Subject 515-6-1 TELEPHONE COMPANIES' CERTIFICATES
Terms used in these rules have the following meaning:
| (a) |
"Applicant"--Any person who
requests the issuance of a certificate to construct, acquire, or operate any
telephone line, plant or system, or extension thereof pursuant to the
provisions of the Act approved February 17, 1950, Georgia Laws 1950, p.
311. |
| (b) |
"Certificate"--Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
issued by the Commission to telephone utilities as provided by said
Act. |
| (c) |
"Commission"--Georgia Public Service Commission. |
| (d) |
"Exchange Area"--The
corporate limits of the municipality or the local community area in which
reasonably adequate local exchange telephone service is, or is proposed to be
furnished, together with such rural areas contiguous thereto as are served, or
as are proposed to be served with reasonably adequate local exchange service
from the exchange in question. |
| (e) |
"Facilities"--All property, means and instrumentalities owned,
operated, leased, licensed, used, furnished, or supplied for, by or in
connection with the rendition of telephone service to the public. |
| (f) |
"Line"--One or more
telephone circuits used in the transmission of voice communication between any
two points including physical or phantom circuits, carrier, radiorelay or
coaxial channels, and including aerial wire and aerial, underground, buried or
submarine cable circuits, irrespective of whether such circuits are used for
toll or exchange telephone service. |
| (g) |
"Person"--Any corporation,
company, person, partnership, firm, association or any cooperative nonprofit
membership corporation or limited dividend or mutual association now or
hereafter created. |
| (h) |
"Plant"--Property which is necessary to provide service to the
public as set forth in the various fixed capital accounts of the Uniform System
of Accounts for telephone companies. |
| (i) |
"Service"--The act or means
of supplying voice communication to the public by telephone. |
| (j) |
"System"--The coordinated
facilities, including central office equipment, outside plant and subscriber
instrumentalities, used to provide telephone service to the public. |
| (k) |
"Toll Line"--For the purpose
of distinguishing between certificates for exchange areas and for toll lines, a
toll line is a "line" as herein defined used in the transmission of voice
communication between any two or more exchanges, as distinguished from
interoffice trunks between individual central offices within a single exchange
area. |
| (l) |
"Utility"--Any person as herein defined engaged in supplying
telephone service to the public in Georgia. |
No person shall construct or operate any line, plant or
system, or any extension thereof, or acquire ownership or control thereof,
either directly or indirectly, without first obtaining from the Commission a
certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity
require, or will require, such construction, operation or acquisition. Any
person engaged in the construction or operation of any line, plant, or system,
or any extension thereof as of February 17, 1950, shall be entitled to receive
such a certificate for the territory being served by such person on February
17, 1950, upon proper proof that such applicant is providing reasonably
adequate service, if application therefor is made prior to February 17,
1951.
All applications for a Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity must be in writing on the application form prescribed and furnished
by the Commission. This form must be filled out completely and verified by the
applicant. If the applicant is a corporation or association, any officer or
director thereof may verify the application. The application shall be filed in
duplicate, the original of which is verified, and where other parties
interested in the subject matter of the application are named therein, there
shall be filed one additional copy for each such named party, together with
such other additional copies as may be required by the Commission. Upon receipt
of the application the Commission will designate a time and place of hearing
and cause notice thereof to be given by mail or personal service to the chief
executive office of the municipality or municipalities affected, if any, and
shall publish such notice at the applicant's expense, once a week for three
consecutive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in each territory
affected. The Commission, in its discretion, may waive notice and hearing of
applications for certificates covering territory served on February 17,
1950.
If the applicant is a corporation, a certified copy of its
articles of incorporation and amendments thereto shall be annexed to the
application unless otherwise on file with the Commission.
Certificates will be issued by the Commission in three forms,
viz: "Exchange Areas","Subscriber Line", and "Toll Line", and a separate
application must be filed for each type of certificate. An "Exchange Area"
certificate authorizes the operation or construction of an integrated exchange
telephone system, including all rural lines served therefrom. "Subscriber Line"
certificates are issued to authorize the operation or construction of exchange
lines providing local service which are not owned by the operator of the
exchange facilities from which service is, or is proposed to be furnished.
"Toll Line" certificates are required for authorization to operate or construct
any long distance toll circuit or circuits within the State of Georgia as
provided under (d) of 515-6-1-.16 and(e) of
515-6-1-.17.
Subscribers who own lines may file application for a
certificate for the lines which they own. Certificates requested by telephone
utilities shall not include subscriber-owned lines unless the utility obtains
title to such lines and renders service therefrom at rates applicable to rural
service rendered from company-owned lines.
A separate application shall be filed for each exchange area
for which a certificate is desired, and except as follows, a certified copy of
any franchise held for that exchange area shall be attached to the application.
If no franchise is held, this fact must be stated. The Commission will not
require the filing of a franchise for territory served on February 17,
1950.
