Public Service Commission

103-622. Customer Billing. Every telephone utility shall render each customer an accurate and timely bill.

103-622.1. Bill Forms. Each telephone utility’s bill must comply with the Federal Communications Commission’s ‘‘Truth in Billing Requirements’’ that are in effect at the time the utility’s bill is prepared.

103-622.2. Late Payment Charges. A maximum of one and one half percent (1 1/2 %) may be added to any unpaid balance brought forward from the previous billing date to cover the cost of collection and carrying accounts in arrears. This method of late payment charge will be made in …

103-622.3. Disconnection and Reconnection. Whenever regulated telephone service is denied or discontinued for any appropriate reason, the telephone utility may make a tariffed charge for cost incurred in disconnecting or discontinuing the regulated telephone service and reconnect…

103-622.4. Payment by Check. The telephone utility, at its option for good cause, may refuse to accept a check tendered as payment on a customer’s account.

103-622.5. Deferred Payment Plan. The telephone utility may provide for the arrangement of a deferred payment plan to enable a residential customer to make payment by installments where such customer is unable to pay the amount due for service. The deferred payment plan may requi…

103-623. Adjustment of Bills. If it is found that a telephone utility has directly or indirectly, by any devise whatsoever, demanded, charged, collected or received from any customer a greater or lesser compensation for any service rendered or to be rendered by such telephone uti…

103-623.1. Customer Willfully Overcharged. If the telephone utility has willfully overcharged any customer, the telephone utility shall refund the difference, plus interest, as stated in the South Carolina Code of Laws Section 34-31-20(A) or such future Code of Laws of South Caro…

103-623.2. Customer Inadvertently Overcharged. If the telephone utility has inadvertently overcharged a customer as a result of a misapplied schedule or any other human or machine error, the telephone utility shall, for any amount of one dollar ($1.00) or more (amounts less than …

103-623.3. Customer Undercharged Due to Willfully Misleading Company. If the telephone utility has undercharged any customer as a result of a fraudulent or willfully misleading action of that customer, or any action by any person (other than the employees or agents of the telepho…

103-623.4. Customer Undercharged Due to Human or Machine Error. If the telephone utility has undercharged any customer as a result of a misapplied schedule, or any human or machine error then the telephone utility may recover the deficient amount as follows: a. If the interval du…

103-624. Applications for Regulated Service.

103-624.1. Method. Applications for service may be oral or in writing.

103-624.2. Obligation. The applicant shall, at the option of the telephone utility, be required to sign a service agreement or a contract. In the absence of such service agreement or contract, the accepted application shall constitute a contract between the telephone utility and …

103-624.3. Termination. When a customer desires to have his service terminated, he must notify the telephone utility. Such notification may be oral or in writing. The telephone utility shall be allowed a reasonable period of time after the receipt of such notice to send a final b…

103-625. Reasons for Denial or Discontinuance of Service. Service may be refused or discontinued for any of the reasons listed below, for any reason set forth in the utility’s tariffs, or for any reason set forth in the utility’s individual contracts for services. Unless otherwis…

103-626. Insufficient Reasons for Denying Service. The following shall not constitute cause for refusal of service to a present or prospective customer: a. Non-payment for services by a previous occupant of the premises to be served, unless such previous occupant shall benefit fr…

103-627. Rights of Access. The authorized agents of the telephone utility shall have the right of access to the premises supplied with telephone service, at reasonable hours, for the purpose of maintenance, removal and inspection or for any other purpose which is proper and neces…

103-628. Complaints. A. Complaints concerning the charges, practices, facilities, or service of the telephone utility shall be investigated promptly and thoroughly by the telephone utility. The telephone utility shall keep such records of customer complaints as will enable it to …

103-629. Tariffs, Rules and Regulations. A copy of the telephone utility’s tariffs as filed with the commission and provided to the ORS shall be available for inspection by the public. HISTORY: Amended by State Register Volume 14, Issue No. 3, eff March 23, 1990; State Register V…

103-630. System Which Telephone Utility Must Maintain. Each telephone utility, unless specifically relieved in any case by the commission from such obligation, shall operate and maintain in safe, efficient and proper conditions, all of the facilities and instrumentalities used in…

103-631. Directory Information. Each utility is responsible for having the name, address, and telephone numbers of all of its customers listed in a telephone directory or electronic database, except public telephone and telephone service unlisted at customer’s request. A customer…

103-633. Procedures for Termination of Service. Service may be terminated for non-payment of a bill, provided that the telephone utility has made a reasonable attempt to effect collection and has given the customer written notice that he has five days in which to make settlement …

103-640. Requirements for Good Engineering Practice. The plant of each telephone utility shall be constructed, installed, maintained, and operated in accordance with accepted good engineering practices and regulations, included by reference as part of these rules as far as possib…

103-641. Acceptable Standards. Unless otherwise specified by the commission, each telephone utility shall use the applicable provision in the publication listed below as standards of accepted good practices: a. Latest edition of The National Electrical Safety Code. HISTORY: Amend…

103-642. Acceptable References. Newton’s Telecom Dictionary as published by CMP Books. HISTORY: Amended by State Register Volume 18, Issue No. 4, eff April 22, 1994: State Register Volume 31, Issue No. 4, eff April 27, 2007.

