2012 Maine Revised Statutes
TITLE 35-A: PUBLIC UTILITIES (HEADING: PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, @6 (new))
Chapter 72: TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY REFORM
35-A §7221. Designation of service providers

Part 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS HEADING: PL 1987, C. 141, PT. A, §6 (NEW)

Subchapter 2: PROVIDER OF LAST RESORT SERVICE

§7221. Designation of service providers

1. Initial designation of service providers. An entity that was an incumbent local exchange carrier as of January 1, 2012 shall provide provider of last resort service within its service area.

[ 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW) .]

2. Reassignment of service provider obligation. A service provider may petition the commission for authorization to assign its provider of last resort service obligation for a given geographic area to another voice service provider. The commission shall by rule develop a process for identifying and approving replacement service providers, but in no event may a voice service provider be designated as a replacement service provider without the express consent of the voice service provider. Before authorizing the reassignment of the provider of last resort service obligation to another voice service provider, the commission shall ensure that the voice service provider possesses the financial and technical capability to meet all provider of last resort service standards set by the commission by rule. The commission may not reassign the provider of last resort service obligation to any entity that would provide the service only as a reseller, as determined by the commission by rule.

[ 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW) .]

3. Modification of service obligations. Notwithstanding section 7201, subsection 7, the commission, in an adjudicatory proceeding, may relieve a service provider of the requirement that it have the capacity to maintain uninterrupted voice service during a power failure, either through the incorporation into the network or network interface devices of suitable battery backup or through electric current. The commission may grant the relief only if it finds that doing so is in the public interest. In determining that granting relief under this section is in the public interest, the commission must find that the benefits that would accrue to customers of the provider of last resort service from providing the relief would exceed the benefits to those customers of preserving the requirement.

[ 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW) .]

SECTION HISTORY

2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW).