New Hampshire Administrative Code

"Incumbent local exchange carrier operating as an excepted local exchange carrier (ILEC-ELEC)" means an ILEC which also meets the definition of an ELEC. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 402.12 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires…

Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 402.13 Reserved by Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

"Payphone" means any telephone made available to the public on a fee-per-call basis, independent of any other commercial transaction, for the purpose of making telephone calls, whether the telephone is activated by depositing coins, by calling collect, or by using a credit card. …

"Payphone service provider (PSP)" means a person or entity that offers telephone service on a fee per call basis with payment due at the time of the call, and that has been issued a certificate of registration by the department to provide payphone service. Notes N.H. Admin. Code …

"Reportable accident" means an accident occurring in New Hampshire in connection with the utility's property or facilities in which: (a) A fatality has occurred; (b) A serious injury has occurred; (c) Property damage over $100,000 has occurred, to the extent known by the utility;…

"Rural telephone company (RTC)" means an ILEC meeting the definition of rural telephone company under 47 U.S.C. § 153(44). Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 402.17 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at…

"Secretary of state certificate of authority" means the certificate of legal existence, certificate of authority, or other certification issued by the New Hampshire secretary of state which authorizes an entity to transact business in the state. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 402.18…

"Significant facility disruption" means an outage of facilities owned, operated, leased, or otherwise utilized by a telephone utility that is at least 30 minutes in duration and that: (a) Potentially affects at least 900,000 user minutes; (b) Affects at least 1,350 DS3 minutes; (…

"Telecommunications relay service (TRS)" means a service that enables telephone communication between hearing people and people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 402.20 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, E…

"Telephone utility" means a corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, and person, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court owning, operating, or managing any plant or equipment or any part of the same for the conveyance of teleph…

"Transfer of customer base" means the acquisition through a sale or transfer of all or a part of the customer base of another carrier. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 402.22 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revi…

"Voice service" means the conveyance of telephone messages for the public. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 402.23 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

The purpose of this part is to establish requirements for all telephone utilities. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 403.01 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

ILECs and ELECs shall comply with En 403 through 409. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 403.02 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 404.01 Reserved by Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

(a) No person or entity shall provide voice services in any area of New Hampshire unless and until that person or entity is registered as an ELEC authorized in that area. (b) To apply for authorization to provide voice service a person or entity shall complete and file Form T-8 "…

(a) When determining whether to grant or deny an application for registration pursuant to En 404.02, the department shall deny an application for registration if, and only if, it determines that the applicant or its general partners, corporate officers, directors of the company, …

Telephone utilities shall be assessed pursuant to RSA 363-A. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 404.04 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 404.05 Reserved by Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

Each ELEC and ILEC shall post the rates, fares, charges, prices, terms, and conditions of all voice services on its publicly available website. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 404.06 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 …

(a) Each ELEC shall notify the department immediately by telephone when it becomes aware that a reportable accident has occurred in connection with its facilities or property within the state of New Hampshire. (b) The ELEC shall contact the first representative listed for telepho…

(a) ELECs shall preserve all records required by En 200 and En 400 for a period of 2 years unless otherwise designated by the department's rules governing the preservation of records. (b) ELECs shall make available the records required to be preserved pursuant to (a) above to the…

(a) Unless otherwise specified, any notice to customers required by these rules shall:(1) Include the company name and relevant contact telephone number; (2) Be provided: a. In a separate mailing; b. As a bill insert; or c. By clear and conspicuous notice printed on the customer'…

(a) In connection with any transfer of customer base in which the acquiring carrier is a telephone utility, the acquiring carrier shall file with the commission and the department the following documents:(1) A copy of the letter notification and any subsequent notices of changed …

Before terminating any customer's telephone service for any reason other than customer request or customer non-payment of amounts billed for prior services rendered, ELECs providing local service shall provide at least 10 days' notice to the customer. This notice shall include a …

(a) Any payphone shall have the following functionalities, without charge to the customer: (1) A dial tone signal; (2) 911 emergency access; and (3) Access to TRS. (b) An ELEC that maintains payphones shall allow and assist the department when the department shall, from time to t…

(a) Telephone utilities shall construct, install, and maintain their plant, structures, equipment, and lines in accordance with the National Electrical Safety Code, 2023 edition, as available as noted in Appendix B. (b) Telephone utilities shall construct, install, and maintain t…

