Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 515-12-1-.30 - Institutional Telecommunication Services
(1) Definitions:
(a) "Institution" is any type of confinement
or correction facility, such as a prison, jail, work farm or detention
center.
(b) "Institutional
Telecommunication Services" are telephone services provided at an institution
for use by inmates in making collect only or debit system calls.
(c) "Customer" is the billed party that
agrees to accept and pay for institutional telecommunication
services.
(d) "Positive Response"
is a pulse or tone generated response and/ or verbal response initiated by the
customer to accept responsibility for payment of institutional
telecommunication services. No other method may be used in confirming a call
(i.e., time outs that automatically complete the call if nothing is done or
wrong number(s) are entered or the inability of called party instrument
(telephone) and so on).
(2) All institutional service providers must
obtain a certificate of authority from the Commission in order to lawfully
provide Institutional Telecommunication Services. Holders of Regular
Certificates of Authority for the provision of Institutional Telecommunication
Services, as of the date of adoption of these rules, shall be exempt from
filing an application to provide institutional telecommunication services but
are not exempt from filing tariffs for the provision of Institutional
Telecommunication Services.
(3)
Each institutional service provider shall separately file a list of those
institutions with which it has contracted to provide service. Such information
may be filed under the Trade Secret provisions of this Commission.
(4) The institutional service provider's list
of institutions at which it is providing service shall be updated annually with
such update being due on or before January 31 of each year. Such information
may be filed under the Trade Secret provisions of this Commission.
(5) All institutional service providers must
file tariffs with the Commission which set forth the services provided and the
charges for those services.
(6) The
surcharge and rate charged the customer for any local (intraLATA/interLATA)
collect call shall not exceed the currently effective caps ordered by the
Commission for this type of call.
(7) The surcharge and per minute rate charged
the customer for any intraLATA toll collect call shall not exceed the currently
effective caps ordered by the Commission for this type of call.
(8) The surcharge and per minute rate charged
the customer for any interLATA toll collect call shall not exceed the currently
effective caps ordered by the Commission for this type of call.
(9) Charges by institutional service
providers shall not exceed the tariffed rate. Any institutional service
provider that wishes to increase its charge for institutional telecommunication
service must file a petition with the Commission along with cost justification
for the increase. The Commission must approve the new rate prior to its
implementation.
(10) For any rate
change, providers of institutional telecommunication services must provide
price quotes up front to call recipients on every call for at least thirty
days, without requiring the call recipient to respond to a prompt. The price
quote shall include at minimum, the price of the first minute and the price of
every additional minute of the call. The general prison population must be
given notice of any rate change(s). Excepted from the requirement that
institutional telecommunication service providers provide up front price quotes
to call recipients on every call, is currently deployed institutional
telecommunication service equipment in county jail facilities for the duration
of the current existing institutional telecommunication service contracts
(contracts in existence as of the date of adoption of this rule). Nothing
contained in this exception shall relieve institutional telecommunication
service providers of providing notice of rates to facilities and the inmates.
Providers of institutional telecommunication service to county jail facilities
shall also be required to provide toll free rates to call recipients.
(11) Each institutional service provider's
operator, live and/or mechanical, shall clearly state the name of the company
at the initiation of any encounter with a customer so that the customer is
fully informed as to which carrier will be handling his or her call before the
customer incurs any charge. Each service provider's operator shall also clearly
state the company name at the conclusion of its contact with the
customer.
(12) Each institutional
service provider must provide a push or voice prompt that fully discloses the
rate to be charged for the call, including surcharges, prior to the customer
accepting a call and incurring any expense. Excepted from the requirement that
institutional telecommunication service providers provide a push or voice
prompt that fully discloses the rate to be charged for the call is currently,
deployed institutional telecommunication service equipment in county jail
facilities for the duration of the currently existing institutional
telecommunication service contracts (contracts in existence as of the date of
adoption of this rule). Nothing contained in this exception shall relieve
institutional telecommunication service providers from providing the notice of
rates to facilities and the inmates. Providers of institutional
telecommunication service to county jail facilities shall also be required to
provide toll free rate quotes to call recipients.
