TITLE 46 PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Section 5. Telephone Service, 46-5-1 through 46-5-252.

ARTICLE 2 TELEPHONE SERVICE

46-5-122. (For effective date, see note.) Definitions.

As used in this part, the term:

1. "Addressing" means the assigning of a numerical address and street name (the name may be numerical) to each location within a local government's geographical area necessary to provide public safety service as determined by the local government. This address replaces any route and box number currently in place in the 9-1-1 data base and facilitates quicker response by public safety agencies.
2. (For effective date, see note.) "Authority" means the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority established pursuant to Code Section 38-3-182.

   (2.1) "Call" means any communication, message, signal, or transmission.

   (2.2) "Center" means the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.

   (2.3) (Repealed effective January 1, 2019.) "Department" means the Department of Community Affairs established pursuant to Code Section 50-8-1.

3. (Repealed and reserved effective January 1, 2019.) "Director" means the director of emergency management appointed pursuant to Code Section 38-3-20.
4. "Cost recovery" means the mechanism by which service suppliers may recover the recurring and nonrecurring costs they expend on the implementation of wireless 9-1-1 services.
5. "Emergency 9-1-1 system" or "9-1-1 system" means a telephone service, computer service, wireless service, or other service which facilitates the placing of calls by persons in need of emergency services to a public safety answering point by dialing the telephone number 9-1-1 and under which calls to 9-1-1 are answered or otherwise responded to by public safety answering points established and operated by the local government subscribing to the 9-1-1 service. The term "emergency 9-1-1 system" also includes "enhanced 9-1-1 service," which means an emergency system that provides the user with emergency 9-1-1 system service and, in addition, directs 9-1-1 calls to appropriate public safety answering points by selective routing based on the geographical location from which the call originated and provides the capability for automatic number identification and automatic location identification features.
6. "Enhanced ZIP Code" means a United States postal ZIP Code of 9 or more digits.
7. (For effective date, see note.) "Exchange access facility" means the access from a particular telephone subscriber's premises to the telephone system of a service supplier. Exchange access facilities include service supplier provided access lines, PBX trunks, and Centrex network access registers, all as defined by tariffs of the telephone companies as approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission or, in the case of detariffed services, as defined in publicly available guidebooks or other publicly available service supplier publications. The term "exchange access facility" also includes Voice over Internet Protocol service suppliers and any other communication, message, signal, or information delivery system capable of initiating a 9-1-1 emergency call. Exchange access facilities do not include service supplier owned and operated telephone pay station lines, Wide Area Telecommunications Services (WATS), Foreign Exchange (FX), or incoming only lines.
8. "FIPS" means the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 55-3 or any future enhancement.
9. "Local government" means any city, county, military base, or political subdivision of Georgia and its agencies.
10. "Mobile telecommunications service" means commercial mobile radio service, as such term is defined in 47 C.F.R. Section 20.3.
11. "9-1-1 charge" means a contribution to the local government for the 9-1-1 service start-up equipment costs, subscriber notification costs, addressing costs, billing costs, nonrecurring and recurring installation, maintenance, service, and network charges of a service supplier providing 9-1-1 service pursuant to this part, and costs associated with the hiring, training, and compensating of dispatchers employed by the local government to operate said 9-1-1 system at the public safety answering points.

    (11.1) "9-1-1 number" means the digits, address, Internet Protocol address, or other information used to access or initiate a call to a public safety answering point.

12. "Place of primary use" means the street address representative of where the customer's use of the mobile telecommunications service primarily occurs, which must be the residential street address or the primary business street address of the customer.

    (12.1) "Prepaid wireless service" means any method where a telephone subscriber pays in advance for a wireless telecommunications connection:

    1. That is sold in predetermined units or dollars:
       1. The number of which declines with use in a known amount; and
       2. Which expire without an additional retail purchase of units or dollars;
    2. That is not offered in conjunction with other communications services for which the terms permit payment in arrears; and
    3. The charges for which are:
       1. Not billed to any telephone subscriber or other person; or
       2. Not provided to a telephone subscriber or other person in a monthly statement.

       Such term shall include, without limitation, calling or usage privileges included with the purchase of a wireless telephone as well as additional calling or usage privileges purchased by any means, including, without limitation, a calling card, a call, or an Internet transaction.

