SECTION 26.342. Pay Telephone Service Tariff Provisions

(a) Application. This section does not apply to a deregulated company holding a certificate of operating authority or to an exempt carrier under Public Utility Act (PURA) §52.154.

(b) Available upon request. Upon formal request for service by any prospective provider of pay telephone service (PTS), a certificated telecommunications utility (CTU) is required to file a tariff providing for interconnection of customer-owned pay telephones, except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section.

(c) Special assembly tariffs. A CTU with fewer than 50 pay telephone lines may provide pay telephone access service (PTAS) pursuant to existing special assembly tariffs; however, in no event may a CTU provide to more than ten special assembly arrangements. Special assembly rates must be computed in accordance with this section. CTUs that provide PTAS pursuant to special assembly tariffs must enter into a written agreement with the PTS provider that requires the provider to perform all functions and obligations specified in §26.344 of this title (relating to Pay Telephone Service Requirements). When a CTU that holds a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) makes its initial filing to offer PTAS, the application must include the proposed tariff, cost studies or a commission approved rate for similar services offered by a larger CTU holding a CCN.

(d) Enforcement of tariff requirements. If a PTS provider is in violation of a tariff provision, the CTU must notify the PTS provider of the violation in writing. Such notice must refer to the specific tariff provisions being violated. The notice must state that the PTS provider is subject to disconnection by the CTU of the instrument(s) in violation of the tariff unless the PTS provider corrects the violation and notifies the CTU in writing, within 20 days of receipt of the notice of the violation, that the violation has been corrected. The CTU may disconnect the instrument(s) that are in violation of the tariff on or after the 20th day after receipt of the notice by the PTS provider, if the PTS provider did not notify the CTU in writing within 20 days of receipt of the notice that the violation was corrected. However, if the PTS provider has filed a complaint with the commission regarding the disconnection and has provided the CTU with a copy of the complaint that indicates that the complaint has been filed with the commission within 20 days of receipt of the notice of a violation from the CTU, the CTU may not disconnect the instrument(s) pending resolution of the complaint by the commission.

Source Note: The provisions of this §26.342 adopted to be effective April 4, 2000, 25 TexReg 2799; amended to be effective April 7, 2014, 39 TexReg 2499