SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Texas Section 55.001 - General Standard
A public utility shall furnish service, instrumentalities, and facilities that are safe, adequate, efficient, and reasonable. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff....
- Texas Section 55.002 - Commission Authority Concerning Standards
The commission, on its own motion or on complaint and after reasonable notice and hearing, may: (1) adopt just and reasonable standards, classifications, rules, or...
- Texas Section 55.003 - Rule Or Standard
(a) A public utility may not impose a rule except as provided by this title. (b) A public utility may file with the commission a...
- Texas Section 55.004 - Local Exchange Company Rule Or Practice Change
(a) To make a change in an incumbent local exchange company's tariffed rules or practices that does not affect the company's charges or rates, the...
- Texas Section 55.005 - Unreasonable Preference Or Prejudice Concerning Service Prohibited
In providing a service to persons in a classification, a public utility may not: (1) grant an unreasonable preference or advantage to a person in...
- Texas Section 55.006 - Discrimination And Restriction On Competition
A public utility may not: (1) discriminate against a person who sells or leases equipment or performs services in competition with the public utility; or...
- Texas Section 55.007 - Minimum Services
(a) The commission shall require a holder of a certificate of convenience and necessity or a certificate of operating authority to provide at the applicable...
- Texas Section 55.008 - Improvements In Service; Interconnecting Service
The commission, after notice and hearing, may: (1) order a public utility to provide specified improvements in its service in a specified area if: (A)...
- Texas Section 55.009 - Intralata Calls
(a) If federal law prohibits a local exchange company in this state from providing interLATA telecommunications services, the local exchange companies in this state designated...
- Texas Section 55.010 - Billing For Service To The State
A telecommunications utility providing service to the state, including service to an agency in any branch of state government, may not impose a fee, a...
- Texas Section 55.011 - Notice Of Identity Of Interexchange Carrier
(a) A local exchange company shall print on the first page of each bill sent to a customer of the local exchange company the name...
- Texas Section 55.013 - Limitations On Discontinuance Of Basic Local Telecommunications Service
(a) A provider of basic local telecommunications service may not discontinue that service because of nonpayment by a residential customer of charges for long distance...
- Texas Section 55.014 - Provision Of Advanced Telecommunications Services
(a) In this section, "advanced service" means any telecommunications service other than residential or business basic local exchange telephone service, caller identification service, and customer...
- Texas Section 55.015 - Lifeline Service
(a) The commission shall adopt rules prohibiting a certificated provider of local exchange telephone service from discontinuing basic network services listed in Section 58.051 to...
- Texas Section 55.016 - Telecommunications Billing
(a) The proliferation of charges for separate services, products, surcharges, fees, and taxes on a bill for telecommunications products or services has increased the complexity...
SUBCHAPTER B EXTENDED AREA SERVICE
- Texas Section 55.017 - Identification Required
(a) A representative of a telecommunications provider or a video or cable service provider that has an easement in or a right-of-way over or through...
- Texas Section 55.021 - Extended Area Service
After notice and a hearing, the commission may order one or more local exchange companies that are dominant carriers to provide: (1) mandatory extended area...
- Texas Section 55.022 - Mandatory Service
The commission may order mandatory extended area service in a specified metropolitan area if: (1) there is a sufficient community of interest in the area;...
- Texas Section 55.023 - Optional Extended Area Service
(a) The commission may order optional extended area service in a specified calling area if: (1) each affected company and the representatives of at least...
- Texas Section 55.024 - Charge For Extended Area Service
(a) An incumbent local exchange company that provides mandatory two-way extended area service to customers shall impose for that service a separately stated monthly charge...
- Texas Section 55.025 - Hunting Service
(a) A local exchange company shall make available, at a reasonable tariffed rate, hunting service from local exchange lines to extended metropolitan service lines. (b)...
SUBCHAPTER C EXPANDED TOLL-FREE LOCAL CALLING AREAS
- Texas Section 55.026 - New Orders Prohibited After Certain Date
On or after September 1, 2011, the commission may not require a telecommunications provider to provide mandatory or optional extended area service to additional metropolitan...
- Texas Section 55.041 - Definitions
In this subchapter, "metropolitan exchange," "local calling area of a metropolitan exchange," and "exchange" have the meanings and boundaries assigned by the commission on September...
