A. In accordance with the provisions of this section, the commission shall regulate the rates, charges and service conditions for individual contracts for public telecommunications services in a manner that facilitates effective competition and shall authorize the provision of all or any portion of a public telecommunications service under stated or negotiated terms to any person or entity that has acquired or is preparing to acquire, through construction, lease or any other form of acquisition, similar public telecommunications services from an alternate source.

B. At any time, the provider of public telecommunications services may file a verified application with the commission for authorization to provide a public telecommunications service on an individual contract basis. The application shall describe the telecommunications services to be offered, the party to be served and the parties offering the service, together with such other information and in such form as the commission may prescribe. Such additional information shall be reasonably related to the determination of the existence of a competitive offer. A determination of effective competition pursuant to Section 63-9A-8 NMSA 1978 shall not be necessary to file an application or to have an application granted by the commission pursuant to this section.

C. The commission shall approve or deny any such application within ten days or such other period as shall be established by the commission, not to exceed sixty days, giving consideration to the requirements of any contract negotiations. If the commission has not acted on any application within the time period established, the application shall be deemed granted. The commission shall deny the application only upon a finding that the application fails to set forth prescribed information or that the subject or comparable services are not being offered to the customer by parties other than the applicant or that the contract fails to cover the costs of the service, as provided in Subsection G of Section 63-9A-8.1 NMSA 1978.

D. The telecommunications company shall file with the commission the final contract or other evidence of the service to be provided, together with the charges and other conditions of service, upon request by the commission. If such contract or evidence is requested, it shall be maintained by the commission on a confidential basis subject to an appropriate protective order. Any interested party may receive copies of filings made pursuant to this section upon request to the commission and execution of an appropriate confidentiality agreement, if applicable.

History: Laws 1985, ch. 242, § 9; 1987, ch. 21, § 7; 2017, ch. 71, § 5.

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, revised the provisions regarding the regulation of individual contracts for public telecommunications services, providing that the provider of telecommunications services must file with the public regulation commission the final contract upon request by the commission, and provided for the confidentiality of contracts for public telecommunications services; in Subsection C, after "costs of the service", added "as provided in Subsection G of Section 63-9A-8.1 NMSA 1978"; in Subsection D, deleted "Within ten days after the conclusion of negotiations, the provider of public telecommunications services shall file with the commission the final contract or other evidence of the service to be provided, together with the charges and other conditions of the service, which shall be maintained by the commission on a confidential basis subject to an appropriate protective order." and added the remainder of the subsection.