66-2003. Local exchange carriers and electing carriers; resale; terms and conditions. (a) On or before September 1, 1996, the commission shall begin to authorize applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity to provide local exchange or exchange access service.

(b) A local exchange carrier and an electing carrier shall be required to offer to allow reasonable resale of its retail telecommunications services and to sell unbundled local loop, switch and trunk facilities to telecommunications carriers, as required by the federal act and pursuant to negotiated agreements or a statement of terms and conditions generally available to telecommunications carriers.

(c) To encourage telecommunications carriers to build or install telecommunications facilities, including, but not limited to, local loop and switching facilities in the state, and except as otherwise negotiated by a local exchange carrier or electing carrier and a telecommunications carrier, the prices for such unbundled facilities shall be determined by the commission, on a nondiscriminatory basis, to permit the recovery of costs and a reasonable profit. The commission shall determine wholesale rates on the basis of retail rates charged subscribers for the telecommunications service requested, excluding the portion thereof attributable to any marketing, billing, collection and other costs, that will be avoided by the local exchange carrier. The commission shall approve resale restrictions proposed by any local exchange carrier or electing carrier which prohibit resellers from purchasing retail telecommunications services offered by that local exchange carrier or electing carrier to one category of customers and reselling those retail services to a different category of customers. Upon a finding that such practice would be anticompetitive, anticonsumer or detrimental to the quality of the network infrastructure, the commission may prohibit the resale of retail services at a rate lower than the wholesale rate. The commission shall approve any other reasonable limitation on resale to the extent permitted by the federal act.

(d) As provided in the federal act, in order for telecommunications carriers to provide local exchange service and exchange access service, local exchange carriers and electing carriers shall provide the means to interconnect their respective customers, including, but not limited to, toll access, access to operator services, access to directory listings and assistance, and access to E-911 service.

(e) Customers shall be accorded number portability and local dialing parity in conformance with national standards to the extent economically and technically feasible. Terms and prices for interconnection, unbundled facilities and resale of existing retail telecommunications services shall be negotiated in good faith between the parties. During the period from the 135th through the 160th day after the date on which an incumbent local exchange carrier or electing carrier receives a request for negotiation under this section, the carrier or any other party to the negotiation may petition the commission to arbitrate any open issues. Arbitration shall occur in conformance with the provisions of section 252 of the federal act.

(f) The commission shall require, consistent with the terms of the federal act, that 1+ intraLATA dialing parity be provided by all local exchange carriers, electing carriers and telecommunications carriers coincidentally with the provision of in-region interLATA toll services in the state by local exchange carriers or electing carriers with more than 150,000 access lines or their affiliates.

History: L. 1996, ch. 268, § 4; L. 2013, ch. 110, § 7; July 1.