807 Ky. Admin. Regs. 5:062

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 5, November 1, 2024
Section 807 KAR 5:062 - Changing primary interexchange carrier; verification procedures

RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 278

NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 278.040(3) provides that the commission may adopt reasonable administrative regulations to implement the provisions of KRS Chapter 278. KRS 278.280(2) provides that the commission shall prescribe rules for performing any service or furnishing any commodity of the character furnished or supplied by any utility. This administrative regulation establishes procedures by which customer-ordered changes of presubscribed long distance telecommunications carriers shall be confirmed.

Section 1. Definitions. For purposes of this administrative regulation:
(1) "Interexchange carrier" (IXC) means a provider of long distance telecommunications services. Facilities-based carriers of long distance service, resellers of long distance service, and local exchange carriers providing long distance service are included in this definition.
(2) "Letter of agency" means a customer's written statement that authorizes a primary interexchange carrier change and bears the customer's signature.
(3) "Local exchange carrier" means a provider of switched telecommunications service that carries calls originating and terminating within the local calling area.
(4) "Long distance telecommunications service" means service that carries calls to exchanges that are not within the local calling area of the originating number.
(5) "PIC freeze order" means an order submitted by a customer stating he does not want his PIC to be changed until further notice.
(6) "Primary interexchange carrier" (PIC) means a carrier to which a customer has presubscribed for long distance service.
(7) "Two (2) PIC system" means a system which enables a customer to presubscribe to one (1) primary interexchange carrier for interLATA (long haul) long distance service and to another for intraLATA (short haul) long distance service.
Section 2. Verification Procedures. No IXC shall submit to a local exchange carrier a PIC change order unless the customer's authorization to change his PIC has been confirmed by one (1) of the three (3) procedures prescribed in this administrative regulation.
(1) The IXC has obtained a letter of agency from the customer that:
(a) Authorizes the change;
(b) Demonstrates that the customer understands what occurs when a PIC is changed;
(c) States the customer's billing name and address and each telephone number to be covered by the PIC change order;
(d) Demonstrates that the customer understands the PIC change fee; and
(e) If the PIC change order applies to a number in an area with a two (2) PIC system, clearly states whether the customer has authorized the change of his intraLATA PIC, his interLATA PIC, or both; or
(2) The IXC has obtained the customer's electronic authorization, placed from a telephone number on which the customer's PIC is to be changed, to submit a PIC change order. The electronic authorization shall include the information described in subsection (1)(a) through (e) of this section. IXCs electing to confirm sales electronically shall establish one (1) or more toll-free telephone numbers exclusively for that purpose. A call to the number(s) will connect a customer to a voice response unit, or similar mechanism, that records the required information and automatically records the originating number; or
(3) An appropriately qualified and independent third party operating in a location physically separate from the IXC's telemarketing representative has obtained the customer's electronic authorization to submit the PIC change order. The electronic authorization shall include the information described in subsection (1)(a) through (e) of this section and appropriate verification data such as the customer's date of birth or Social Security number.
Section 3. Prohibition of Additional LEC Verification. A local exchange carrier shall not seek independent verification of PIC changes properly submitted to it by IXCs unless the customer whose PIC is to be changed has previously submitted to the local exchange carrier a PIC freeze order that has not been revoked. Nothing in this administrative regulation shall be construed to impose upon a local exchange carrier a duty to verify a PIC change it did not solicit or to change a PIC that is the subject of a PIC freeze order until the customer has, by notice given directly to the LEC, revoked the PIC freeze order.
Section 4. Records to be Retained. All written and electronic evidence of PIC change orders shall be retained by the soliciting carrier for one (1) year after the date the PIC has been changed.
Section 5. Letters of Agency.
(1) Letters of agency shall be separate or severable from inducements or promotions of any kind, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section.
(2) A letter of agency may be combined with a check which states in bold-face type on its front and near the signature line on its back that the customer is authorizing a long distance carrier change by signing the check. A letter of agency check shall contain only the information prescribed in Section 2(1) of this administrative regulation and the language necessary to make the check a negotiable instrument.

807 KAR 5:062

22 Ky.R. 1915; 23 Ky.R. 156; eff. 7-19-1996; Crt eff. 3-27-2019.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 278.040(3), 278.280(2)