- Texas Section 55.042 - Contiguous Exchange
The commission may expand a toll-free local calling area into an exchange that is not in a metropolitan exchange but is in a local calling...
- Texas Section 55.043 - Splitting Exchanges Prohibited
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the commission may not split a petitioning or requested exchange in establishing a toll-free local calling area. Acts...
- Texas Section 55.044 - Exemption
(a) The commission may not require an incumbent local exchange company serving the petitioning or requested exchange to expand the company's toll-free local calling area...
- Texas Section 55.045 - Eligibility To Petition
The telephone subscribers of an incumbent local exchange company exchange that serves not more than 10,000 access lines may petition the commission for expansion of...
- Texas Section 55.046 - Petition Requirements
(a) A petition under this subchapter must be signed by a number of the exchange's subscribers equal at least to the lesser of 100 of...
- Texas Section 55.047 - Balloting And Consideration
(a) If the commission receives a petition that complies with this subchapter, the commission shall order the incumbent local exchange company to provide ballots to...
- Texas Section 55.048 - Charges
(a) The incumbent local exchange company shall recover all costs incurred and all loss of revenue from an expansion of a toll-free local calling area...
SUBCHAPTER D OPERATOR SERVICE PROVIDERS
- Texas Section 55.049 - Expansion Prohibited After Certain Date
On or after September 1, 2011, the commission may not order an expansion of a toll-free local calling area. Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg.,...
- Texas Section 55.081 - Definition
In this subchapter, "operator service" means a service using live operator or automated operator functions to handle telephone service such as toll calling using collect,...
- Texas Section 55.082 - Applicability
Except as provided by Section 55.088, this subchapter applies only to a telecommunications utility that is not a dominant carrier. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch....
- Texas Section 55.083 - Rules And Procedures
(a) The commission may adopt rules and establish procedures to enforce and implement this subchapter. (b) A rule adopted under this subchapter must be nondiscriminatory...
- Texas Section 55.084 - Information Displayed On Public Use Telephone
(a) An operator service provider shall furnish each entity with which it contracts to provide operator service a sticker, card, or other form of information...
- Texas Section 55.085 - Connection Announcement
Before connecting a call, the operator service provider shall: (1) announce the provider's name; and (2) at the caller's request, quote the rate and any...
- Texas Section 55.086 - Information Required On Access To Local Exchange Company Operator
(a) An operator service provider, on a caller's request, shall inform the caller of the method of access to the local exchange carrier operator serving...
- Texas Section 55.087 - Access To Local Exchange Company And Other Utilities Required
(a) The commission by rule shall require an operator service provider to include in its contract with each entity through which it provides operator service...
- Texas Section 55.088 - Access To Live Operator Required
(a) A dominant or nondominant telecommunications utility that provides operator service shall ensure that a caller has access to a live operator at the beginning...
SUBCHAPTER E CALLER IDENTIFICATION SERVICE
- Texas Section 55.089 - Commission May Investigate And Act On Violation
(a) If the commission determines that an operator service provider has violated or is about to violate this subchapter, the commission, after notice and evidentiary...
- Texas Section 55.101 - Definitions
In this subchapter: (1) "Caller identification information" means any information that may be used to identify the specific originating number or originating location of a...
- Texas Section 55.102 - Applicability
(a) This subchapter applies only to the provision of caller identification service. (b) This subchapter does not apply to: (1) an identification service that is...
- Texas Section 55.103 - Provision Of Service
(a) A telecommunications utility may offer caller identification services under this subchapter only if the utility obtains written authorization from the commission. (b) A commercial...
- Texas Section 55.104 - Use Of Information
(a) A person may not use a caller identification service to compile and sell specific local call information without the affirmative approval of the originating...
- Texas Section 55.105 - Per-call Blocking
Except as provided by Section 55.1065, the commission shall require that a provider of caller identification service offer free per-call blocking to each telephone subscriber...
- Texas Section 55.106 - Per-line Blocking
(a) Except as provided by Section 55.1065, the commission shall require that a provider of caller identification service offer free per-line blocking to a particular...
- Texas Section 55.107 - Limitation On Commission Authority
The commission may prescribe in relation to blocking only a requirement authorized by Sections 55.105, 55.106, and 55.1065. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec....
