§ 37-15-202 — Determination of competitive services

(a) Upon petition by any telecommunications company or
pursuant to the commission's own motion, the commission may,
after notice and opportunity for hearing, find and conclude that
a telecommunications service is subject to competition or that
local exchange service is competitive in certain locations. Any
service found to be effectively competitive pursuant to this
section shall not be subject to regulation by the commission.
Any location deemed to have effective competition for local
exchange service shall be ineligible for universal service fund
support except that a telecommunications carrier may continue to
receive universal service support for noncompetitive locations
pursuant to W.S. 37-15-501 and that support shall account for
price and cost adjustments necessary because of the competitive
classification of formerly supported locations. The commission
shall consider only the following factors in determining whether
a telecommunications service is subject to effective
competition:
(i) The extent to which telecommunications services
are available from alternative providers including, but not
limited to, wireless providers, satellite providers, cable
providers offering voice services, voice over internet protocol
or any other providers utilizing telephone numbers to provide
voice services in the relevant market;
(ii) The extent to which telecommunications services
of alternative providers are functionally equivalent, for
equivalent service or in combination with other services, and
may be substituted at reasonably comparable prices, terms and
conditions;
(iii) Existing economic, regulatory or technological
barriers to entry.
(b) Upon the commission's own motion or the petition of
any person, the commission may, after notice and the opportunity
for a hearing in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative
Procedure Act, find and conclude that a telecommunications
service found to be competitive under subsection (a) of this
section is no longer subject to competition, and therefore not
subject to treatment as a competitive service under this
chapter. All hearings conducted pursuant to this subsection
shall place the burden of proof upon the commission or the
petitioner of establishing that a telecommunications service is
no longer subject to competition.
(c) Telecommunications service provided by new entrants,
local exchange services provided by resale, telecommunications
services provided by interexchange telecommunications companies,
interexchange telecommunications services and telecommunications
services other than local exchange service and switched access
provided by a local exchange company shall be considered subject
to competition for purpose of regulation under this title.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, local exchange service may be
determined to be competitive pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section the
commission shall, in an area defined by an applicant, find local
exchange services are competitive provided:
(i) At least seventy-five percent (75%) of the class
of customers in the area have access to at least one (1)
landline carrier unaffiliated with the applicant providing local
exchange service. The local exchange service may be provided in
combination with other services. If a company does not
differentiate between residential and business classes of
service in its application, the requirement shall be that at
least sixty percent (60%), considering residential and business
customers as one (1) class of customers, have access to at least
one (1) landline carrier unaffiliated with the applicant;
(ii) At least seventy-five percent (75%) of the class
of customers in the area have access to at least one (1)
wireless provider unaffiliated with the applicant. If a company
does not differentiate between residential and business classes
of service in its application, the requirement shall be that at
least sixty percent (60%), considering residential and business
customers as one (1) class of customers, have access to at least
one (1) wireless provider unaffiliated with the applicant;
(iii) The applicant specifies in the application
whether or not the class of customers whose service is to be
determined competitive are residential, business or both;
(iv) The applicant agrees to provide throughout the
area prices which do not vary by geographic location or access
to competitors;
(v) The applicant agrees, if residential services are
involved and subject to the provisions of subsections (e) and
(f) of this section, to continue to provide stand alone basic
residential local exchange service at a price less than the
price for the stand alone basic residential local exchange
service bundled with any other service; and
(vi) The applicant agrees for a transition period
ending July 1, 2009 to provide stand alone basic residential
service at a price that does not exceed the price in effect July
1, 2006 and agrees after July 1, 2009 that it will not increase
the price for the stand alone basic residential local exchange
service by an amount that exceeds the price in effect July 1,
2008, by more than the cumulative increase in the federal gross
domestic product price index since July 1, 2008. For the
purpose of this subsection the prices in effect July 1, 2006 and
July 1, 2009 shall be modified only to reflect changes in access
charges as approved by the commission pursuant to W.S.
37-15-203(f)(ii) and (j) to the extent those changes are not
reflected in the rates.
(e) If the price for stand alone basic residential local
exchange service is restricted pursuant to subsection (d) of
this section, the commission may, upon application and after
notice and opportunity for hearing, authorize an increase in the
price for the service if the applicant demonstrates that the
maximum price allowed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section
would not allow the applicant a reasonable opportunity to
recover its prudently incurred costs related to the proportion
of the property used in providing the essential
telecommunications service.
(f) If a company is required to continue to offer stand
alone basic residential local exchange service pursuant to
subsection (d) of this section, it may apply to the commission
for permission to stop offering the service. The commission
shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing approve the
application if:
(i) A successor agrees to continue the obligation; or
(ii) The company establishes to the satisfaction of
the commission that the service has become obsolete due to a
lack of customers subscribing to the service.
(g) The commission may, on its own motion or upon
application by the office of consumer advocate or by any
interested party, find retail telecommunications services are
not competitive in any area where it has previously found them
to be competitive pursuant to subsection (d) of this section if,
after notice and opportunity for hearing, it finds that:
(i) Due to merger, acquisition, predatory pricing or
marketing practices or withdrawal of offerings, the degree of
competition required by subsection (d) of this section no longer
exists; or
(ii) The local exchange telecommunications provider
has not complied with the conditions it agreed to pursuant to
subsection (d) of this section.
(h) Nothing in this section affects or modifies:
(i) Any applicable wholesale tariff or any commission
authority to implement or enforce any rights, duties or
obligations of any party related to wholesale services;
(ii) Any entity's obligations or rights or commission
authority under the Federal Communications Act of 1934, 47
U.S.C. 251 and 252;
(iii) Any commission jurisdiction over intrastate
switched access rates, terms and conditions, including the
implementation of federal law with respect to intercarrier
compensation;
(iv) Any commission jurisdiction or authority
pursuant to W.S. 37-15-401(a)(vii), including commission
jurisdiction or authority to address federal high cost fund or
federal universal service fund issues.
(j) Services found to be competitive under subsection (a),
(c) or (d) of this section shall be subject to the following:
(i) Any required assessments under W.S. 37-15-501 and
37-15-502;
(ii) Any required assessment of 911 or E911 emergency
service taxes as provided in title 16, chapter 9, article 1 of
the Wyoming statutes;
(iii) Any required special fee under W.S. 16-9-209;
(iv) Any required assessment levied under W.S.
37-2-106 through 37-2-109;
(v) Certification as applicable under W.S. 37-15-201.