Nebraska Statutes 86-134. Discontinuation of service
(1) No telecommunications company which provides intrastate interexchange service or basic local exchange service may abandon or otherwise discontinue such service in or to a local exchange area which it serves unless:
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 86-134
- Basic local exchange service: means the access and transmission of two-way switched voice communications within a local exchange area. See Nebraska Statutes 86-105
- Commission: means the Public Service Commission. See Nebraska Statutes 86-108
- Company: shall include any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, joint venture, or association. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Interexchange service: means the access and transmission of communications between two or more local exchange areas, except for two-way switched communications between local exchanges that are grouped for extended area service. See Nebraska Statutes 86-111
- Local exchange area: means a territorial unit established by a telecommunications company for the administration of telecommunications service within a specific area generally encompassing a city or village and its environs as described in maps filed with and approved by the commission. See Nebraska Statutes 86-115
- Telecommunications: means the transmission, between or among points specified by the subscriber, of information of the subscriber's choosing, without a change in the form or content of the information as sent or received. See Nebraska Statutes 86-117
- Telecommunications company: means any person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association, or governmental entity offering telecommunications service in Nebraska intrastate commerce. See Nebraska Statutes 86-119
- Telecommunications service: means the offering of telecommunications for a fee. See Nebraska Statutes 86-121
(a) The commission finds upon application and hearing, if such hearing is deemed necessary by the commission, that one or more other telecommunications companies or communications providers (i) are furnishing comparable wireline telecommunications service, including voice over Internet protocol service, to the subscribers in such local exchange area or (ii) have been designated as eligible telecommunications carriers in such local exchange area at the time of discontinuance or abandonment; and
(b) The telecommunications company discontinuing telecommunications service to such local exchange area:
(i) Notifies its subscribers in the local exchange area in writing of the abandonment, which notice shall be sent at least thirty days prior to the effective date of such abandonment;
(ii) Refunds any unused prepaid subscription charges or other unused prepaid charges to each customer in the local exchange area prior to the effective date of the abandonment; and
(iii) Prior to the effective date of the abandonment, reimburses its customers in the local exchange area for service charges which its customers incur in obtaining substitute service from another telecommunications company or communications provider or, in lieu thereof, pays other telecommunications companies or communications providers directly for such service charges on behalf of its customers making changes in their service as a result of the abandonment.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) Communications provider has the same meaning as in section 86-125 ; and
(b) Eligible telecommunications carrier means an eligible telecommunications carrier as designated under 47 U.S.C. § 214(e), as such section existed on January 1, 2022.