§275 Alarm monitoring services

Summary

No Bell operating company or its affiliate may start offering alarm monitoring services until the date that is 5 years after February 8, 1996. If a Bell operating company or its affiliate was already giving those services on November 30, 1995, it may keep doing so. But those companies cannot buy or take financial control of an alarm monitoring company that is not affiliated with them after November 30, 1995 and until 5 years after February 8, 1996. They may trade customers with an unaffiliated alarm company. An incumbent local exchange carrier that offers alarm monitoring must give other, nonaffiliated providers the same network services it uses, on fair and equal terms, and must not hide costs by subsidizing alarm services from regular phone service revenues. The Commission must create complaint rules, decide final complaints within 120 days, and may order a carrier to stop a harmful practice within 60 days if the complaint shows a likely violation. Local phone carriers may not record or use alarm-call content for marketing. Rules to enforce that must be issued within 6 months after February 8, 1996. Defined terms: alarm monitoring service — a service using a device at a fixed location to get signals about threats (like burglary, fire, vandalism, injury, or other emergencies) and send those signals over a local carrier’s network to a remote center so someone there can notify the customer or emergency responders. Incumbent local exchange carrier — the established local phone company (defined elsewhere).