Iowa Admin. Code r. 199-22.20
Current through Regsiter Vol. 46, No. 26, June 12, 2024
Rule 199-22.20 - Service territories Service territories are defined by the telephone exchange area boundary maps on file with the Iowa utilities board. The maps will be available for viewing at the board's office during regular business hours and copies are available at the cost of reproduction. This rule does not apply to resale of local telephone service pursuant to rule 199-22.17 (476).
(1)Issuance of certificates of authority to utilities on or prior to September 30, 1992. The initial nonexclusive certificate of authority will be issued by the board on or before September 30, 1992, to each land-line telephone utility providing local telecommunications service in Iowa. The certificate will authorize service within the territory as shown by boundary maps in effect on January 1, 1992, but will reference and include modifications approved by the board prior to the issuance of the certificate. If a utility disputes the boundary identified in the January 1, 1992, maps or in a certificate, it may file an objection with the board. After notice to interested persons and an opportunity for hearing, the board will determine the boundary.
(2)Procedures to revise maps and modify certificates. All territory in the state shall be served by a local exchange utility and inappropriate overlaps of service territories are to be avoided. a. When the board, after informal investigation, determines a significant gap or overlap exists on the maps on file defining service territories, affected utilities and interested persons, including affected customers, will be notified. The board will direct the affected utilities to file a proposed boundary within 30 days, if the utilities can agree.b. The boundary filing must include the name of each affected customer and justification for the proposed boundary, including a detailed statement of why the proposal is in the public interest. Prior to filing with the board, the serving utilities must notify interested persons of a convenient location where they can view the current and proposed maps, or copies of the maps covering their location must be mailed to them. The notice shall state the nature of the boundary filing and that any objections must be filed with the board through its electronic filing system or mailed to the board postmarked within 14 days of the mailing of the notice by the utility. The utility's filing shall also include a copy of the notice and the date on which the notice was mailed to customers.c. Upon board approval of the proposed boundary, the affected utilities shall file revised maps which comply with subrule 22.20(3) and, upon approval of the maps, the board will modify the certificates.d. If the utilities cannot agree on the boundary, or if an interested person timely files in the board's electronic filing system or mails material objections to the proposed boundary, the board will resolve the issues in contested case proceedings to revise the maps and modify the certificates after notice of the proceedings to all affected utilities and interested persons.e. A voluntary modification petition filed jointly by all affected utilities pursuant to 1992 Iowa Acts, Senate File 511, shall contain the information required in 22.20(2)"b. " The notice and hearing requirements in 22.20(2)"b " through"d" shall be observed in voluntary modification proceedings. f. A post-January 1, 1992, map will not be effective in defining a utility's service territory until approved by the board.(3)Map specifications. All ILECs shall have on file with the board maps which identify their exchanges and both internal exchange boundaries where the utility's own exchanges abut and ultimate boundaries where the utility's exchanges abut other utilities. A CLEC shall either file its own exchange boundary map or adopt the exchange boundary map filed by the ILEC serving that exchange. a. The scale of a paper boundary map shall be one inch to the mile. If a utility files a boundary map in an electronic format, the relevant scale shall be noted in the filing. Any revisions to a utility's boundary map shall be filed in an electronic format. Boundary maps shall include information equivalent to the county maps which are available from the Iowa department of transportation, showing all roads, railroads, waterways, plus township and range lines outside the municipalities. A larger scale shall be used where necessary to clarify areas. All map details shall be clean-cut and readable.(1) Each filed map shall clearly show the ultimate utility boundary line; this line shall be periodically marked with the letter "U." Exchange boundaries where the utility's own exchanges abut shall be periodically marked with the letter "E." Ultimate and exchange boundary lines shall be drawn on a section, half-section, or quarter-section line. If not, the distance from a section line or other fixed reference point shall be clearly noted. When using a fixed reference point, measurement shall always be from the center of the fixed point.(2) The map shall also identify the utility serving each contiguous exchange. The utility names shall be placed about the exterior of the ultimate boundary. The points at which the adjacent exchange meets the ultimate boundary will be marked with arrows.(3) Plant facilities shall not be shown on the boundary map. Approximate service locations may be shown but are not required.(4) The name of the utility filing the map shall be placed in the upper right corner of the map. This will be followed by the names of each exchange shown on the map and served by that utility. The last item will be the date the map is filed and the proposed effective date, which will be 30 days after the filing date unless the board sets a different date.b. If requested by the board, a legal description shall be filed to clarify an ambiguous boundary between utilities. The legal description shall conform with the standards set in Iowa Code section 114A.9.(4)Certificate modifications. Two local exchange utilities may transfer the service territory boundaries and customers from one utility to another after affected customers have been notified and are given an opportunity for a hearing before the board. A certificate modification shall be approved if the board finds that the transfer will result in adequate service to affected customers, the transfer is in the public interest, and the provisions of paragraph 22.23(2)"e" have been followed. If the certificate modification involves an ILEC, the ILEC shall file revised boundary maps. After July 1, 2014, a local exchange utility may expand its service territory by filing a notice of the expansion with the board and by providing that notice to affected utilities. The notice shall list the exchanges where the utility currently provides ILEC and CLEC service and shall provide the names of the exchanges where the utility proposes to expand its competitive service area.
