R746-347-5. Customer Survey for New or Expanded EAS

A. When to Conduct Survey -- Upon approval by the Commission of the proposed prices pursuant to Section R746-347-4, a survey shall be conducted of residential telephone subscribers of the incumbent telephone corporation in each petitioning and each non-petitioning local exchange area proposed to be included in the new or expanded EAS. The Division, Committee and involved incumbent telephone corporations shall arrange to conduct a poll within the affected local exchange areas.

B. Who to Survey -- A statistical sample of residential subscribers, sized to produce a final result with at least a ten percent level of significance with a plus or minus five percent margin of error shall be surveyed.

C. Public Interest -- The Commission will presume that the proposed EAS is in the public interest if:

1. the survey results indicate that at least 67 percent of the customers of the incumbent telephone corporation in each petitioning local exchange area desire EAS at the price represented in the survey questionnaire, and

2. the survey results further show that at least 30 percent of customers of the incumbent telephone corporation in each non-petitioning local exchange area desire EAS at the price represented in the survey questionnaire.

D. Minimum Monthly Increase -- Notwithstanding R746-347-5-C.2, if the cost study results show that the EAS rate increase in the non-petitioning exchange represents less than a 3.5 percent monthly increase in the local exchange carriers tariff for a basic dial-tone line and local usage, then the residential customer survey need not be conducted in the non-petitioning local exchange area. The Commission will presume that the proposed EAS is in the public interest if 67 percent of the customers in the petitioning local exchange areas desire EAS at the price represented in the survey questionnaire.

E. When Customers Pay Entire Cost of EAS -- If the customer survey indicates that the criterion for R746-347-5.C.2 has not been met, the customers of the petitioning exchange area(s) may pay the entire cost of establishing the EAS route(s). In this instance, the Commission will presume that the proposed EAS is in the public interest if the survey results indicate that 67 percent of the customers of the incumbent telephone corporation in each petitioning local exchange areas desire EAS at a price representing the petitioning exchange area(s) paying the entire cost of the proposed EAS.