Section 407-293-2 - DEFINITIONSA.Abandonment of Service. "Abandonment of Service" means either the abandonment of all service to all customers by a competitive telecommunications carrier and the termination of the competitive telecommunications carrier's authority to provide service, or the abandonment of all service to a specified group of customers. A statement by a competitive telecommunications carrier that it is "canceling," "withdrawing," or "revoking" its authority or certificate or intends to do so, or that it is "no longer doing business in the state" shall be considered a notice, pursuant to 35-A M.R.S.A. §1104 and this Chapter, to abandon service and terminate authority to provide service (see Sections 4 and 7 ) or to abandon a portion of the competitive telecommunications carrier's service (see Sections 5, 6, 8 and 9 ).B.Acquiring Carrier. An "acquiring carrier" is any telephone utility, whether it is a competitive telecommunications carrier or not, that acquires customers from a transferring competitive telecommunications carrier.C.Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC). A "competitive local exchange carrier" or "CLEC" is any local exchange carrier that is not an incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC).D.Competitive Interexchange Carrier (Competitive IXC). A "competitive interexchange carrier" or "competitive IXC" is an interexchange carrier that does not also provide local exchange service as an incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC).E.Competitive Telecommunications Carrier. A "competitive telecommunications carrier" is a telephone utility, as defined in 35-A M.R.S.A. §102(19), that is either a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) that does not receive funding from the Maine Universal Service Fund pursuant to Chapter 288 or a competitive interexchange carrier (IXC). The terms "competitive local exchange carrier" and "competitive interexchange carrier" are defined in this section.F.Discontinuance of a Service Offering. "Discontinuance of a Service Offering" is the discontinuance, pursuant to the provisions of 35-A M.R.S.A. §307, of a specific service offering in the rate schedules of a competitive telecommunications carrier. The discontinuance of a specific service offering by a CLEC is not an "abandonment of service" for purposes of this Chapter if the CLEC will continue to provide other local exchange service offerings to customers that subscribe to the discontinued offering. The discontinuance of a specific service offering by a competitive IXC is not an "abandonment of service" for the purpose of this Chapter if the competitive IXC will continue to provide other interexchange service offerings to customers that subscribe to the discontinued offering.G.Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC). An "incumbent local exchange carrier" or "ILEC" is a local exchange carrier that provided local exchange service in a defined service territory in Maine on February 8, 1996 or that is designated as an ILEC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. §251(h)(2).H.Mail. "Mail" means the sending and delivery of a paper copy of any notice or other document required by the Chapter using the United States Postal Service or other reliable delivery service. "Mail" also includes electronic mail (e-mail) when it is permitted by and meets the requirements set forth in Section 13. I.Rate Schedules. "Rate schedules" are the schedules of rates, as described in 35-A M.R.S.A. §304, that contain a telecommunications carrier's rates and all terms and conditions filed with and as part of the schedules that in any way affect the rates charged for any telecommunications service.65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 293, § 2