Idaho § 62-622 - Regulation of basic local exchange rates, services and price lists

§ 62-622. Regulation of basic local exchange rates, services and price lists

(1) The commission shall regulate the prices for basic local exchange services for incumbent telephone corporations in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) At the request of the incumbent telephone corporation, the commission shall establish maximum just and reasonable rates for basic local exchange service. Maximum basic local exchange rates shall be sufficient to recover the costs incurred to provide the services. Costs shall include authorized depreciation, a reasonable portion of shared and common costs, and a reasonable profit. Authorized depreciation lives shall use forward-looking competitive market lives. Authorized depreciation lives shall be applied prospectively and to undepreciated balances.

(b) At the request of the telephone corporation, the commission may find that existing rates for local services constitute the maximum rates.

(c) The commission shall issue its order establishing maximum rates no later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the filing of the request unless the telephone corporation consents to a longer period.

(d) An incumbent telephone corporation may charge prices lower than the maximum basic local exchange rates established by the commission. Provided however, upon the petition of a nonincumbent telephone corporation, the commission shall establish a minimum price for the incumbent telephone corporation’s basic local exchange service if the commission finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the incumbent telephone corporation’s prices for basic local exchange services in the local exchange area are below the incumbent telephone corporation’s average variable cost of providing such services.

(e) After the commission has established maximum basic local exchange rates, an incumbent telephone corporation may change its tariffs or price lists reflecting the availability, price, terms and conditions for local exchange service effective not less than ten (10) days after filing with the commission and giving notice to affected customers. Changes to tariffs or price lists that are for nonrecurring services and that are quoted directly to the customer when an order for service is placed, or changes that result in price reductions or new service offerings, shall be effective immediately upon filing with the commission and no other notice shall be required.

(2) The commission shall not regulate the prices for basic local exchange services for telephone corporations that were not providing such local service on or before February 8, 1996. Provided however, such telephone corporation providing basic local exchange services shall file price lists with the commission that reflect the availability, price, terms and conditions for such services. Changes to such price lists shall be effective not less than ten (10) days after filing with the commission and giving notice to affected customers. Changes to price lists that are for nonrecurring services and that are quoted directly to the customer when an order for service is placed, or changes that result in price reductions or new service offerings, shall be effective immediately upon filing with the commission and no other notice shall be required. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection and subsection (1) of this section, telephone corporations that are subject to the provisions of this subsection shall not be required to file tariffs or price lists for basic local exchange services provided to business customers.

Upon written notice to the commission and to its business customers, and after posting the rates, terms and conditions of its services on the carrier’s public website, a telephone corporation may withdraw any tariff or price list not required to be filed under the provisions of this section, provided:

(a) The carrier continues to maintain the rates, terms and conditions of its services on the company’s public website;

(b) The commission maintains access to such terms and conditions on the telephone corporation’s service; and

(c) Nothing in this section overrides the commission’s existing authority pursuant to section 62-616 , Idaho Code, to resolve customer complaints.

(3) The commission shall cease regulating basic local exchange rates in a local exchange calling area upon a showing by an incumbent telephone corporation that effective competition exists for basic local exchange service throughout the local exchange calling area. Effective competition exists throughout a local exchange calling area when either:

(a) Actual competition from a facilities-based competitor is present for both residential and small business basic local exchange customers; or

(b) There are functionally equivalent, competitively priced local services reasonably available to both residential and small business customers from a telephone corporation unaffiliated with the incumbent telephone corporation.

(4) Telephone corporations shall not resell:

(a) A telecommunications service that is available at retail only to a category of subscribers to a different category of subscribers;

(b) A means-tested service to ineligible customers; or

(c) A category of service to circumvent switched or special access charges.

(5) The commission shall determine the noneconomic regulatory requirements for all telephone corporations providing basic local exchange service or designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier pursuant to sections 62-610A through 62-610F , Idaho Code, including, but not limited to, such matters as service quality standards, provision of access to carriers providing message telecommunications service, filing of price lists, customer notice and customer relation rules.

[62-622, added 1997, ch. 192, sec. 8, p. 544; am. 1999, ch. 114, sec. 6, p. 346; am. 2011, ch. 312, sec. 2, p. 905.]