(a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (A) As originally enacted, Section 2883 required local telephone corporations to provide a residential telephone connection with no customer account attached, also known as a warm line, access to â911â emergency service. This section took effect in 1995 when basic local exchange telephone service was provided exclusively by incumbent wireline providers operating within their franchise territories. Local exchange competition was nonexistent and wireless telephones were expensive and not in widespread use. (B) At that time, the number of warm lines was very small. The practice of leaving warm lines in place continued the availability of â911â emergency service upon disconnection and permitted new residential service orders to be completed with minimum cost and delay. (C) In recent years, the providers of warm line service have lost a significant percentage of their customer base to competitors. Today, the number of warm lines in California has increased in proportion to the loss of wireline customers. An estimated 2,000,000 warm lines exist today and that number continues to grow. (D) Rather than being converted to new active service accounts, many warm lines remain in place indefinitely, even when customers switch to other voice carriers that provide â911â emergency service access. As warm lines age, deterioration can create shorts in these lines that trigger â911â calls, also known as phantom â911â calls because there is no person making the call. (E) Responding to phantom â911â calls places a drain on public safety resources including increased costs for public safety responders. In addition, the state pays providers on a monthly basis, based on volume, to maintain number and location records in the state â911â database, including the records for increasing numbers of warm lines. (F) The cost to local telephone companies to energize and maintain warm lines is the same as for active service accounts. Energy provided to warm lines at residences where access to â911â emergency service is being obtained through a different provider is a waste of limited natural resources. (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to amend Section 2883 in a manner that continues to provide a public safety net in a competitive telecommunications market, eliminates phantom â911â calls, conserves energy for productive uses, and limits costs to the state, local governments, and local telephone corporations. (b) All local telephone corporations, excluding providers of mobile telephony service and mobile satellite telephone service, as defined in Section 224.4, to the extent permitted by existing technology or facilities, shall provide every subscriber of tariffed residential basic exchange service with access to â911â emergency service. (c) A local telephone corporation shall provide access to services described in subdivision (b) for at least 120 days after disconnection of residential basic exchange service for nonpayment of any delinquent account or indebtedness owed by the subscriber to the telephone corporation. A subscriber and a telephone corporation may arrange payment schedules to regain full service. (d) If a local telephone corporation chooses to terminate access to the services described in subdivision (b) after 120 days as authorized in subdivision (c), the local telephone corporation shall inform residential subscribers as part of the notice of suspension or disconnection of service for nonpayment of all of the following information: (1) The availability of the â911â emergency service described in subdivision (b) for 120 days after disconnection of residential basic exchange service. (2) Options that may be available to avoid suspension or disconnection of service. (3) Other options that may be available for obtaining access to â911â emergency service consistent with a customer education program, if adopted by the commission. (e)
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