Sec. 102.

As used in this act:

(a) "Access service" means access to a local exchange network for the purpose of enabling a provider to originate or terminate telecommunication services within the local exchange. Except for end-user common line services, access service does not include access service to a person who is not a provider.

(b) "Basic local exchange service" or "local exchange service" means the provision of an access line and usage within a local calling area for the transmission of high-quality 2-way interactive switched voice or data communication.

(c) "Broadband service" means a retail service capable of transmitting data over an access line at a rate greater than 200 kilobits per second.

(d) "Cable service" means 1-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or other programming services and subscriber interaction for the selection of video programming or other programming services.

(e) "Commission" means the Michigan public service commission.

(f) "Contested case" or "case" means a proceeding as defined in section 3 of the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.203.

(g) "Educational institution" means a public educational institution or a private non-profit educational institution approved by the department of education to provide a program of primary, secondary, or higher education, a public library, or a nonprofit association or consortium whose primary purpose is education. A nonprofit association or consortium under this subdivision shall consist of 2 or more of the following:

(i) Public educational institutions.

(ii) Nonprofit educational institutions approved by the department of education.

(iii) The state board of education.

(iv) Telecommunication providers.

(v) A nonprofit association of educational institutions or consortium of educational institutions.

(h) "End user" means the retail subscriber of a telecommunication service.

(i) "Energy management services" means a service of a public utility providing electric power, heat, or light for energy use management, energy use control, energy use information, and energy use communication.

(j) "Exchange" means 1 or more contiguous central offices and all associated facilities within a geographical area in which basic local exchange service is offered by a provider.

(k) "Information services" or "enhanced services" means the offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available information, including energy management services, that is conveyed by telecommunications. Information services or enhanced services do not include the use of that capability for the management, control, or operation of a telecommunications system or the management of a telecommunications service.

(l) "Interconnection" means the technical arrangements and other elements necessary to permit the connection between the switched networks of 2 or more providers to enable a telecommunication service originating on the network of 1 provider to terminate on the network of another provider.

(m) "License" means a license issued under this act.

(n) "Line" or "access line" means the medium over which a telecommunication user connects into the local exchange.

(o) "Local calling area" means a geographic area encompassing 1 or more local communities as described in maps, tariffs, or rate schedules filed with and approved by the commission.

(p) "Local directory assistance" means the provision by telephone of a listed telephone number within the caller's area code.

(q) "Local exchange rate" means the monthly and usage rate, including all necessary and attendant charges, imposed for basic local exchange service to customers.

(r) "Loop" means the transmission facility between the network interface on a subscriber's premises and the main distribution frame in the servicing central office.

(s) "Operator service" means a telecommunication service that includes automatic or live assistance to a person to arrange for completion and billing of a telephone call originating within this state that is specified by the caller through a method other than 1 of the following:

(i) Automatic completion with billing to the telephone from which the call originated.

(ii) Completion through an access code or a proprietary account number used by the person, with billing to an account previously established with the provider by the person.

(iii) Completion in association with directory assistance services.

(t) "Operator service provider" or "OSP" means a provider of operator service.

(u) "Payphone service" means a telephone call provided from a public, semipublic, or individually owned and operated telephone that is available to the public and is accessed by the depositing of coin or currency or by other means of payment at the time the call is made.

(v) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, governmental entity, or any other legal entity.

(w) "Person with disabilities" means an individual who has 1 or more of the following physical characteristics:

(i) Blindness.

(ii) Inability to ambulate more than 200 feet without having to stop and rest during any time of the year.

(iii) Loss of use of 1 or both legs or feet.

(iv) Inability to ambulate without the prolonged use of a wheelchair, walker, crutches, braces, or other device required to aid mobility.

(v) A lung disease from which the individual's expiratory volume for 1 second, when measured by spirometry, is less than 1 liter, or from which the individual's arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg of room air at rest.

(vi) A cardiovascular disease from which the individual measures between 3 and 4 on the New York heart classification scale, or from which a marked limitation of physical activity causes fatigue, palpitation, dyspnea, or anginal pain.

(vii) Other diagnosed disease or disorder including, but not limited to, severe arthritis or a neurological or orthopedic impairment that creates a severe mobility limitation.

(x) "Port", except for the loop, means the entirety of local exchange, including dial tone, a telephone number, switching software, local calling, and access to directory assistance, a white pages listing, operator services, and interexchange and intra-LATA toll carriers.

(y) "Public safety system" means a communication system operated by a public entity to provide emergency police, fire, medical, and other first responder services. Public safety system includes the Michigan state police communication system.

(z) "Reasonable rate" or "just and reasonable rate" means a rate that is not inadequate, excessive, or unreasonably discriminatory.

(aa) "Residential customer" means a person to whom telecommunication services are furnished predominantly for personal or domestic purposes at the person's dwelling.

(bb) "Special access" means the provision of access service, other than switched access service, to a local exchange network for the purpose of enabling a provider to originate or terminate telecommunication service within the exchange, including the use of local private lines.

(cc) "State institution of higher education" means an institution of higher education described in sections 4, 5, and 6 of article VIII of the state constitution of 1963.

(dd) "Telecommunications act of 1996" means Public Law 104-104.

(ee) "Telecommunication provider" or "provider" means a person that for compensation provides 1 or more telecommunication services. Telecommunication provider does not include a provider of commercial mobile service as defined in section 332(d)(1) of the telecommunications act of 1996, 47 USC 332.

(ff) "Telecommunication services" or "services" includes regulated and unregulated services offered to customers for the transmission of 2-way interactive communication and associated usage. A telecommunication service is not a public utility service.

(gg) "Toll service" means the transmission of 2-way interactive switched communication between local calling areas. Toll service does not include individually negotiated contracts for similar telecommunication services or wide area telecommunications service.

(hh) "Total service long run incremental cost" means, given current service demand, including associated costs of every component necessary to provide the service, 1 of the following:

(i) The total forward-looking cost of a telecommunication service, relevant group of services, or basic network component, using current least cost technology that would be required if the provider had never offered the service.

(ii) The total cost that the provider would incur if the provider were to initially offer the service, group of services, or basic network component.

(ii) "Wide area telecommunications service" or "WATS" means the transmission of 2-way interactive switched communication over a dedicated access line.

History: 1991, Act 179, Eff. Jan. 1, 1992 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 216, Imd. Eff. Nov. 30, 1995 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 41, Imd. Eff. Mar. 18, 1998 ;-- Am. 2005, Act 235, Imd. Eff. Nov. 22, 2005 ;-- Am. 2011, Act 58, Imd. Eff. June 14, 2011