Applications for a certificate covering exchange area
facilities in service and extent of service provided as of February 17, 1950,
shall contain a description of the area, territory or location which applicant
serves, and a county map or county maps as prepared by the Division of Highway
Planning, State Department of Transportation, shall be annexed to the
application on which is clearly shown the area, lines or territory for which a
certificate is requested. All rural telephone lines extending beyond the
corporate limits of the community, or beyond the base rate area, shall be
accurately shown on this map, indicating location of the lines and their
termination. Maps shall be prepared as set forth in "Instructions for Preparing
Maps" using symbols as shown therein.
Applications for a certificate covering facilities in service
and extent of service provided as of February 17, 1950, shall not include
proposed construction or extension of plant to serve an enlargement of the
service area. Such new territory applications shall be filed
separately.
Applications for a certificate covering new facilities
proposed to be constructed to serve new or additional areas shall give a full
description of the proposed location, route, or routes of the new construction,
extension or area, including a description of the manner in which same will be
constructed and the extent of new territory to be served, as well as the
estimated cost of the facilities, the approximate number of new subscribers to
be served, the anticipated annual revenue and the means or method by which the
construction will be financed. Tentative certificates will be issued in
connection with new territory until service is established at which time the
certificate will be made permanent. There shall be annexed to each application
for a certificate for new lines or territory, a Department of Transportation
county map on which is shown the area, lines or territory for which a
certificate is requested, and all new facilities shall be accurately shown
thereon. In the event the new area to be served is adjacent to an area already
certificated and is only a line extension and not a new exchange area, the
application shall be for an amendment to the certificate held and the map shall
show the adjacent areas certificated, as well as the new additional
area.
It is necessary that uniform county maps be used
to delineate lines, areas or territory for which a certificate is requested.
The Commission will supply, on request, Department of Transportation county
maps to be used in connection with applications and no other maps will be
accepted. Maps must be prepared in accordance with instructions issued by the
Commission.
In event it is discovered that a certificate was erroneously
issued because of false, erroneous, misleading, or ambiguous information, the
Commission will withdraw the certificate and may issue a corrected certificate
to supersede the certificate previously issued.
Certificates will be issued defining certificated areas, and
no further authority to construct, extend or enlarge telephone facilities
within said certificated areas need be obtained from the Commission by the
certificate holder, but certificates may be amended by proper application to
extend or enlarge a certificated area. Any other person, however, shall not,
under penalty provided by law, construct, operate, acquire or own any telephone
facilities, lines, plant or system within an area certificated to another
without authority from the Commission.
All certificates shall be non-transferable. If a telephone
line or system is to be sold, transferred, or leased to another person, said
person shall apply to the Commission for a certificate and upon the issue of a
certificate to the new owner, operator or lessee, the former certificate issued
for the same territory, area, line or system shall be surrendered to the
Commission for cancellation. This shall not apply in cases of lease or transfer
of ownership of individual or group of circuits between American Telephone and
Telegraph Company and Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company on a toll
line or route for which a certificate is held by either
company.
Certificates will be issued by the Commission without charge
and no utility shall capitalize on its books any value or amount for such
certificates, and in rate proceedings the Commission will not allow any value
in the rate base representing an alleged certificate value. However, reasonable
expenses incurred by a utility may be charged to operating
expenses.
A certificate must be secured from the Commission for:
| (a) |
Each exchange area served or proposed to
be served by any person, including any rural area contiguous thereto and served
therefrom. |
| (b) |
The construction,
acquisition, leasing or operating of any telephone line, plant or system, or
extension thereof, except construction of lines, or extensions within areas for
which a certificate is held. |
| (c) |
The acquisition of ownership or control either directly or indirectly of any
telephone line, plant or system, irrespective of whether or not the system in
question has theretofore been certificated to another person. |
| (d) |
Toll routes or lines, but not for
additional circuits, or rearrangement of existing circuits on a toll line for
which a certificate is held. |
A certificate is not required for:
| (a) |
An extension within any exchange area for
which area a certificate is held which does not extend beyond the boundary of
such area. |
| (b) |
An extension within
or to territory necessary in the ordinary course of business and when a
certificate is held for such territory. |
| (c) |
Substitute facilities within or to any
municipality or territory for which a certificate is held. |
| (d) |
Extension into territory contiguous to
that served on February 17, 1950, providing a certificate for such contiguous
territory is not held or applied for by another person; and for the purpose of
this rule "contiguous territory" is defined as the area embraced within a
distance of one mile in any direction from outlying exchange lines in service
on February 17, 1950. |
| (e) |
The
installation, acquisition, leasing, or construction of additional circuits or
rearrangement of existing circuits on a toll line for which a certificate is
held. |
The applicant for a certificate to serve a rural area shall
select an area which in his judgment can and should be developed as a unit.
When a certificate is held for any area, it is the responsibility of the
certificate holder to provide service within that area.
When application is made to serve new rural areas or to serve
a new exchange area and rural areas, the area defined by map annexed to the
application for a certificate shall encompass the proposed lines and a distance
of one mile in any direction therefrom unless, in the discretion of the
Commission, the defined area should be otherwise delineated. However, the
requested area shall not encroach upon an area already certificated to another
person.
