Section 407-230-5 - Maintenance of Customer Premises WireA.Disaggregation of Maintenance Charges from Basic Rates. The customer or premises owner has the financial responsibility for maintenance of customer premises wire. Charges for the maintenance of customer premises wire that have been included in the basic exchange rate shall be disaggregated from the basic exchange rate, which shall be correspondingly reduced. Charges for optional maintenance performed by the local exchange carrier shall be as provided in subsections C and D.B.Maintenance by Customers or Premises Owners. A customer or the premises owner, or a third party hired by a customer or premises owner, may maintain or repair customer premises wire, including customer premises wire that was installed by local exchange carrier. Maintenance performed by the customer shall comply with any reasonable notice to the carrier and testing requirements and with any applicable technical specifications. Customers or third parties hired by customers shall not be permitted access to the protector.C.Maintenance by the Local Exchange Carrier. Each local exchange carrier that offers services for the maintenance of customer premises wire at per-visit or a time and materials rate shall include those rates in its schedule of rates. The rate may be the same as that provided in the carrier's schedule of rates for other premises work. The-rate established by an incumbent local exchange carrier that is subject to rate-of-return regulation shall be based on cost. The rate established by an incumbent local exchange carrier that is subject to an alternative form of regulation (as defined in 35-A M.R.S.A. §§9101-03 ) or by a competitive local exchange carrier shall be set at no less than cost.D.Installation of Network Interface Device at Time of Diagnosis or Maintenance. When a local exchange carrier, upon the request of a customer, performs any diagnosis at the customer's premises to determine the location or nature of a problem, or performs maintenance at the customer's premises, including any service performed on the carrier's side of the demarcation point, and there is no network interface device at the premises, the carrier shall not charge for the diagnostic service and shall install a network interface device at no charge to the customer. Pursuant to Section 4, this section, and its own terms and conditions, the local exchange carrier shall charge for maintenance or installation of new customer premises wire, if the customer requests those services. If the terms and conditions of the local exchange carrier are inconsistent with the requirements of this paragraph, the carrier shall file a revision to its terms and conditions to comply with this subsection within 60 days of the effective date of this subsection.E.Optional Wire Maintenance Plans.1.Participation.No local exchange carrier is required to offer an optional wire maintenance plan. If a local exchange carrier does offer an optional wire maintenance plan, a customer shall be a participant in the plan only if that customer has positively indicated a desire to participate.
2.Exclusions. A local exchange carrier in its terms and conditions may required that customer-installed premises wire must meet company or National Electric Code specifications in order to be covered by the optional wire maintenance plan or may impose other reasonable conditions or exclusions of coverage. All such requirements or exclusions shall be stated in the local exchange carrier's terms and conditions approved by the Commission. For any such requirement or exclusion, a telephone utility shall provide prominent written notice of the requirement or exclusion to each subscriber prior to the time of subscription or within 30 days thereafter. The contents of the notice shall be included in the local exchange carrier's terms and conditions approved by the Commission.3.Inapplicability of Requirements or Exclusions. No requirements or exclusion described in paragraph 2 shall apply if (a) the requirement is not contained in the local exchange carrier's approved terms and conditions; (b) the contents of the notice of the requirement or exclusion is not contained in the local exchange carrier's approved terms and conditions; or (c) the local exchange carrier failed to provide notice to the customer in compliance with the requirements of paragraph 2. In any dispute concerning whether prominent written notice was reasonable or was provided, the telephone utility offering the plan shall have the burden of proof.65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 230, § 5