a. Filing instructions. The notice of the expansion shall be filed using the board's electronic filing system in accordance with rule 199-14.9 (17A,476). The filing shall be titled "Proposed Expansion of Competitive Service Area," with a reference to the year for which the notice is filed. The board's records and information center will assign each filing an ES docket number, signifying "Expansion of Service Areas." Unless docketed by the board for further investigation, a letter approving the notice and modifying the utility's certificate will be issued within 30 days of the filing. ES dockets are not subject to protection from public disclosure.b. Conservation of numbering resources. A utility proposing to expand its competitive service area shall not apply for numbering resources in those exchanges until its provision of local exchange service to customers becomes imminent.(5)Certificate revocation. Any five subscribers or potential subscribers, an interexchange utility, or consumer advocate upon filing a sworn statement showing a generalized pattern of inadequate telephone service or facilities may petition the board to begin formal certificate revocation proceedings against a local exchange utility. For the purposes of this rule, inadequate telephone service or facilities may include the failure to bill high-volume intrastate access (HVAS) charges in a manner consistent with the requirements of rule 199-22.14 (476). While similar in nature to a complaint filed under rule 199-6.2 (476), a petition under this rule shall be addressed by the board under the following procedure and not the procedure found in 199-Chapter 6. a. Upon receiving a petition, the board will make an informal preliminary investigation into the adequacy of the service and facilities provided by a local exchange utility. The board also may begin an informal preliminary investigation on its own motion at any time.b. Prior to beginning formal revocation proceedings under 1992 Iowa Acts, Senate File 511, the board will provide notice to the utility of any alleged inadequacies in its service. The utility may admit or deny the allegations. If admitted, the utility will have a reasonable time to eliminate the inadequacies. If denied, the utility will have the opportunity to refute the allegations in contested case proceedings after mailed notice and an opportunity to intervene for the utility's affected customers.c. If the board does not issue the notice of alleged inadequacies to the utility as provided in 22.20(2)"b " within 60 days after the filing of the petition, the petition will be deemed denied.d. If the board finds significant inadequacies in service or facilities in any certificate revocation contested case, the utility will be allowed a reasonable time to eliminate the inadequacies.e. If the utility fails to eliminate significant inadequacies in service or facilities within a reasonable time, the board, after mailed notice to all parties in the contested case, or to affected customers if the utility admitted the inadequacies, and after an opportunity for hearing, may revoke or condition the certificate as provided in 1992 Iowa Acts, Senate File 511. f. Proceedings under this subrule may be combined with proceedings under subrule 22.20(4), or similar certification proceedings initiated on the board's own motion, to consider an appropriate replacement utility simultaneously with the revocation case.Iowa Admin. Code r. 199-22.20
ARC 7826B, lAB 6/3/09, effective 7/8/09; ARC 8871B, lAB 6/30/10, effective 8/4/10Amended by IAB October 14, 2015/Volume XXXVIII, Number 08, effective 11/18/2015Amended by IAB February 15, 2017/Volume XXXIX, Number 17, effective 3/22/2017