ORS 759.410: Intent of ORS 759.410; establishing maximum and minimum price for telecommunications services; packaging services; notice of price change, new service; enforcement.

(1) It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly that: (a) The State of Oregon cease regulation of telecommunications carriers on a rate of return basis; (b) Telecommunications carriers subject to rate of return regulation have the ability to opt out of rate of return regulation; (c) A telecommunications carrier that opts out of rate of return regulation under this section and ORS 759.405 shall be subject to price cap regulation and the carrier under price cap regulation shall continue to meet service quality requirements; and (d) Telecommunications carriers that opt out of rate of return regulation under this section and ORS 759.405 shall make payments to the state to support the use of advanced telecommunications services and to support deployment of advanced telecommunications services. (2) A telecommunications carrier that elects to be subject to this section and ORS 759.405 shall be subject to price regulation as provided in this section and shall not be subject to any other retail rate regulation, including but not limited to any form of earnings-based, rate-based or rate of return regulation. (3) The price a telecommunications utility that elects to be subject to this section and ORS 759.405 may charge for basic telephone service shall be established by the Public Utility Commission under ORS 759.425. Subject to ORS 759.415, the regular tariff rate of intrastate switched access and retail telecommunications services regulated by the commission, other than basic telephone service, in effect on the date the carrier elects to be subject to this section and ORS 759.405 shall be the maximum price the telecommunications carrier may charge for that service. (4) A telecommunications carrier that elects to be subject to this section and ORS 759.405 may adjust the price for intrastate switched access or a regulated retail telecommunications service between the maximum price established under this section and a price floor equal to the sum of the total service long run incremental cost of providing the service for the nonessential functions of the service and the price that is charged to other telecommunications carriers for the essential functions. Basic telephone service shall not be subject to a price floor. (5) The price for a new regulated retail telecommunications service introduced by a telecommunications carrier within four years after the date the carrier elects to be subject to this section and ORS 759.405 shall be subject to a price floor test by the commission to ensure that the service is not priced below the sum of the total service long run incremental cost of providing the service for the nonessential functions of the service and the price that is charged to other telecommunications carriers for the essential functions. Beginning on the date four years after September 1, 1999, the price of a new telecommunications service shall be subject to a price floor test by the commission to ensure that the service is not priced below the total service long run incremental cost of providing the service, without regard to whether the service is considered essential or nonessential. (6) A telecommunications carrier that elects to be subject to this section and ORS 759.405 may package and offer any of its retail telecommunications services with any other service at any price, provided the following conditions apply: (a) Any regulated telecommunications service may be purchased separately at or below the maximum price. (b) The price of the package is not less than the sum of the price floors of each regulated retail telecommunications service included in the package. (c) The price of a package that is comprised entirely of regulated retail telecommunications services does not exceed the sum of the maximum prices for each of the services. (d) The price of a package comprised of regulated and unregulated retail telecommunications services does not exceed the sum of the maximum prices established under this section for regulated services and the retail price charged by the carrier for the individual unregulated services in the package. A telecommunications carrier subject to regulation under this section shall provide notice to the commission within 30 days of a change in the price of an unregulated telecommunications service contained in the package. (7) Nothing in this section or ORS 759.405 is intended to limit the ability of a telecommunications carrier to seek deregulation of telecommunications services under ORS 759.052. (8)(a) Notice of a price change authorized under subsection (4) of this section, of the introduction of a new regulated telecommunications service or of the packaging of services, must be given to the commission within 30 days following the effective date of the price change, new service or packaged service. Notice of a new regulated telecommunications service shall indicate the retail price charged by the carrier for the service. (b) The commission may investigate any price change authorized under subsection (4) of this section, the price of a new regulated telecommunications service or the price of a package of services to determine that the price complies with the provisions of this section and any other applicable law. If the commission determines that the price of the service or package of services does not comply with the provisions of this section or other applicable law, the commission may order the telecommunications carrier to take such action as the commission determines necessary to bring the price into compliance with this section or other applicable law. (9) Nothing in this section affects the authority of a city or municipality to manage the public rights of way or to require fair and reasonable compensation from a telecommunications carrier, on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, under ORS 221.420, 221.450, 221.510 and 221.515. (10) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the commission shall establish prices for extended area service in a manner that allows a telecommunications carrier that elects to be subject to this section and ORS 759.405 to recover all costs and lost net revenues attributable to implementing new extended area service routes. The provisions of this subsection apply to telecommunications service provided on a flat or measured basis between exchanges defined by exchange maps filed with and approved by the commission. [1999 c.1093 §25; 2001 c.966 §1; 2005 c.232 §23]