HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection IV Telecommunications.pdfIdaho Public Utilities Commission
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For additional information on the commission’s decision and Falls Water’s application, please visit:
https://puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/6530.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Regulated telecommunicati ons companies
Company Location
Albion Telephone Corp. Albion
Cambridge Telephone Co. Cambridge
CenturyLink* Boise
CenturyTel of Idaho, Inc.* Salt Lake City, UT
CenturyTel of the Gem State* Salt Lake City, UT
Citizens Telecommunications Company of
Idaho* Beaverton, OR
Columbine, dba Silver Star Communications Freedom, WY
Direct Communications Rockland, Inc. Rockland
Fremont Telecom, Inc. Missoula, MT
Frontier Communications Northwest, Inc.* Beaverton, OR
Inland Telephone Co. Roslyn, WA
Midvale Telephone Company Midvale
Oregon-Idaho Utilities, Inc. Nampa
Pine Telephone System, Inc. Halfway, OR
Potlach Telephone Company* Kendrick
Rural Telephone Company Glenns Ferry
* These companies are no longer rate regulated; however, they are still regulated for customer service.
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS CASES
Commission accepts annual rep ort, budget for Idaho Telecommunications
Relay Service
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has accepted the 2020 annual report and the 2021 budget for the Idaho
Telecommunications Relay Service.
The relay service, established by the Idaho Legislature in 1992, allows hearing- or speech impaired residents to
use phone communications “in a manner that is functionally equivalent to individuals without hearing or speech
impairments.” A relay center is used, which converts or relays verbal conversations to text-type and vice versa.
The relay center also provides speech-to-speech, Spanish-to-Spanish, video, and Internet relay services.
The commission approved the 2020 annual report and 2021 budget on April 7. The 2021 operating budget is
projected at $173,760 and includes $8,350 for a required audit of the relay service fund. The 2021 budget also
includes an increase in the telephone line charge from $0.03 per line to $0.05 line, and an MTS/WATS minute rate
increase from $0.0008 per minute to $0.001 per minute. The increase is intended to ensure the long-term
viability of the relay service fund, and takes effect May 1, 2021.
The increase in the line charge and MTS/WATS minute rate does not apply to cell phone or Internet service. The
surcharge is paid by telephone companies. Idaho Code does not allow companies to pass the surcharge on to
their customers.
Hamilton Telecommunications operates the relay center, and submitted the report and budget to the Idaho
Public Utilities Commission. The relay service is funded by assessments on local residential and business
telephone service access lines and on billed intrastate long-distance minutes. In-state relay traffic and captioned
telephone services are reimbursed by the fund, while the firm of Rolka Loube Saltzer Associates, LLC reimburses
Hamilton for interstate calls.
Hamilton Telecommunications said the relay center handled 2,106 calls in calendar year 2020, a 26 percent
increase from calendar year 2019. The number of captioned telephone units held steady. The 2020 average
answer time by Hamilton was 0.85 seconds, compared to 0.41 seconds in 2019. The increased average answer
time was due to greater usage during the Covid-19 pandemic.
For more information on the commission’s decision, please visit:
https://puc.idaho.gov/Fileroom/PublicFiles/telecom/34988.pdf.