R746-340-1. General

  A. Application of Rules -- These rules promulgated herein shall apply to each telecommunications corporation, as defined in Subsection 54-8b-2.

  1. These rules govern the furnishing of communications services and facilities to the public by a telecommunications corporation subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission. The purpose of these rules is to establish reasonable service standards to the end that adequate and satisfactory service will be rendered to the public.

  2. The adoption of these rules by the Commission shall in no way preclude it from altering or amending its rules pursuant to applicable statutory procedures, nor shall the adoption of these rules preclude the Commission from granting temporary exemptions to rules in exceptional cases as provided in R746-1-109, Deviation from Rules.

  B. Definitions -- In the interpretation of these rules, the following definitions shall apply:

  1. "Allowed Service Disruption Event" -- an event when a telecommunications corporation is prevented from providing adequate service due to:

  a. A customer's act;

  b. A customer's failure to act;

  c. A governmental agency's delay in granting a right-of-way or other required permit;

  d. A disaster or an act of nature that would not have been reasonably anticipated and prepared for by the telecommunications corporation;

  e. A disaster of sufficient intensity to give rise to an emergency being declared by state government;

  f. A work stoppage, which shall include a grace period of six weeks following return to work;

  g. A cable cut outside the telecommunications corporation's control affecting more than 20 pairs.

  h. A public calling event, busy calling or dial tone loss due to mass calling or dial-up event;

  i. Negligent or willful misconduct by customers or third parties including outages originating from the introduction of a virus onto the telecommunications corporation's network or acts or terrorism.

  2. "Central Office" -- A building that contains the necessary telecommunications equipment and operating arrangements for switching, connecting, and inter-connecting the required local, interoffice, and interexchange services for the general public.

  3. "Central Office Area" -- A geographic area served by a central office.

  4. "CFR" means the Code of Federal Regulations, 2000 edition.

  5. "Choke Network Trunk Groups" -- A network with special trunking and special prefixes in place to manage the use of mass-calling-numbers.

  6. "Commission" -- Public Service Commission of Utah.

  7. "Commitment" -- A promise by a telecommunications corporation to a customer specifying a date and time to provide a service.

  8. "Customer" -- A person, firm, partnership, corporation, municipality, cooperative, organization, or governmental agency, provided with telecommunications services by a telecommunications corporation.

  9. Customer trouble reports include:

  a. "Trouble Report" -- A customer report attributable to the malfunction of a telecommunications corporation's facilities and includes repeat trouble reports.

  b. "Out of Service Trouble Report" -- A report used when a customer reports there is neither incoming nor outgoing telecommunications capability.

  c. "Repeat Trouble Report" -- A report received on a customer access line within 30 days of a closed trouble report.

  10. "Exchange" -- A unit established by a telecommunications corporation for the administration of telecommunication services in a specified geographic area. It may consist of one or more central office areas together with associated outside plant facilities used in furnishing telecommunications services in that area.

  11. "Exchange Service Area" -- The geographical territory served by an exchange.

  12. "Held Order" -- A request for basic exchange line service delayed beyond the initial commitment date due to a lack of facilities which the telecommunications corporation is responsible for providing.

  13. "Interconnection Trunk Group" -- Connects the telecommunications corporation's central office or wire center with another telecommunications corporation's facilities.

  14. "Local Access Line" -- A facility, totally within one central office area, providing a telecommunications connection between a customer's service location and the serving central office.

  15. "Out of Service" -- When there exists neither incoming nor outgoing telecommunication capability.

  16. "Party Line Service" -- A grade of local exchange service which provides for more than one customer to be served by the same local access line.

  17. "Price List" -- The terms and conditions upon which public telecommunications services are offered that is filed by a telecommunications corporation that is subject to pricing flexibility pursuant to 54-8b-2.3.

  18. "Tariff" -- A portion or the entire body of rates, tolls, rentals, charges, classifications and rules, filed by the telecommunications corporation and approved by the Commission.

  19. "Telecommunications Corporation" -- A "telephone corporation" as defined in Section 54-2-1.

  20. "Voice Grade Service" -- Service that at a minimum, includes:

  a. providing access to E911, which identifies the exact location of the emergency caller;

  b. Two-way communications with a clear voice each way;

  c. Ability to place and receive calls; and

  d. Voice band between 300 HZ and 3000 HZ.

  21. "Wire Center" -- The building in which one or more local switching systems are installed and where the outside cable plant is connected to the central office equipment.