Arkansas Administrative Code

23 CAR § 466-1102. Repair service answering time. (a) The answer time for calls directed to a repair service number should be twenty (20) seconds or less. (b) For purposes of evaluating the quality of service, the average answer time for one hundred percent (100%) of the calls sh…

23 CAR § 466-1103. Local exchange traffic capability. Local central office equipment shall meet the following minimum requirements during an average busy hour of the busy season: (1) Dial tone delay. (A) A calling party should receive dial tone within three (3) seconds. (B) For t…

23 CAR § 466-1104. Interoffice traffic capability. Trunk circuit groups shall have sufficient capacity to allow the following percentages of call completions without encountering an all-trunks busy signal during the average busy hour of the busy season: (1) Toll connecting calls,…

23 CAR § 466-1105. Local exchange central office call completion. Central office switching equipment shall be engineered and maintained to complete at least ninety-eight percent (98%) of all intraoffice test calls originated with standard industry switching service analyzers.…

23 CAR § 466-1106. Emergency power operation. (a) Each LEC shall provide emergency power for each central office. (b) Each central office without a permanently installed emergency power system shall be wired to permit connection of a mobile emergency power unit, and there shall b…

23 CAR § 466-1107. Transmission standards. (a) General information. (1)(A) Both the objectives and the limits for transmission values are presented in this part. (B) However, values that are between an objective and the respective maximum or minimum limit are not violations, thou…

23 CAR § 466-111. Safe and adequate service. (a) Each TP shall operate and maintain its entire system so that service is safe, adequate, and reliable. (b) Each TP shall inspect its entire system as necessary to have a reasonable knowledge of the system’s condition at all times.…

23 CAR § 466-112. Construction standards. (a) For new construction of a TP plant, the current issues of the American National Standard Institute’s National Electrical Safety Code published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., and/or the NFPA 70: Nationa…

23 CAR § 466-113. Facility identification. (a)(1) TP facilities shall be marked or numbered in accordance with the current issues of the NESC to identify the owner and location, e.g., Sections 217A3, 220D, and 220E in the 1993 NESC. (2) The date the facilities or equipment were f…

23 CAR § 466-114. Marking locations of underground facilities. Unless otherwise agreed to by the excavator, each TP shall mark the approximate location of its underground facilities, in compliance with Arkansas Code §§ 14-271-110 and 14-271-111, within two (2) business days of no…

23 CAR § 466-1201. Request to the Arkansas Public Service Commission for EAS. (a) If the request is for two-way EAS, customers in each requesting exchange must provide a customer petition or a resolution of the customers’ quorum court or other governing body. (b) Petition by cust…

23 CAR § 466-1202. EAS rate. (a) The EAS rate shall include the ILEC’s revenue that is replaced by EAS, which is lost toll revenue. (b) The EAS rate may include other just and reasonable costs related to the new EAS route, such as additional facilities and changes in access costs…

23 CAR § 466-1203. EAS election process. (a) Balloting shall occur within forty-five (45) days of an Arkansas Public Service Commission order: (1) Approving the ballot and implementation date; and (2) Verifying the rate or rates. (b)(1) At least fifteen (15) days prior to the bal…

23 CAR § 466-1204. Postelection notification. (a) Customers shall be notified of the results of the election within forty-five (45) days of the ballot certification date. (b) Notification may be by: (1) Mail; (2) Bill insert; (3) Bill message; or (4) Other reasonable means. (c) T…

23 CAR § 466-1205. Timeframe for new EAS election or rate. (a) An EAS election is considered valid for five (5) years from the ballot certification date. (b) During this time an ILEC is not required to provide a new EAS rate or have a new election for the same route.…

23 CAR § 466-1206. ILEC initiation of new EAS rate. Consistent with Arkansas Code § 23-17-414(b)(2) and § 23-17-414(c), after the initial election and implementation of EAS, the ILEC can initiate a proceeding with the Arkansas Public Service Commission to change the rate or rates…

23 CAR § 466-1301. Provision of service. (a) To ensure the continued provision of interexchange telecommunication services in a manner consistent with the public interest, it is the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s policy that every local exchange area have access to interexc…

23 CAR § 466-1302. Certification. (a) No TP shall offer intrastate long distance or toll service within Arkansas without first obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Arkansas Public Service Commission. (b) All applications shall be made in accordance…

23 CAR § 466-1303. Records. All TPs’ records required by this part, or necessary for the administration thereof, shall be maintained in a manner so as to be readily available to the Arkansas Public Service Commission or its authorized representative upon request.

23 CAR § 466-1304. Required billing information. (a) TP bills shall be rendered not later than ninety (90) days after service is provided. (b) Such bills shall contain the following information: (1) Name and telephone number or identifying number under which service is billed; (2…

23 CAR § 466-1305. Overbilling and underbilling. (a) Where a TP has overbilled a customer, the TP shall make a refund or billing credit in a subsequent billing cycle following discovery and computation of the overbilled amount. (b) When a TP bills a customer an amount correcting …

23 CAR § 466-1306. Wrong number credit. When a customer reaches a wrong number on an intrastate toll call and promptly notifies the appropriate TP representative, the TP shall credit the customer’s account for that call.

23 CAR § 466-1307. Prepaid services. (a) Prepaid services shall be permitted. (b) Amounts received for prepaid services shall not be treated as deposits.

