Oklahoma § 17-131 - Certificate of convenience and necessity – Notice by new

§ 17-131. Certificate of convenience and necessity – Notice by new

providers – Availability of emergency telephone services - Fines.

A. No person, firm, association, corporation or cooperative

shall provide telecommunications services, as defined by the rules

of the Corporation Commission, to any end-user in this state without

having first obtained from the Corporation Commission a Certificate

of Convenience and Necessity. This section shall not be construed

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 17. Corporation Commission

to require any incumbent exchange carrier to secure such a

certificate for any extension within or to any territory already

served by it or for any extension into a territory contiguous to a

territory already served by it on which it has heretofore filed with

the Commission an exchange area map showing the territory professed

to be served by such incumbent exchange carrier.

B. Prior to obtaining a Certificate of Convenience and

Necessity, each provider of telecommunications services, as defined

by the rules of the Commission, making application for such

Certificate shall be required to demonstrate its financial,

managerial, and technical ability to provide the requested

telecommunications services in this state. Before commencing to

provide local exchange telecommunications services in any service

area, a new provider shall give notice by mail or personal service

to each regional council, as defined in the Local and Regional

Capital Improvement Planning Process Act, in whose district any

portion of the provider's intended service area lies and provide

actual notice by mail or personal service to all political

subdivisions with jurisdictional boundaries that include all or

portions of the service area outlined in the application for the

Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. The notice shall confirm

that the provider is a local exchange telephone company as defined

in the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Act, and shall attest that the

provider shall make emergency telephone services available to its

customers in accordance with the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Act.

The new provider shall also forward a copy of the notice to the

Corporation Commission. The regional council shall, within fifteen

(15) days of receipt of the notice, forward the notice by mail to

the chief executive officer of every governing body located in the

regional council district that has responsibility for operation of

an emergency telephone system serving any part of the provider's

intended service area.

C. Any corporation, firm, or person who fails to provide notice

as required pursuant to the provisions of subsection B of this

section may be fined by the Commission a sum of up to Five Hundred

Dollars ($500.00) as the Commission may deem proper after notice and

opportunity for hearing. Each day's continuance of such violation,

after due service upon such corporation, firm, or person, of the

requirement shall be a separate offense.

Added by Laws 1917, c. 270, p. 490, § 1, emerg. eff. March 29, 1917.

Amended by Laws 1957, p. 88, § 1; Laws 1959, p. 85, § 1, emerg. eff.

June 22, 1959; Laws 1993, c. 365, § 1, emerg. eff. June 11, 1993;

Laws 1996, c. 331, § 1, emerg. eff. June 12, 1996; Laws 2000, c.

207, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2000; Laws 2001, c. 30, § 1, eff. July 1,

2001; Laws 2019, c. 132, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.