Rule 515-12-1-.35 - Eligible Telecommunications Carriers(1) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier must meet the requirements set forth in 47 U.S.C. § 214.(e)(1)(A) and (B) and all rules and regulations duly promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission set forth in 47 C.F.R. part 54, Subpart C (Carriers Eligible for Universal Service Support), Subpart D (Universal Service Support for High Cost Areas), or Subpart E (Universal Service Support for Low-Income Consumers), except to the extent the FCC has granted a waiver of its rules and regulations.(2) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier shall satisfactorily resolve within a reasonable time period any and all complaints filed against it with the Commission's Consumer Affairs Unit.(3) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier shall advertise the availability of Lifeline service on its internet website.(4) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier shall not charge usage (i.e., decrement minutes) or charge fees of any kind for calls to customer service.(5) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier shall file the number of Lifeline subscribers that the carrier serves in the State of Georgia as of June 30th and December 31st of each year, broken down by eligibility criterion. The report shall be filed 15 days from the close of the period.(6) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier that provides no-cost service after application of the Lifeline discount shall file with the Commission quarterly reports, due no later than 15 days from the close of each quarter, that report the number of customers who have been deactivated pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 54.405(e)(3), the number of customers who did not pass annual verification, and the number of customers who were voluntarily deactivated.(7) Lifeline materials including advertisements, application forms, and verification forms must include the following language: "Unresolved complaints concerning Lifeline service can be directed to the Georgia Public Service Commission's Consumer Affairs Unit at [local and toll free number for the Consumer Affairs Unit]."(8) Any proposed increases in an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier's least cost service rate available to Lifeline customers, any increase in connection charges, or the addition of any proposed surcharges, other than those specifically provided for in State or Federal law, shall require 30 days written notice to the Commission.(9) An Eligible Telecommunications Carrier shall include its lowest cost service offering in all Lifeline advertisements.(10) Under 47 C.F.R. § 54.314(a), the Commission submits to the Universal Service Administrative Company ("USAC") and the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") an annual certification prior to October 1, of each year. The annual certification includes those carriers that have certified to the Commission that all federal high-cost support provided to such carriers within Georgia was used in the preceding calendar year and will be used in the coming calendar year only for the provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and services for which support is intended. In order to be included in the annual certification that the Commission submits to USAC and the FCC for a given year, a carrier shall file its certification with the Commission on or before August 1, of that year.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 515-12-1-.35
O.C.G.A. §§ 46-2-30, 46-5-160 through 174, 46-2-51, 47 U.S.C. § 254(f).
Original Rule entitled "Eligible Telecommunications Carriers" adopted. F. May 11, 2012; eff. May 31, 2012.Amended: F. Jan. 16, 2013; eff. Feb. 5, 2013.Amended: F. Oct. 21, 2013; eff. Nov. 10, 2013.Amended: F. Aug. 14, 2014; eff. Sept. 3, 2014.Amended: F. Oct. 18, 2016; eff. Nov. 7, 2016.Amended: F. Jan. 10, 2017; eff. Jan. 30, 2017.Amended: F. June 16, 2021; eff. July 6, 2021.