The Florida Senate

364.339  Shared tenant service; regulation by commission; certification; limitation as to designated carriers.--

(1)  The commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction to authorize the provision of any shared tenant service which:

(a)  Duplicates or competes with local service provided by an existing local exchange telecommunications company; and

(b)  Effective January 1, 1996, is furnished through a common switching or billing arrangement to tenants by an entity other than an existing local exchange telecommunications company.

(2)  No person shall provide shared tenant service without first obtaining from the commission a certificate of public convenience and necessity to provide such service. The commission shall grant certificates to telecommunications companies upon showings that the applicants have sufficient technical, financial, and managerial capabilities to provide shared tenant services. The commission may require such service to be offered and priced differently to residential and commercial tenants if deemed to be in the public interest.

(3)(a)  Shared tenant services provided to government entities pursuant to this section are exempt from paragraph (1)(b), and the commission may exempt such entities from any certification requirements imposed by this chapter.

(b)  As provided in subsection (4), the commission may authorize such service notwithstanding the provisions of s. 364.335. The commission may prescribe the type, extent, and conditions under which such service may be provided and may exempt such service, except appropriate certification, from commission regulation.

(4)  In determining whether the actions authorized by subsections (1) and (2) are consistent with the public interest, the commission shall consider the following:

(a)  The number of firms providing the service.

(b)  The availability of the service from other firms or the local exchange telecommunications company.

(c)  The quality of service available from alternative suppliers.

(d)  The effect on telecommunications service rates charged to customers of the local telecommunications company.

(e)  The geographic extent of the service to be provided.

(f)  Any other factors which the commission deems relevant.

(5)  The offering of shared tenant service shall not interfere with or preclude a residential or commercial tenant's right to obtain direct access to the lines and services of the telecommunications company or the right of the telecommunications company to serve the residential or commercial tenant directly under the terms and conditions of the commission-approved tariffs.

History.--ss. 1, 2, ch. 86-270; ss. 6, 7, ch. 89-163; ss. 40, 48, 49, ch. 90-244; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 27, ch. 95-403; s. 15, ch. 98-277.