1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute, a county telephone line or system may extend its communication services outside the territorial boundaries of the county if:

(a) The services are not within the scope of activities regulated pursuant to chapter 704 of NRS and the county telephone line or system complies with the provisions of subsection 6 of NRS 710.140;

(b) The services are extended into an area served by one or more competitive suppliers regulated pursuant to NRS 704.68861 to 704.68887, inclusive; or

(c) The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada has, in an action commenced under NRS 704.330 and after 20 days’ notice to all telephone utilities providing service in the county into which the extension is to be made, determined that no other telephone service can reasonably serve the area into which the extension is to be made and approves the extension of the system. No such extension may be permitted for a distance of more than 10 miles.

2. If, after October 1, 2005, a county telephone line or system provides any communication services pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection 1 outside the territorial boundaries of the county, the county telephone line or system shall:

(a) With regard to the facilities and property it maintains outside the territorial boundaries of the county, comply with the same federal, state and local requirements that would apply to a privately held company providing the same communication services; and

(b) With regard to the provision of such services outside the territorial boundaries of the county, comply with any regulations and rules of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada that would apply to a privately held company providing the same communication services.

3. If a county telephone line or system and an affiliated entity engage in any transaction to provide communication services outside the territorial boundaries of the county, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada has jurisdiction over such a transaction to the extent necessary to enforce this section and NRS 710.140.

4. Nothing in this section requires a county telephone line or system to offer any services to or engage in any transaction with an affiliated entity or an unaffiliated third party.

5. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 1, 2 and 3, nothing in this section vests jurisdiction over a county telephone line or system in the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

6. As used in this section, “affiliated entity” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 710.140.

(Added to NRS by 1963, 540; A 1987, 209; 1989, 580; 1997, 1959; 2001, 2091; 2005, 290; 2007, 712)