(a)In addition to the Commission’s authority to reduce or suspend any regulatory requirements as part of a contract negotiated under section 226a of this title, the Commission may also suspend or reduce such requirements in a competitive market under this section. If, after hearing, the Commission determines that a competitive market exists for the provision of any telecommunications service offered by a company subject to its jurisdiction, the Commission may suspend or reduce any or all of the regulatory requirements otherwise applicable to the provision of such service under subsection 218(a) and sections 225, 226, and 227 of this title. In determining whether a competitive market exists, the Commission shall find:
(1)that no competitor offering such service has sufficient market power
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(a) In addition to the Commission’s authority to reduce or suspend any regulatory requirements as part of a contract negotiated under section 226a of this title, the Commission may also suspend or reduce such requirements in a competitive market under this section. If, after hearing, the Commission determines that a competitive market exists for the provision of any telecommunications service offered by a company subject to its jurisdiction, the Commission may suspend or reduce any or all of the regulatory requirements otherwise applicable to the provision of such service under subsection 218(a) and sections 225, 226, and 227 of this title. In determining whether a competitive market exists, the Commission shall find:
(1) that no competitor offering such service has sufficient market power to set prices for the service, taking into consideration whether competitors to any dominant market provider offer a sufficient quantity of similar or equivalent services, whether there is reasonable ease of entry into the market for providers of these services; and any other relevant indicator of market power;
(2) that the competition in the market will afford the public at least as much protection as the applicable regulatory requirements being suspended or reduced;
(3) that adequate safeguards exist to ensure that any services provided by a competitor that continue to be regulated are not supporting or subsidizing any services offered in the competitive market, and that no company shall allocate revenues from regulated activities to unregulated activities nor allocate costs from unregulated activities to regulated activities and, upon request, shall provide the Commission and the Department with information, including cost studies indicating whether any regulated services are supporting any services which are deregulated; and
(4) that adequate safeguards exist to ensure that access to any regulated basic exchange services or any other regulated services that must be utilized to provide the competitive service is available at the same rates, terms, and conditions at which they are provided by the company to its own unregulated affiliates or charged to its own unregulated accounts.
(b) Nothing in this section shall limit the existing authority of the Commission or Department to require provision of or access to information required by this title.
(c) The Commission shall upon petition of the Department, and may upon its own initiative, investigate whether it should reimpose any regulatory requirements that it has suspended or reduced in accordance with subsection (a) of this section; and if the Commission finds that it is in the public interest to reapply any such regulatory provisions, it may do so if it determines that the standards in subsection (a) are no longer met. Pending any final order, the Commission may reimpose any regulatory requirements on a preliminary basis as it determines is just and reasonable. The Commission shall rule on any request by the Department for a preliminary order within 60 days. The Commission shall make a final decision on reimposition of regulatory requirements within seven months of the Department’s request or of the date of commencement of its own investigation. A preliminary or final order shall be after public notice and hearing. (Added 1987, No. 87, § 7; amended 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 375, eff. July 1, 2024.)