Sec. 16-256c. Extended local calling criteria. Calling volume. Subscriber survey and vote. Petitions.

(a) In establishing criteria for the granting of extended local calling service to a telephone exchange, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may consider the volume of calls made by such exchange to other exchanges; provided, in considering whether to grant extended local calling service to a telephone exchange within the lowest exchange classification, the calling volume of such exchange shall not be the exclusive or determinative factor.

(b) In any survey of the subscribers of a telephone exchange subject to reclassification which is conducted by a telephone company in response to a petition for extended local calling telephone service, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall approve and order such extended local calling if, after a hearing, the authority finds that more than fifty per cent of the responding subscribers in each exchange required to be surveyed vote in favor of the additional extended local calling route and at least fifty per cent of all subscribers in each exchange required to be surveyed respond to the survey; provided, only validly completed and signed ballots shall be used in computing the required percentages.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall consider a petition for extended local calling when (1) the petition is from an exchange which serves less than thirty-eight thousand equivalent main stations, (2) the petition is sponsored by the chief administrative officer of a distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9p, which municipality is within the petitioning exchange, (3) the toll messages on the route requested average greater than or equal to four calls per customer per month from the petitioning exchange over a six-month period, and (4) the petitioning exchange has extended local calling to a contiguous exchange which has extended local calling to the exchange to which extended local calling is sought.

(P.A. 79-330; P.A. 80-242; 80-482, S. 4, 40, 345, 348; P.A. 85-36; 85-187, S. 14, 15; P.A. 95-217, S. 8; P.A. 96-266, S. 2; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 80-242 added Subsec. (b) re extension of local calling through survey of subscribers; P.A. 80-482 made division of public utility control an independent department and abolished department of business regulation; P.A. 85-36 changed, from at least 51% to more than 50%, the favorable vote necessary to require department order for extended local calling; P.A. 85-187 changed effective date of P.A. 85-36 from October 1, 1985 to June 1, 1985; P.A. 95-217 added new Subsec. (c) re requirements to petition for extended local calling; P.A. 96-266 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to increase to 38,000 the maximum number of equivalent main stations; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority”, effective July 1, 2011.