13. "Public agency" means the state and any city, county, city and county, municipal corporation, chartered organization, public district, or public authority located in whole or in part within this state which provides or has authority to provide fire-fighting, law enforcement, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services.
14. "Public safety agency" means a functional division of a public agency which provides fire-fighting, law enforcement, emergency medical, suicide prevention, emergency management dispatching, poison control, drug prevention, child abuse, spouse abuse, or other emergency services.
15. "Public safety answering point" means the public safety agency which receives incoming 9-1-1 telephone calls and dispatches appropriate public safety agencies to respond to such calls.
16. "Service supplier" means a person or entity who provides telephone service to a telephone subscriber.

    (16.1) (A) (For effective date, see note.) "Telephone service" means any method by which a 9-1-1 emergency call is delivered to a public safety answering point. Such term shall include local exchange access facilities or other telephone communication service, wireless service, mobile telecommunications service, computer service, Voice over Internet Protocol service, or any technology that delivers a call to a public safety answering point that is:

    1. When a service supplier provides to the same person, business, or organization the voice channel capacity to make more than one simultaneous outbound call from an exchange access facility, then each such separate outbound call voice channel capacity, regardless of technology, shall constitute a separate telephone service.
    2. When the same person, business, or organization has several wireless telephones, each wireless telecommunications connection shall constitute a separate telephone service; provided, however, that multiple wireless devices that share a single telephone number and which are generally offered for use primarily by a single individual shall constitute a single telephone service.
    3. A broadband connection used for telephone service shall not constitute a separate voice channel capacity subscription for purposes of the 9-1-1 charge.
17. (For effective date, see note.) "Telephone subscriber" means a person or entity to which retail telephone service, either residential or commercial, is provided.

    (17.1) (For effective date, see note.) "Voice over Internet Protocol service" includes any technology that permits a voice conversation through any device using a voice connection to a computer, whether through a microphone, a telephone, or other device that sends a digital signal over the Internet through a broadband connection to be converted back to the human voice at a distant terminal and that delivers a call to a public safety answering point. Voice over Internet Protocol service shall also include interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service, which is service that enables real-time, two-way voice communications, requires a broadband connection from the user's location, requires Internet protocol compatible customer premises equipment, and allows users to receive calls that originate on the public service telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network.

    (17.2) "Voice over Internet Protocol service supplier" means a person or entity who provides Voice over Internet Protocol service to subscribers for a fee.

18. "Wireless enhanced 9-1-1 charge" means a contribution to the local government for the following:
    1. The costs to the local government of implementing or upgrading, and maintaining, an emergency 9-1-1 system which is capable of receiving and utilizing the following information, as it relates to 9-1-1 calls made from a wireless telecommunications connection: automatic number identification, the location of the base station or cell site which receives the 9-1-1 call, and the location of the wireless telecommunications connection;
    2. Nonrecurring and recurring installation, maintenance, service, and network charges of a wireless service supplier to provide the information described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; and
    3. Other costs which may be paid with money from the Emergency Telephone System Fund, pursuant to subsection (f) of Code Section 46-5-134.
19. "Wireless service" means "commercial mobile service" as defined under Section 332(D) of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. Section 157, et seq.), regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-66) and includes real-time, two-way interconnected voice service which is provided over networks which utilize intelligent switching capability and offer seamless handoff to customers. The term does not include one-way signaling service, data transmission service, nonlocal radio access line service, or a private telecommunications service. The term does include prepaid wireless service.
20. "Wireless service supplier" means a provider of wireless service.
21. "Wireless telecommunications connection" means any mobile station for wireless service that connects a provider of wireless service to a provider of telephone service.

Capable of contacting and has been enabled to contact a public safety answering point via a 9-1-1 system by entering or dialing the digits 9-1-1;

A telecommunications service as such term is defined in Code Section 48-8-2; and

Neither a prepaid calling service nor a prepaid wireless calling service as such terms are defined in Code Section 48-8-2.

(Ga. L. 1977, p. 1040, § 3; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 46; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 46; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1984, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 179, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 93, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1368, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1017, § 3; Ga. L. 1999, p. 873, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 46; Ga. L. 2005, p. 660, § 9/HB 470; Ga. L. 2007, p. 318, § 2/HB 394; Ga. L. 2011, p. 240, § 1/HB 280; Ga. L. 2012, p. 820, § 1/HB 1049; Ga. L. 2016, p. 91, § 19/SB 416; Ga. L. 2018, p. 689, § 2-1/HB 751.)