The following words and terms, when used in this chapter have the following meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise:
(1) Access customer--Any user of access services which are obtained from a certificated telecommunications utility (CTU).
(2) Access services--CTU services which provide connections for or are related to the origination or termination of intrastate telecommunications services that are generally, but not limited to, interexchange services.
(3) Administrative review--A process under which an application may be approved without a formal hearing.
(4) Affected person--
(5) Affiliate--
(6) Aggregate customer proprietary network information (CPNI)--A configuration of customer proprietary network information that has been collected by a telecommunications utility and organized such that none of the information will identify an individual customer.
(7) Alternate 9-1-1 routing--The routing of 9-1-1 calls to a designated alternate location if all dedicated 9-1-1 trunks to a primary public safety answering point are busy or out of service.
(8) Assumed name--Has the meaning assigned by Texas Business and Commerce Code, §36.10.
(9) Automatic dial announcing device (ADAD)--Any automated equipment used for telephone solicitation or collection that:
(10) Automatic location identification (ALI)--The automatic display at a public safety answering point of a caller's telephone number, the address/location of the telephone number, and supplementary emergency services information for the location from which a call originates.
(11) Automatic number identification (ANI)--The telephone number associated with an access line, connection, or station from which a call originates that is automatically transmitted by the local switching system to an interexchange or other communications carrier or to the operator of a 9-1-1 system.
(12) Base rate area--A specific area within an exchange area, as set forth in the dominant certificated telecommunications utilities' tariffs, maps or descriptions, wherein local exchange service is furnished at uniform rates without extra mileage charges.
(13) Basic local telecommunications service--Flat rate residential and business local exchange telephone service, including primary directory listings; tone dialing service; access to operator services; access to directory assistance services; access to 911 service where provided by a local authority or dual party relay service; the ability to report service problems seven days a week; lifeline services; and any other service the commission, after a hearing, determines should be included in basic local telecommunications service.
(14) Basic network services (BNS)--Those services identified in Public Utility Regulatory Act §58.051.
(15) Baud--Unit of signaling speed reflecting the number of discrete conditions or signal elements transmitted per second.
(16) Bellcore--Bell Communications Research, Inc.
(17) Billing agent--Any entity that submits charges to a billing telecommunications utility on behalf of itself or any service provider.
(18) Billing telecommunications utility--Any telecommunications provider, as defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Act §51.002 that issues a bill directly to a customer for any telecommunications product or service.
(19) Bit Error Ratio (BER)--The ratio of the number of bits received in error to the total number of bits transmitted in a given time interval.
(20) Bit Rate--The rate at which data bits are transmitted over a communications path, normally expressed in bits per second.
(21) Bona fide request--A written request to an incumbent local exchange company (ILEC) from a CTU or an enhanced service provider, requesting that the ILEC unbundle its network/services to the extent ordered by the Federal Communications Commission. A bona fide request indicates an intent to purchase the service subject to the purchaser being able to obtain acceptable rates, terms, and conditions.
(22) Business service--A telecommunications service provided a customer where the use is primarily of a business, professional, institutional or otherwise occupational nature.
(23) Busy hour--The clock hour each day during which the greatest usage occurs.
(24) Busy season--That period of the year during which the greatest volume of traffic is handled in a switching office.
(25) Call aggregator--Any person or entity that owns or otherwise controls telephones intended to be utilized by the public, which control is evidenced by the authority to post notices on and/or unblock access at the telephone.
(26) Call splashing--Call transferring (whether caller-requested or operator service provider-initiated) that results in a call being rated and/or billed from a point different from that where the call originated.
(27) Call transferring--Handing off a call from one operator service provider (OSP) to another OSP.
(28) Caller identification materials (caller ID materials)--Any advertisements, educational materials, training materials, audio and video marketing devices, and any information disseminated about caller ID services.
(29) Caller identification service (caller ID service)--A service offered by a telecommunications provider that provides calling party information to a device capable of displaying the information.
(30) Calling area--The area within which telecommunications service is furnished to customers under a specific schedule of exchange rates. A "local" calling area may include more than one exchange area.
(31) Calling party information--
(32) Capitalization--Long-term debt plus total equity.
(33) Carrier of choice--An option that allows an individual to choose an interexchange carrier for long distance calls made through Telecommunications Relay Service.
(34) Carrier-initiated change--A change in the telecommunications utility serving a customer that was initiated by the telecommunications utility to which the customer is changed, whether the switch is made because a customer did or did not respond to direct mail solicitation, telemarketing, or other actions initiated by the carrier.
(35) Central office--A switching unit in a telecommunications system which provides service to the general public, having the necessary equipment and operating arrangements for terminating and interconnecting customer lines and trunks or trunks only.
(36) Census block group (CBG)--A United States Census Bureau geographic designation that generally contains between 250 and 550 housing units.
(37) Certificated service area--The geographic area within which a company has been authorized to provide basic local telecommunications services pursuant to a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN), a certificate of operating authority (COA), or a service provider certificate of operating authority (SPCOA) issued by the commission.
(38) Certificated telecommunications utility--A telecommunications utility that has been granted either a CCN, a COA, or a SPCOA.
(39) Class of service or customer class--A description of utility service provided to a customer which denotes such characteristics as nature of use (business or residential) or type of rate (flat rate or message rate). Classes may be further subdivided into grades, denoting individual or multiparty line or denoting quality of service.
(40) Commercial mobile radio service (CMRS)--
(41) Commission--The Public Utility Commission of Texas.
(42) Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC)--The state commission with the responsibilities and authority as specified in Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 771.
(43) Competitive exchange service--Any of the following services, when provided on an inter- or intrastate basis within an exchange area: central office based PBX-type services for systems of 75 stations or more; billing and collection services; high speed private line services of 1.544 megabits or greater; customized services; private line and virtual private line services; resold or shared local exchange telephone services if permitted by tariff; dark fiber services; non-voice data transmission service when offered as a separate service and not as a component of basic local telecommunications service; dedicated or virtually dedicated access services; services for which a local exchange company has been granted authority to engage in pricing flexibility pursuant to §26.211 of this title (relating to Rate-Setting Flexibility for Services Subject to Significant Competitive Challenges); any service initially provided within an exchange after October 26, 1992, if first provided by an entity other than the incumbent local exchange company (companies) certificated to provide service within that exchange; and any other service the commission declares is not local exchange telephone service.
(44) Competitive services (CS)--Those services as defined in Public Utility Regulatory Act §58.151, and any other service the commission subsequently categorizes as a competitive service.
(45) Completed call--A call that is answered by the called party.
(46) Complex service--The provision of a circuit requiring special treatment, special equipment, or special engineering design, including but not limited to private lines, WATS, PBX trunks, rotary lines, and special assemblies.
(47) Consumer good or service--
(48) Consumer telephone call--An unsolicited call made to a residential telephone number to:
(49) Cooperative--An incumbent local exchange company that is a cooperative corporation.
(50) Cooperative corporation-- Cont'd...