(13) The instrument (telephone) must:
(a) Provide outward-only calling (be it at
the location itself or through the central office serving that
location).
(b) Where call
termination is deemed appropriate by the administration of the institution,
limit call duration to a 15 minute interval, unless another time interval is
specially requested by the administration of the institution (the service
provider must file with the Commission the institution's request within 30 days
of any changes).
(c) Be installed
in compliance with all accepted telecommunications industry standards and the
current National Electric Code and the National Electric Safety Code.
(14) The institutional service
provider must block or arrange to have blocked calls to local Directory
Assistance (411), long distance Directory Assistance (555-1212), toll free
numbers (1-800), 700, 900, 911, 950, 10XXX and any other numbers the
Institution and/or the Commission finds may jeopardize the integrity and
security of the institution and the safety of the public.
(15) The institutional service provider, must
provide 0+ collect only or debit system calls for local, intraLATA toll, and
interLATA toll calls and must block access to all other types or forms of
calls.
(16) The institutional
service provider must insure that a positive response from the called party
indicating a willingness to pay for the call is received before completing the
call. In the event the institutional service provider does not receive a
positive response within fifteen (15) seconds from the last message given, the
call must be terminated or defaulted to a live operator.
(17) Institutional Service Providers must
adhere to the same rules and regulations that govern billing authority as
approved by this Commission for Resellers, IXCs and AOS companies, meaning that
the Institutional Provider must be identified on the bill submitted to the
customer (call party) by the certified local exchange company. In the event it
is impractical or impossible for the applicable certified local exchange
company to comply with this Rule, the Institutional Service Provider may apply
to the Commission for a waiver of this Rule, which shall be reviewed on a case
by case basis.
(18) All providers
of Institutional Telecommunication Services shall provide, for distribution by
the correctional facility administrator, either (1) upon request by the
correctional facility administrator; or (2) once per year; and (3) provided
only upon the receipt of a reasonable fee to cover the costs of processing,
gathering, and copying the information; printed material containing notice that
certain security features inherent to the institutional telecommunications
system may result in the disconnection of calls. Such notification must
contain, at a minimum, that the following could cause calls to disconnect: use
of 3-way calling; use of call transfer; calls put on hold; answering of call
waiting; use of cellular phones; use of cordless phones; depressing of any
extra numbers on the keypad; extended periods of silence. A sufficient quantity
of printed material shall be provided to each correctional facility in order
that a copy may be furnished to every inmate at the time of his or her
incarceration. Further, additional copies of this printed material shall be
provided to each correctional facility administrator, under whose direction and
control notification of the technical limitations referenced in the printed
material shall be placed in conspicuous locations within the facility and
posted in areas accessible to the public, such as day rooms. It is further
required that all institutional telecommunication service providers include in
this printed material a statement that the correctional facility administrator
may place time limits on all telephone calls.
(19) Institutional Service Providers may
provision Institutional Telecommunications Service through the use of access
lines, broadband, Voice over Internet Protocol, or any other technically
feasible means, provided that the service must comply with the rates, terms and
conditions set forth in applicable Commission orders.
(20) The rates and conditions for Public
Telephone Access Lines for Institutions will be as approved by this Commission
for each certified local exchange service company and will be reflected in each
company's tariff.
(21) Any
Institutional Service Provider that sells packages of minutes must provide
adequate notice to the customer that the customer is entitled to a refund for
any minutes that are not used at the time the account is closed. In a situation
in which the customer has paid for minutes in advance, a refund for any unused
minutes shall be issued to the customer within 60 days of the account being
closed. Any certificated provider of Institutional Telecommunications Service
that sells a package of minutes to an institution remains responsible for
ensuring that refunds are issued to customers in accordance with the terms of
this rule.
Notes
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