- Texas Section 55.109 - Implementation Of Panel Recommendations
The commission may implement the recommendations of the Caller ID Consumer Education Panel and interested parties to the extent consistent with the public interest. Acts...
SUBCHAPTER F AUTOMATIC DIAL ANNOUNCING DEVICES
- Texas Section 55.110 - Report Of Blocking Failure
(a) A provider of caller ID services who becomes aware of the failure of per-call or per-line blocking to block identification of a customer shall...
- Texas Section 55.121 - Definitions
In this subchapter: (1) "Automated dial announcing device" means automated equipment used for telephone solicitation or collection that can: (A) store telephone numbers to be...
- Texas Section 55.122 - Exemptions
This subchapter does not apply to the use of an automated dial announcing device: (1) to make a call relating to an emergency or a...
- Texas Section 55.1225 - Applicability
This subchapter applies to an automated dial announcing device used to make a telephone call that originates or terminates in this state. Added by Acts...
- Texas Section 55.123 - Notice Of Use Of Device To Telecommunications Utility
A person may not use an automated dial announcing device to make a telephone call in which the device plays a recorded message when the...
- Texas Section 55.124 - Random Or Sequential Number Calling
A person may not use an automated dial announcing device for random number dialing or to dial numbers determined by successively increasing or decreasing integers...
- Texas Section 55.125 - Hours When Use Prohibited
(a) A person may not use an automated dial announcing device to make a telephone solicitation call terminating in this state in which the device...
- Texas Section 55.126 - Device Disconnection
A person may not use an automated dial announcing device to make a telephone call in which the device plays a recorded message when the...
- Texas Section 55.127 - Contents Of Recorded Message
(a) A person may not use an automated dial announcing device to make a telephone call in which the device plays a recorded message when...
- Texas Section 55.128 - Duration Of Recorded Message
A person may not use an automated dial announcing device to make for solicitation purposes a telephone call in which the device plays a recorded...
- Texas Section 55.129 - Permit Required
A person may not use an automated dial announcing device to make a telephone call in which the device plays a recorded message when the...
- Texas Section 55.130 - Permit
(a) A person may not use an automated dial announcing device without a permit issued by the commission. (b) An applicant for an original permit...
- Texas Section 55.131 - Permit Fee
(a) The commission shall prescribe a fee for an original permit or renewal of a permit. (b) The amount of the original permit fee must...
- Texas Section 55.132 - Notification Of Change
(a) The owner or operator of an automated dial announcing device shall notify the commission if the telephone number of the device or the physical...
- Texas Section 55.133 - Notification Of Local Exchange Company
The commission shall provide to a local exchange company on request a copy of a permit issued under this subchapter and of any change relating...
- Texas Section 55.134 - Complaints And Enforcement
(a) The commission shall: (1) investigate complaints relating to the use of an automated dial announcing device; and (2) enforce this subchapter. (b) A local...
- Texas Section 55.135 - Revocation Of Permit
The commission may revoke a person's permit if the person fails to comply with this subchapter. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff....
- Texas Section 55.136 - Disconnection Of Service
(a) If the commission or a court determines that a person has violated this subchapter, the commission or court shall require a telecommunications utility to...
- Texas Section 55.137 - Administrative Penalty
(a) The commission may impose an administrative penalty against a person who owns or operates an automated dial announcing device in violation of this subchapter...
SUBCHAPTER H PAY TELEPHONES
- Texas Section 55.138 - Criminal Penalty
(a) A person commits an offense if the person owns or operates an automated dial announcing device that the person knows is operating in violation...
- Texas Section 55.171 - Definition
In this subchapter, "provider" means an entity that provides pay telephone service, including: (1) an incumbent local exchange company; and (2) a subscriber to a...
- Texas Section 55.172 - Limitation
This subchapter prescribes the limits of: (1) the right of a provider to set the provider's rates and charges for pay telephone services; and (2)...
- Texas Section 55.173 - Registration
(a) A person may not provide pay telephone service in this state unless the person is registered with the commission. (b) This section does not...
- Texas Section 55.1735 - Charge For Pay Phone Access Line
The charge or surcharge a local exchange company imposes for an access line used to provide pay telephone service in an exchange may not exceed...
