§ 92-e. Telephone service; changes in providers. 1. Definitions. As
used in this section, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:

(a) "Hold order or freeze" shall mean a directive to retain the
provider of telephone service selected by a customer until the customer
provides express authorization for a change to another provider of
telephone service.

(b) "Provider of telephone service" shall mean a telephone corporation
that provides intrastate interLATA, intraLATA, or local exchange
telephone service to end-use customers.

(c) "Service for which there are multiple providers" shall mean a
service for which customers have the ability to subscribe or select from
more than one provider of telephone service.

2. Unauthorized changes prohibited. No telephone corporation or any
person, firm or corporation acting as an agent or representative of a
telephone corporation shall on behalf of a customer make any change or
direct a different telephone corporation to make any change in a
provider of a telephone service for which there are multiple providers,
unless such corporation, agent or representative complies with
authorization and confirmation procedures established by the commission
and by federal law and rules. In construing and enforcing the provisions
of this section, the act of any person, firm or corporation acting as an
agent or representative of a telephone corporation shall be deemed to be
the act of such telephone corporation.

3. Rules and regulations. The commission may adopt rules and
regulations relating to unauthorized changes in providers of telephone
service that are consistent with federal law which, among other
requirements, establish procedures for a customer to confirm a change in
a provider of telephone service made by another telephone corporation on
behalf of the customer and set forth methods for enforcing such rules
and regulations.

4. Hold order or freeze. The commission may, if it determines it to be
necessary, require any telephone corporation that owns or operates the
network facilities that control routing, selection, or billing functions
necessary to implement a hold order or freeze to offer it to end-use
customers as a method of reducing incidents of unauthorized changes in
providers of telephone service. Such corporation shall perform any hold
order or freeze procedure in a non-discriminatory and competitively
neutral manner that does not give such corporation an advantage over its
competitors in the telecommunications market.

5. Billing information. When a customer or a new provider of telephone
service on behalf of a customer makes a change in a provider of a
telephone service, the new provider of telephone service shall be
responsible for insertion of a conspicuous notice on or with the
customer's first bill for which the change is effective or shall send a
separate notice within sixty days informing the customer that such
change was made. Any bill for intrastate interLATA, intraLATA, and/or
local exchange service shall contain the name of each provider of
telephone service for which billing is provided.

6. Penalties. (a) A violation of federal law or rules applicable to
intrastate service or of this subdivision relating to changes in
providers of telephone service is subject either to the judicial penalty
authorized in section twenty-five of this chapter for the failure or
neglect to obey or comply with a provision of this chapter or the
administrative penalty established in this subdivision. In seeking such
judicial penalty or assessing such administrative penalty, the
commission shall take into account the nature, circumstances, extent,
gravity and number of the violations, and with respect to the violator,
the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses and repeated
violations, and such other matters as may be appropriate and relevant.
The remedies provided by this subdivision are in addition to any other
remedies provided in law.

(b) The commission shall have the authority to assess directly, after
an opportunity for hearing, an administrative penalty not to exceed five
thousand dollars for each violation associated with a specific access
line within the state of federal law and rules applicable to intrastate
service or of this subdivision relating to changes in providers of
telephone service. All moneys recovered from any administrative penalty
shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the general fund.