP stating that the information contained in
the report is true and correct to the best of the officer's or representative's
knowledge and belief after inquiry.
(l) Reporting of access lines that have been
provided by means of resold services or unbundled facilities to another CTP.
This subsection applies only to a CTP reporting access lines under §
26.467 of this title, that are
provided by means of resold services or unbundled facilities to another CTP who
is not an end-use customer. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a CTP
reporting another CTP's access line count from charging an appropriate,
tariffed administrative fee for such service.
(m) Commission review of the definition of
access line.
(1) Pursuant to the Local
Government Code §
283.003, not
later than September 1, 2002, the commission shall determine whether changes in
technology, facilities, or competitive or market conditions justify a
modification of the adoption of the definition of "access line" provided by
§
26.461 of this title. The
commission may not begin a review authorized by this subsection before March 1,
2002.
(2) As part of the proceeding
described by paragraph (1) of this subsection, and as necessary after that
proceeding, the commission by rule may modify the definition of "access line"
as necessary to ensure competitive neutrality and nondiscriminatory application
and to maintain consistent levels of compensation, as annually increased by
growth in access lines and consumer price index, as applicable, to the
municipalities.
(3) After September
1, 2002, the commission, on its own motion, shall make the determination
required by this subsection at least once every three years.