ELECs shall adopt generally accepted best industry practices or otherwise make reasonable provisions to: (a) Meet emergencies and storm restoration requirements for poles, conduits, ducts, pipes, pole attachments, wires, cables, and related plant and equipment located within publ…

(a) ELECs shall report significant facility disruptions within 120 minutes of occurrence by e-mail notification to svcTelcoOutage@energy.nh.gov. (b) The e-mail notification sent pursuant to (a) above shall accept reply messages from the department. (c) In the event the ELEC does …

ELECs shall cooperate with all carriers to ensure an ubiquitous telephone network in New Hampshire capable of completing all calls, over which customers perceive no transition from one carrier to the next. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 407.01 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, …

ELECs shall interconnect directly or indirectly with the facilities and equipment of other carriers. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 407.02 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for E…

At least 6 months prior to network changes which might affect existing or pending interconnections, ELECs shall make available necessary information relating to network design and technical standards, and information concerning changes to the network that affect interconnection. …

(a) ELECs shall provide answer and disconnect supervision in accordance with industry standards. (b) ELECs shall deliver to their customers all calls unless screened or blocked at the customer's request. (c) ELECs shall provide access to operator services pursuant to the Telecomm…

In addition to complying with Puc 406.01, ELECs shall comply with the following: (a) When porting a customer's number to another carrier, ELECs shall release the number without delay or consideration of any issue such as the customer's account balance. (b) ELECs that have impleme…

(a) If a carrier wishes to list its customers' telephone numbers in the same published white and yellow pages telephone directory or directories in which an ELEC causes its own customers' telephone numbers to be published, the ELEC shall permit such listing on a non-discriminator…

(a) Form T-1 "Contact and Trade Name Information" dated 6/2024 shall be completed and filed by the ELEC on or before March 31 of each year, and shall cover the most recent calendar year. (b) Form T-2 "Assessment Report" dated 6/2024 shall be completed and filed by the ELEC on or …

ELECs shall complete and file the following reports with the department within 30 days of the event that necessitates the filing, unless otherwise specified: (a) A Form T-1 "Contact and Trade Name Information" as dated 6/2024, on the occurrence of any change in the information on…

(a) ELECs shall submit all reports and forms to the department by the following methods: (1) Mail or other delivery to: New Hampshire Department of Energy 21 South Fruit Street, Suite 10 Concord, NH 03301-2429; or (2) Electronic report filing as the department shall provide on th…

ELECs which seek confidential treatment of any report or any portion of a report required by this Chapter shall comply with the applicable provisions of En 201.04, En 201.06, En 201.07, and En 203.08. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 408.04 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024,…

An ELEC may request that the department consider its withdrawal of authorization to operate as an ELEC by completing and filing Form T-9 "Withdrawal of Authorization to Operate as a Telephone Utility in New Hampshire" dated 6/2024. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 409.01 Derived from …

The purpose of this part is to establish additional requirements for all ILEC-ELECs. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 410.01 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

ILEC-ELECs shall comply with En 410. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 410.02 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 400).

(a) An ILEC-ELEC shall not require a customer to purchase or subscribe to any other service, feature, or product, whether separate from or in combination with basic service, or on an unbundled or bundled basis with basic service, in order to obtain basic service offered by the IL…

(a) An ILEC-ELEC shall not discontinue residential basic service in any portion of its franchise area without department authorization. (b) For purposes of this section, "discontinue" means:(1) Charging discriminatory construction costs or other non-recurring costs that would dis…

The department shall accept and resolve complaints from ILEC-ELEC customers regarding basic service. Notes N.H. Admin. Code § En 410.05 Derived from Number 28, Filed July 11, 2024, Proposed by #14015, Effective 7/1/2024, Expires7/1/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for E…

This section shall apply to VoIP service as defined in RSA 362:7, I(d) or an IP-enabled service as defined in RSA 362:7, I(e) that provides the voice capabilities described in RSA 362:7(d)(1) and (3), other than a cellular mobile radio communications service provider or any entit…

(a) Form T-1 "Contact and Trade Name Information" dated 6/2024 shall be completed and filed by the entities identified in En 411.01 on or before March 31 of each year, and shall cover the most recent calendar year. (b) Form T-2A "Assessment Report" dated 6/2024 shall be completed…