103-643. Adequacy of Service. The capacity of the telephone utility’s plant shall be sufficiently large to meet all reasonably expected requests for service. See R. 103-663(1). Where new construction is required, reasonable allowance will be made for construction and activation o…

103-644. Inspection of Plant. A. Each telephone utility shall adopt a program of inspection of its plant in order to determine the necessity for replacement and repair. The frequency of various inspections shall be based on the telephone utility’s experience and accepted good pra…

103-645. Hazardous Locations. Explosive Atmospheres and Other Hazardous Locations. No telephone utility shall be required to install or maintain any of its apparatus or equipment in explosive atmospheres, or at outdoor or other locations which, in its judgment, are not suitable f…

103-646. Emergency Operation. A. Telephone utilities shall make reasonable provisions to meet emergencies resulting from failures of lighting or power services, unusual and prolonged increases in traffic, illness of personnel, or from fire, storm, or other acts of God and inform …

103-650. Telephone Utility Inspection and Test. A. Each telephone utility shall adopt a program of periodic tests, inspections, and preventive maintenance aimed at achieving efficient operation of its system and the rendition of safe, adequate and continuous service. B. Each tele…

103-651. ORS Inspection and Test. When inspections, audits, or examinations are conducted by the ORS, its staff, or its representatives, to ensure or determine if the provision of these rules herein contained are being adhered to, each telephone utility shall assist with such tes…

103-652. Testing Facilities. A. Each telephone utility shall, unless specifically excused by the commission, provide such instruments and other equipment and facilities as may be necessary to make the tests required of it by these rules or other orders of the commission or as rea…

103-653. Trouble Reports. A. Each telephone utility shall provide for the receipt of customer trouble reports at all hours and make a full and prompt investigation of all trouble reports. Each telephone utility shall maintain an accurate record of trouble reports made by its cust…

103-654. Maintenance of Plant and Equipment. A. Each telephone utility shall adopt and pursue a maintenance program aimed at achieving efficient operation of its system so as to permit the rendering of safe, adequate and continuous service at all times. B. Maintenance shall inclu…

103-660. Quality of Service. It shall be the obligation of each telephone utility, dependent upon their ability to procure and retain suitable facilities and rights for the construction and maintenance of the necessary circuits, to furnish reasonably adequate telephone service to…

103-661. Interruptions of Service. A. Each telephone utility shall make reasonable efforts to avoid interruptions of service, but when interruptions occur, service shall be reestablished within the shortest time practicable, consistent with safety. B. Planned interruptions shall …

103-662. Restrictions on Use of Service. Each telephone utility may impose reasonable restrictions on the use of telephone service during periods of excessive demand or other difficulty which jeopardizes the quality of service to any group of customers. HISTORY: Amended by State …

103-663. Service Standards.

103-663.1. Availability of Service. Orders for new service, where all tariff requirements have been met, shall be completed within the interval shown below after receipt of the application, excepting those where a later date is requested by the customer or where special equipment…

103-663.2. Equipment Requirements. A. The central office and interoffice trunk equipment shall be maintained so as to meet the following standards during an average business day (8:00 AM to 5:00 PM): Failure rate on intraoffice calls— ¢ 1.5% Failure rate on interoffice calls— ¢ 3…

103-663.3. Subscriber Loop-Transmission Objectives. The following standards are objectives to be used by the ORS staff during testing at the subscriber’s station protector. Acceptable measurements are: DC Line Current: greater than 20 mA Circuit Loss: less than 8.5 db Circuit Noi…

103-663.4. Dialtone. Central office equipment shall be maintained so as to meet the following standards: 98% of all calls shall receive dialtone within three (3) seconds.

103-663.5. Answering Time. Each telephone utility shall provide adequate personnel and equipment so as to meet the following service objectives under normal operating conditions: a. Toll and operator assistance calls answered within 10 seconds (does not include directory assistan…

103-663.6. Customer Trouble Reports. A. Service by each telephone utility shall be such that the number of customer trouble reports per 100 total access lines in service per month shall not exceed the following: EXCHANGE/REPORTING GROUP SIZE OBJECTIVE OVER 7,500 ACCESS LINES 5.0 …

103-663.7. Customer Out of Service Trouble Clearing Time. Provisions shall be made to normally clear all out of service troubles within twenty-four hours of the reported time to the telephone utility, excluding weekends and holidays, unless the customer agrees to another arrangem…

103-670. Acceptable Standards. As criteria of accepted good safety practice the commission will use the applicable provisions of the standard listed in R.103-641. HISTORY: Amended by State Register Volume 31, Issue No. 4, eff April 27, 2007.