Sec. 307.

(1) Educational institutions shall have the authority to own, construct, and operate a telecommunication system or to purchase telecommunication services or facilities from an entity capable of providing the service or facility.

(2) Educational institutions that provide telecommunication services offered in subsection (3) shall not be subject to regulation under this act or by any other governmental unit.

(3) Educational institutions may only sell telecommunication services required for, or useful in, the instruction and training, including worker training, of students and other people utilizing the institution's educational services, the conducting of research, or the operation of the institution. The services shall not be considered basic local exchange services as long as they are used for the instruction and training of students and other people utilizing the institution's education services, the conducting of research, or the operation of the institution. Educational institutions may initiate and maintain cooperative arrangements with telecommunication providers without the institutions being subject to this act.

(4) Upon the request of an educational institution, telecommunication providers may provide to an educational institution services for the transmission of interactive data, voice and video communications between the institution's facilities or to the homes of students or employees of the institution, regardless of whether the exchanges are in the same or different LATAs.

(5) The rates for services provided to an educational institution by a provider under this section shall be determined by an open bid process.

(6) Except for a state institution of higher education, if an educational institution has excess capacity, it may sell the excess capacity subject to subsection (3) and to all of the following:

(a) The amount of capacity sold shall not exceed 25% of the institution's total capacity.

(b) The capacity shall not be sold below the total service long run incremental cost of the provider of basic local exchange service in the service area of the educational institution. If there is more than 1 provider in the service area, the educational institution shall use the lowest total service long run incremental cost.

(c) The educational institution has held not less than 1 public hearing on the proposed plan to sell the excess capacity. The educational institution shall give notice of the time and place of the public hearing not less than 15 days before the hearing by 1 publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the geographic area in which the excess capacity is to be sold. Notice shall also be provided on the educational institution's website.

History: 1991, Act 179, Eff. Jan. 1, 1992 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 216, Imd. Eff. Nov. 30, 1995 ;-- Am. 2005, Act 235, Imd. Eff. Nov. 22, 2005