Ohio Code 4927.13 – Lifeline service for eligible residential customers
(A) An incumbent local exchange carrier that is an eligible telecommunications carrier under 47 C.F.R. § 54.201 shall implement lifeline service throughout the carrier’s traditional service area for its eligible residential customers.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4927.13
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Basic local exchange service: means residential-end-user access to and usage of telephone-company-provided services over a single line or small-business-end-user access to and usage of telephone-company-provided services over the primary access line of service, which in the case of residential and small-business access and usage is not part of a bundle or package of services, that does both of the following:
(a) Enables a customer to originate or receive voice communications within a local service area as that area exists on September 13, 2010, or as that area is changed with the approval of the public utilities commission;
(b) Consists of all of the following services:
(i) Local dial tone service;
(ii) For residential end users, flat-rate telephone exchange service;
(iii) Touch tone dialing service;
(iv) Access to and usage of 9-1-1 services, where such services are available;
(v) Access to operator services and directory assistance;
(vi) Provision of a telephone directory in any reasonable format, which includes, at the telephone company's option, an internet-accessible database of directory listings, for no additional charge and a listing in that directory, with reasonable accommodations made for private listings, and for a telephone company that no longer offers a printed directory, provision of reasonable customer notice of the available options to obtain directory information;
(vii) Per call, caller identification blocking services;
(viii) Access to telecommunications relay service; and
(ix) Access to toll presubscription, interexchange or toll providers or both, and networks of other telephone companies. See Ohio Code 4927.01
- Incumbent local exchange carrier: means , with respect to an area, the local exchange carrier that:
(a) On February 8, 1996, provided telephone exchange service in such area; and
(b)(i) On February 8, 1996, was deemed to be a member of the exchange carrier association pursuant to 47 C. See Ohio Code 4927.01
- Local exchange carrier: means any person engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service, or the offering of access to telephone exchange service or facilities for the purpose of originating or terminating telephone toll service. See Ohio Code 4927.01
- Rule: includes regulation. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Telecommunications: means the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received. See Ohio Code 4927.01
- Telecommunications service: means the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used. See Ohio Code 4927.01
(1) Lifeline service shall consist of all of the following:
(a) Monthly access line service at a recurring discount to the monthly basic local exchange service rate that provides for the maximum contribution of federally available assistance;
(b) Not more than once per customer at a single address in a twelve-month period, a waiver of all nonrecurring service order charges for establishing service;
(c) Free blocking of toll service, 900 service, and 976 service.
The carrier may offer to lifeline service customers any other services and bundles or packages of services at the prevailing prices, less the lifeline discount.
(2) The carrier also shall offer special payment arrangements to lifeline service customers that have past due bills for regulated local service charges, with the initial payment not to exceed twenty-five dollars before service is installed, and the balance for regulated local service charges to be paid over six, equal, monthly payments. Lifeline service customers with past due bills for toll service charges shall have toll restricted service until the past due toll service charges have been paid or until the customer establishes service with another toll service provider.
(3)(a) Every incumbent local exchange carrier required to implement lifeline service under division (A) of this section shall establish an annual marketing budget for promoting lifeline service and performing outreach regarding lifeline service. All funds allocated to this budget shall be spent for the promotion and marketing of lifeline service and outreach regarding lifeline service and only for those purposes and not for any administrative costs of implementing lifeline service. All activities relating to the promotion of, marketing of, and outreach regarding lifeline service shall be coordinated through a single advisory board composed of staff of the public utilities commission, the office of the consumers’ counsel, consumer groups representing low-income constituents, two representatives from the Ohio association of community action agencies, and, except as provided in division (A)(3)(b) of this section, every incumbent local exchange carrier required to implement lifeline service under division (A) of this section. The public utilities commission may review and approve decisions of the advisory board in accordance with commission rules, including decisions on how the lifeline marketing, promotion, and outreach activities are implemented.
(b) Division (A)(3)(a) of this section does not apply to an incumbent local exchange carrier with fewer than fifty thousand access lines.
(4) All other aspects of the carrier’s state-specific lifeline service shall be consistent with federal requirements.
(B) The rates, terms, and conditions for the carrier’s lifeline service shall be tariffed in the manner prescribed by rule adopted by the public utilities commission.
(C)(1) Eligibility for lifeline service under division (A) of this section shall be based on either of the following criteria:
(a) An individual’s verifiable participation in any federal or state low-income assistance program, specified in rules adopted by the commission, that limits assistance based on household income;
(b) Other verification that an individual’s household income is consistent with the income eligibility threshold in 47 C.F.R. § 54.409(a)(1).
The public utilities commission shall adopt rules establishing requirements for the implementation of automatic enrollment of eligible individuals for lifeline assistance. The public utilities commission shall work with the appropriate state agencies that administer federal or state low-income assistance programs and with carriers to negotiate and acquire information necessary to verify an individual’s eligibility and the data necessary to automatically enroll eligible individuals for lifeline service. Every incumbent local exchange carrier required to implement lifeline service under division (A) of this section shall implement automatic enrollment in accordance with the applicable rules of the public utilities commission and to the extent that appropriate state agencies are able to accommodate the automatic enrollment.
(2) The carrier shall provide written notification if the carrier determines that an individual is not eligible for lifeline service and shall provide the individual an additional thirty days to prove eligibility.
(3) The carrier shall provide written customer notification if a customer’s lifeline service is to be terminated due to failure to submit acceptable documentation for continued eligibility for that assistance and shall provide the customer an additional thirty days to submit acceptable documentation of continued eligibility or dispute the carrier’s findings regarding termination of the lifeline service.
(D) An incumbent local exchange carrier required to implement lifeline service under division (A) of this section may recover from end users of the carrier’s telecommunications service other than lifeline service customers, by a method approved by the public utilities commission, any lifeline service discounts and any other lifeline service expenses that the public utilities commission prescribes by rule and that are not recovered through federal or state funding, except for expenses incurred under division (A)(3)(a) of this section. A carrier seeking recovery of discounts or expenses shall, in accordance with rules adopted by the public utilities commission, apply to the public utilities commission for approval of the method of recovery. If the method of recovery includes a customer billing surcharge, the public utilities commission shall prescribe by rule how the surcharge is to be identified on customer bills.
(E) Every incumbent local exchange carrier required to implement lifeline service under division (A) of this section shall annually file with the public utilities commission a report that identifies the number of its customers who receive, at the time of the filing of the report, lifeline service.