Section 1220-04-08-.01 - DEFINITIONS(1) In the interpretation of the rules in this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply: (a) Commission - The Tennessee Public Utility Commission.(b) Automatic Emergency Communications District (ECD) Routing - E-911 call routing to the proper Tandem Central Office where the End Office has subscribers in more than one ECD and the Incumbent Emergency 911 Service provider has different Tandem Central offices serving those ECDs.(c) Basic Local Exchange Service - The telecommunications services comprised of an access line, dial tone, touch tone, and usage provided to the premises of residential customers or business customers for the provision of high quality, two-way switched voice, or data transmission over voice grade facilities, within a local calling area, Lifeline, Link-up Tennessee, 911 Emergency Services, and educational discounts existing on the effective date of Chapter 408 Public Acts of 1995. Said service shall be provided at the same level of quality as was provided on the effective date of Public Chapter 408. This shall include recurring and nonrecurring charges.(d) Bona Fide Request - A request to an Incumbent Local Exchange Telephone Company or a Competing Local Telecommunications Service Provider that demonstrates a good faith showing by the requesting provider that it intends to purchase the services within a reasonable time.(e) Common Channel Signaling - A method of digitally transmitting call set-up and network control data over a special network fully separate from the public switched network that carries the actual call.(f) Competing Telecommunications Service Provider - A company, entity, or an individual that offers or provides any two-way communications service, telephone service, paging service, or communications service similar to such services and telegraph services certificated for such services after June 6, 1995.(g) Emergency Communications District (ECD) - Any Emergency Communications District created pursuant to the provisions of T.C.A. 7-86-101, et seq.(h) Enhanced 911/911 Service - An emergency service available to the general public and activated by dialing the digits 911 on the telephone.(i) Gross Domestic Product Price Index (GDP-PI) - The final estimate of the chain-weighted Gross Domestic Product Price Index as prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce and published in the Survey of Current Business or its successor.(j) Incumbent Enhanced 911 Emergency Service Provider - A public utility offering Enhanced 911 Service on June 6, 1995 to any ECD or other governing authority referred to in T.C.A. §§ 7-86-101, et seq.(k) Interconnection - Refers to telecommunication services, including intrastate switched access that allows a Telecommunications Service Provider to interconnect with the networks of other Telecommunications Service Providers.(l) Interexchange Access Service - A telecommunications service to provide access between end users and an Interexchange carrier and/or private line services between end users.(m) Interexchange Carrier - A facilities based telecommunications service provider of intrastate, interLATA telecommunications services.(n) IntraLATA Long Distance Service - a long distance service within any LATA.(o) Local Calling Area - The geographic area encompassing one (1) or more local exchanges in maps, tariffs, and rate schedules approved by the Commission, including the expanded service area as that term is used in such maps, tariffs, and rate schedules within which toll charges do not apply.(p) Local Exchange - A switching center serving a 10,000 line grouping or less that can be uniquely identified by an area code and the first three (3) digits of a telephone number (NXX code).(q) Incumbent Local Exchange Telephone Company - A public utility offering and providing basic local exchange service pursuant to tariffs approved by the Commission prior to June 6, 1995, or as designated by the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 251(h)(2).(r) Local Service - Any service provided within a local calling area.(s) Local Telecommunications Service Providers - All providers of local telecommunications services certificated by the Commission after June 6, 1995 and all Incumbent Local Exchange Telephone Companies serving more than 100,000 access lines or which are otherwise subject to this rule chapter.(t) Long Run Incremental Cost - The additional forward-looking cost the company would incur in offering an existing or new service, group of services or basic network function for the current or reasonably expected level of service demand, excluding shared expenses and overheads not directly attributable to the service or function.(u) Non-basic Services - Telecommunications services which are not defined as basic local exchange telephone services and which are not otherwise exempted from this category by the provisions of T.C.A. § 65-5-108. Rates for this service shall include recurring and nonrecurring charges.(v) Number Portability - The technical capability to allow a customer to retain his local number, which includes:1. Service provider portability - the ability to retain one's telephone number within a local telecommunications provider's service area when changing service providers;2. Geographic portability - the ability to take one's telephone number when moving to a different permanent location within a local calling area (business or residential);3. Service portability - the ability to retain one's telephone number when changing service types, an example would be when a customer changes from voice grade telephone service to Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and retains the same telephone number; and4. E911 service portability - the ability to provide and display subscriber numbers (old number and new number) and a designation that this is a remote call forwarding (RCF) call in the ALI database, where RCF is used to accomplish number portability.(w) Price List - The prices, or a range of prices, charged for services provided by a local telecommunications service provider on file with the Commission.(x) Price Regulation - A method for setting affordable prices through the use of a combination of caps, floors, and indexes or adjustment mechanisms, other than methods which use earnings, rate base and rate of return regulation.(y) Rate - The price of a telecommunication service. Whenever the term price is used in this rule chapter it shall be synonymous with rate and vice versa.(z) Shared Tenant Service Provider - A basic local exchange service subscriber who shares or resells basic local exchange service, generally occurring under a single owner or common development with a single name identity.(aa) Stand-alone Cost - Those costs that an efficient firm would incur, using least-cost technology, to produce a service or group of services by themselves without reference to the rest of the services produced by the firm.(bb) Tariff - The schedule, or a range of prices and regulations for a particular service, which is filed with the Commission and serves as the official published list of charges, terms and conditions governing the provision of the service or facility. Tariffs function in lieu of a contract between an end user and a service provider.(cc) Tariff or Price Filing Date - The date on which the new tariff filing or price filing is first published in the Commission's weekly tariff sheet.(dd) Telecommunications Resale Service - A service provided by a Telecommunications Service Provider, including Shared Tenant Services Providers, that purchases telecommunications services or functions from another certificated provider for resale to the public.(ee) Telecommunications Services - A generic term describing two-way communications services transmitted over communications facilities. These services include voice, data, and video transmissions. These services exclude the transmission of one-way or two-way television and radio communications over traditional cable television and broadcast facilities provided exclusively between TV or radio subscribers and the TV or radio service provider.(ff) Universal Service - The provision of affordable residential basic local exchange telephone service and carrier-of-last-resort obligations.(gg) Usage Based Service - A service for which the rate applies to each additional increment of service usage. Usage based service does not include a message-rated service or any local exchange service for which usage rates do not apply after a maximum dollar amount or level of usage is consumed.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1220-04-08-.01
Original rule filed April 15, 1998; effective June 15, 1998. Editorial changes made by the Secretary of State pursuant to Public Chapter 305 of 1995; "Commission" and references to the "Commission" were changed to "Authority" and references to the "Authority"; effective March 28, 2003. Administrative changes made to this chapter on April 27, 2018 pursuant to Public Chapter 94 of 2017; "Tennessee Regulatory Authority" references were changed to "Tennessee Public Utility Commission," "Authority" references were changed to "Commission," "Authority Director" references were changed to "Commissioner," and "Chief" references were changed to "Director."Authority: T.C.A. §§ 65-2-102, 65-3-105, 65-4-101, 65-4-104, 65-5-107, 65-5-108, and Chapter 408 of Public Acts of 1995.