Opinion No. 96-13 Pages 30-31
All local service providers will be required to define their service territories, provide access to emergency services, and comply with our consumer protection rules. New entrants, however, will not be required to provide any particular services, though the choice to provide basic services and Lifeline may affect a carrier's ability to receive funding assistance and the terms of its intercarrier compensation.
Our order instituting this proceeding identified "interim" requirements applicable to all local exchange carriers. These requirements encompass consumer and public interest protections and make clear the characteristics that further distinguish local exchange carriers from other telephone corporations:
a) A local exchange carrier must file tariffs to provide local exchange service (a subscriber's initial access to the "public switched network") within a geographic area or areas defined by the carrier and filed with the Commission.
b) As a provider of local exchange service, a local exchange carrier must:
- i) provide, without undue discrimination or preference, service to any willing customer within the carrier's defined service territory;
- ii) contribute to the Targeted Accessibility Fund (TAF) which funds programs such as Lifeline, safety/emergency services (911, E911, 0-), and Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) for the hearing impaired;
- iii) comply with the Telephone Fair Practices rules (16 NYCRR Part 609, et. seq.);
- iv) comply with the Common Carrier rules (16 NYCRR Part 605);
- v) comply with our Statement of Policy on Privacy in Telecommunications (Case 90-C-0075, issued March 22, 1991);
- vi) comply with our Open Network Architecture (ONA) principles (Case 88-C-004, Opinion No. 89-28, issued September 11, 1989);
- vii) provide reasonable interconnections for the joint provision of service to any certified carrier requesting such interconnection;
- viii) comply with our service quality standards and infrastructure monitoring requirements (16 NYCRR, Parts 603 and 644.3).
c) All providers of local exchange service will be entitled to:
- i) comparable access to number resources;
- ii) comparable access to and inclusion in the local exchange routing guide;
- iii) reasonable access to customer information of other carriers necessary for billing and for the provision of directory listing and assistance services;
- iv) participation in intercarrier compensation agreements.