23 CAR § 466-1308. Deposits. TPs may require deposits from customers and shall pay interest thereon at the rate prescribed by the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

23 CAR § 466-1401. Description. (a) The Rural Saver Optional Calling Plan provides for residential calling to a customer’s county seat plus calling to other exchanges within a forty-one-mile (radius) circle. (b) The plan is further defined as follows: (1) Only intrastate, intraLA…

23 CAR § 466-1402. Availability. (a)(1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall determine the ILEC exchanges to be served based on total access lines. (2) Initially, the exchange size to be served shall be no more than two thousand six hundred (2,600) total access lines. (3)…

23 CAR § 466-1403. Rates. (a)(1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall determine rates pursuant to Arkansas Code § 23-17-120(b)(1). (2) The initial rates shall be: (A) Monthly End-User Charge Per Access Line $2.50 (B) Per-Minute Usage Charge $0.00 (C) Other Monthly End-Use…

23 CAR § 466-1404. Arkansas Calling Plan Fund. (a) Request for calling plan funds. (1) Each ILEC/ETC providing the Rural Saver Optional Calling Plan shall provide a monthly fund request to the administrator on a form the administrator prescribes. (2) Each ILEC/ETC shall request f…

23 CAR § 466-1501. Aggregator location. (a) Posting requirements. Each operator services provider (OSP) shall: (1) Ensure by contract or tariff that each aggregator, for which such provider is the presubscribed provider of operator services, posts on or near the telephone instrum…

23 CAR § 466-1502. Answering time. (a) Operator assistance. (1) The operator answer time for operator-assisted calls should be ten (10) seconds or less. (2) For purposes of evaluating the quality of service, the average operator answer time for one hundred percent (100%) of the c…

23 CAR § 466-1601. Public interest payphone service. (a)(1) To request that a public interest payphone be installed or operated in an exchange, an individual, municipality, governmental entity, nonprofit corporation, or public service organization shall submit a written request t…

23 CAR § 466-201. Service information. (a) Printing requirements. (1) Each LEC shall provide the information required in subsection (b) of this section: (A) In the form of one (1) or more brochures; or (B) By including the information in the front of a telephone directory distrib…

23 CAR § 466-202. Directory listing for billing and services. (a) Each LEC shall list, in a local exchange directory covering any area it serves, the telephone numbers that customers may call toll free to report problems or ask about bills or services. (b) Collect calls accepted …

23 CAR § 466-203. Customer notice of rule and service changes. (a)(1) The General Staff of the Arkansas Public Service Commission will provide an annual summary of Arkansas Public Service Commission-approved changes to this part. (2) Each LEC shall annually update the information…

23 CAR § 466-204. Service, usage, and billing history information. (a) Customers or former customers shall be able to obtain a statement of the customer’s account record as recorded under 23 CAR § 466-702. (b) The customer shall be informed at the time of the request of any charg…

23 CAR § 466-205. Customer service. (a) Service requirements. LEC personnel who serve the public shall be familiar with the content of all Arkansas Public Service Commission rules that apply to their respective job responsibilities. (b) Customer access to business office personne…

23 CAR § 466-206. Complaints to the local exchange carrier. (a) An LEC shall fully and promptly investigate all complaints. (b) LECs shall ensure that personnel follow these procedures and meet these standards: (1) Personnel. LEC employees responsible for dealing with the public …

23 CAR § 466-207. Complaints to the Arkansas Public Service Commission — Informal complaints. (a) Information required. (1) Complaints may be in written or oral form. (2) Complainants shall give: (A) A name; (B) An address; (C) The name of the LEC involved; (D) The account number…

23 CAR § 466-301. Application for service. (a) Application methods. New service, additional service, transfer of service, or a change in service may be requested in writing or, at the discretion of the LEC, by telephone. (b) Record of application. Each LEC must keep a record of e…

23 CAR § 466-302. Application form submission requirements. A current copy of the form to be used for the application for service and any revisions to that form shall be provided to the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Consumer Services Office.

23 CAR § 466-303. Extension of service. (a) Requirements for extension of service. Extension of facilities shall be made according to the: (1) Requirements in: (A) 23 CAR §§ 466-901 – 466-903; and (B) The Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, 23 CA…

23 CAR § 466-304. Refusing service. (a) Reasons for refusal. An LEC may refuse service to an applicant for the following reasons: (1)(A) A bill from the LEC for telecommunications service remains unpaid in the applicant’s name. (B) Exception. An LEC may not refuse service to an a…

23 CAR § 466-305. Disputed charge — Providing service. (a) When an LEC refuses to serve an applicant for not paying a previous bill and the applicant disputes the amount due, the applicant may complain to the Arkansas Public Service Commission. (b)(1) An LEC may require a deposit…

23 CAR § 466-401. Deposits from applicants. (a)(1) Conditions. An LEC may require a deposit from any applicant to guarantee payment for service, subject to the conditions in subdivisions (a)(2) and (3) of this section. (2) An LEC may not require a deposit or other guaranty based …

23 CAR § 466-402. Deposits from customers. (a) Conditions. An LEC may only require a new deposit or an increase in the amount of a deposit from a customer for the following reasons: (1) The customer failed to pay a bill before the close of business on the shut-off date within the…

23 CAR § 466-403. Calculation of average bill. (a) For adequate billing history. The average bill is the total of the last four (4) months’ bills divided by four (4). (b) For inadequate billing history. If a customer or an applicant for service has fewer than four (4) months’ bil…

23 CAR § 466-404. Guaranty in place of a deposit. (a) Requirements. (1) Residential customers. (A) Instead of a deposit, an LEC shall accept the written guaranty of a qualified third party to pay an amount equal to the deposit. (B) If a third party is a residential customer of th…