Okla. Admin. Code § 165:57-5-1

Current through Vol. 42, No. 7, December 16, 2024

Section 165:57-5-1 - Certificate of Convenience and Necessity

(a)Requirement for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. No person or entity shall furnish operator services to any end-user in the State of Oklahoma without first having secured a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity from the Commission. ILECs and certificated IXCs providing operator services prior to January 1, 1996, shall not be required to obtain a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity for the operator services being provided on that date.

(b)Application for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. An applicant to the Commission for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to provide operator service in the State of Oklahoma shall be required to demonstrate its financial, managerial and technical ability to provide the requested operator service in the State of Oklahoma. An application for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to provide operator services shall be made pursuant to the requirements of 17 O.S. § 131et seq. and shall conform to the requirements thereof and with the Commission's Rules of Practice, OAC 165:5, and any additional requirements set forth in this Chapter. An application for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity shall be in a format approved by the Director of the Public Utility Division. An original and four (4) copies of the application for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity shall be filed with the Commission's Court Clerk. A filing fee pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice, OAC 165:5, shall be required.

(c)Application requirements for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. An application to the Commission for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to provide operator services shall include as attachments to the application the following information, which must be certified as true and correct by an officer of any corporate applicant, or an authorized representative of an unincorporated applicant, in the format set forth in Appendix G to this Chapter:

(1) As applicable the complete name, including each and every trade name(s) under which business will be conducted, corporate or other headquarters address and names/addresses of principal corporate officers or partners of the entity proposing to provide operator services to the public in the State of Oklahoma. Also, include the telephone number and, if applicable, the toll free telephone number.

(2) If different from those provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the name(s) and address(es) of all officers and corporate offices of the OSP located in the State of Oklahoma and the name(s) and address(es) of employee(s) responsible for Oklahoma operations.

(3) A copy of the applicable certificate, issued by Oklahoma's Secretary of State to transact business in the State of Oklahoma.

(4) A copy of the Corporate Trade Name Report, issued by Oklahoma's Secretary of State, shall be provided for each and every trade name, i.e. a d/b/a, used by the operator service provider in the State of Oklahoma.

(5) A financial statement.

(6) Contact name(s), address(es) and the toll free telephone number(s) of the individual(s) responsible for providing service to Aggregators and consumers, for repairs and maintenance, for answering complaints, and supplying refunds. This will be the principal contact to be utilized by the Commission's Consumer Services Division and Public Utility Division regarding questions and complaints against the company.

(7) A description of the OSP's proposed procedures used to verify customer-ordered changes in presubscribed carriers, including, but not limited to a proposed "letter of agency" that is consistent with the requirements of 47 CFR Ch.1, Section 64.1150, proposed independent third-party verification script and/or proposed telephone contact script.

(8) A complete set of proposed tariffs which shall include terms and conditions of service and all rates, tolls, charges, and service classifications in a format approved by the Director of the Public Utility Division. The proposed tariffs shall comply with OAC 165:57-7-1 through OAC 165:57-7-3.

(9) An example of signage proposed to be utilized by the OSP which is in conformance with OAC 165:57-3-2.

(10) A copy of the applicant's proposed complaint report form which is consistent with OAC 165:57-5-24. The complaint report form and complaint codes suggested by the Director of the Consumer Services Division are included as Appendix H and Appendix I, respectively, to this Chapter.

(11) A written affirmation, signed before a Notary Public by someone with authority to bind the applicant, in a format approved by the Director of the Public Utility Division that:

(A) The information contained in the application is true and correct;

(B) The OSP is familiar with and will comply with all applicable federal and state laws, and the rules and orders of the Commission;

(C) The applicant possesses the financial ability to provide operator service(s) in the State of Oklahoma;

(D) The OSP will contribute to the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund pursuant to OAC 165:59; and,

(E) The OSP understands the Commission's contempt authority.

(12) A statement regarding whether the applicant intends to utilize the services of a billing agent to issue bills to end-users.

(13) A brief description of its history of providing the requested telecommunications service, or other telecommunications services, in order to demonstrate its managerial experience. The history shall include a list of the geographic areas in which it previously provided service and/or is currently providing service, and such other documentation as may be requested by the Commission. Applicants for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity without prior experience shall list the experience of each principal officer, partner, or the sole proprietor in order to demonstrate its managerial ability, and/or provide other documentation as may be requested by the Commission.

(14) A description of the applicant's experience in providing telecommunications services in order to demonstrate its technical abilities. In the case of applicants for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity without prior experience, the applicant shall provide documentation which supports its technical abilities, or other documentation as may be requested by the Commission.

(15) A list of all other states, if any, where:

(A) The applicant is authorized to operate;

(B) Authorization to operate is pending;

(C) A request for authorization has been denied, including the reason stated for denial, with a certified copy of the denial document attached; and/or,

(D) Authorization has been revoked, with a certified copy of the revocation document attached.

(d)Requirements for expanding authority under an existing CCN. An Applicant wishing to expand its service authority under an existing Certificate of Convenience and Necessity granted pursuant to Chapters 55, 56, and/or 58, must make application to the Commission and provide all information and notice as required in Sections 165:57-5-1(c) and 165:57-5-2. However, information submitted in support of a previous Application for certification, if such Application was approved by the Commission, may be used in support of the current Application by providing a written affirmation, signed before a Notary Public, and by someone with authority to bind the Applicant, stating that the previously submitted information is still true and correct, and circumstances have not changed. If the previously submitted information is no longer true and correct, or if circumstances have changed, Applicant shall submit updated information along with a written affirmation fully explaining all changed circumstances.

(e)Amended Application. During the Staff's review of the OSP's application, certain revisions and/or corrections to documents attached to the application may be requested. After the parties have agreed to the necessary revisions and/or corrections, such revisions and/or corrections shall be attached to an amended application. The OSP shall file an original and four (4) copies of its amended application with the Commission's Court Clerk. Requested revisions and/or corrections may include, but shall not be limited to:

(1) Revisions to the applicant's proposed tariffs;

(2) Provision of documents omitted from the originally filed application; and/or,

(3) Correction of the statement, in the body of the application only, regarding the services for which authority to provide is being sought.

(f)Additional Information. The Public Utility Division Staff may issue data requests for additional relevant information as may be necessary. Data request responses should be submitted to the Staff member requesting the information, and not filed with the Commission's Court Clerk.

(g)Approval requirement. Unless provided otherwise in this Chapter, or by the laws of the State of Oklahoma, no Certificate of Convenience and Necessity shall be granted except by Order of the Commission, after such notice and hearing, if any, as directed by the Commission.

Okla. Admin. Code § 165:57-5-1

Added at 12 Ok Reg 2157, eff 7-1-95; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 2872, eff 7-15-97; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 3092, eff 7-15-98; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2312, eff 7-1-99; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2005, eff 7-1-02; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 2126, eff 7-1-04

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 35, Issue 24, September 4, 2018, eff. 9/14/2018