- Texas Section 55.174 - Prohibition On Charge For Certain Calls
A provider may not charge a person making a call on a pay telephone for: (1) local directory assistance; or (2) a call made under...
- Texas Section 55.175 - Charge For Local Calls
(a) The commission shall establish the limit on the amount a provider may charge for a pay telephone coin sent-paid call in the local exchange...
- Texas Section 55.176 - Charge For 800-type Calls
(a) A provider may charge at a pay telephone a fee of not more than 25 cents for initiating an 800-type call. (b) A provider...
- Texas Section 55.177 - Charge For Credit Card, Calling Card, Or Operator-assisted Calls
(a) A provider may not impose for a credit card, calling card, or live or automated operator-assisted call a rate or charge that is greater...
- Texas Section 55.178 - Notice Of Inability To Receive Calls
(a) A provider may not display the telephone number of a pay telephone that cannot receive telephone calls. (b) A provider shall place in a...
- Texas Section 55.179 - Information Requirements
(a) The commission by rule may prescribe the information that must be posted on a pay telephone. (b) A commission rule may not require a...
SUBCHAPTER I DIRECTORY LISTINGS AND ASSISTANCE
- Texas Section 55.180 - Violations
The commission may order the disconnection of pay telephone service for not more than one year for repeat violations of commission rules. Acts 1997, 75th...
- Texas Section 55.201 - Terms Of Directory Listings And Assistance
(a) Each company that provides local exchange telephone service in overlapping certificated areas shall negotiate the terms of printed directory listings and directory assistance in...
- Texas Section 55.202 - Directory Published By Telecommunications Utility
A telecommunications utility or an affiliate of that utility that publishes a residential or business telephone directory that is distributed to the public shall publish...
- Texas Section 55.203 - Directory Published By Private Publisher
(a) A private for-profit publisher of a residential telephone directory that is distributed to the public at minimal or no cost shall include in the...
SUBCHAPTER J TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE BY CERTAIN PROVIDERS
- Texas Section 55.204 - Electronic Telephone Directory
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a telecommunications provider or telecommunications utility, to further the recycling goals, may publish on the provider's or the utility's Internet...
- Texas Section 55.251 - Charge For Hotel Or Motel Call
A hotel or motel may not charge more than 50 cents for: (1) a local telephone call; (2) a credit card telephone call; (3) a...
- Texas Section 55.252 - 900 Service Used By Probationers Or Parolees
(a) This section applies only to a telecommunications utility that transports or provides an intrastate 900 service that is: (1) covered by a contract authorized...
SUBCHAPTER K SELECTION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS UTILITIES
- Texas Section 55.253 - Telephone Prepaid Calling Services
(a) In this section: (1) "Prepaid calling card company" means a company that provides a prepaid calling service to the public using its own network...
- Texas Section 55.301 - State Policy
It is the policy of this state to ensure that all customers are protected from the unauthorized switching of a telecommunications utility selected by the...
- Texas Section 55.302 - Commission Rules
(a) The commission shall adopt nondiscriminatory and competitively neutral rules to implement this subchapter, including rules that: (1) ensure that customers are protected from deceptive...
- Texas Section 55.303 - Verification Of Change
A telecommunications utility may verify a change order by: (1) obtaining written authorization from the customer; (2) obtaining a toll-free electronic authorization placed from the...
- Texas Section 55.304 - Unauthorized Change
(a) If a change in the selection of a customer's telecommunications utility is not made or verified in accordance with this subchapter, the change, on...
- Texas Section 55.305 - Corrective Action And Penalties
(a) If the commission finds that a telecommunications utility has repeatedly violated the commission's telecommunications utility selection rules, the commission shall order the utility to...
- Texas Section 55.306 - Repeated And Reckless Violation
If the commission finds that a telecommunications utility has repeatedly and recklessly violated the commission's telecommunications utility selection rules, the commission may, if consistent with...
- Texas Section 55.307 - Deceptive Or Fraudulent Practice
The commission may prohibit a utility from engaging in a deceptive or fraudulent practice, including a marketing practice, involving the selection of a customer's telecommunications...
- Texas Section 55.308 - Consistency With Federal Law
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, rules adopted by the commission under this subchapter shall be consistent with applicable federal laws and rules. Added...