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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection IV Telecommunications.pdfIdaho Public Utilities Commission Page 24 TELECOMMUNICATIONS Regulated telecommunications 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 Direct Communications Rockland, Inc. Fremont Telecom, Inc. Frontier Communications Northwest, Inc.* Inland Telephone Co. Midvale Telephone Company Oregon-Idaho Utilities, Inc. Pine Telephone System, Inc. Potlach Telephone Company* Rural Telephone Company * These companies are no longer rate regulated; however, they are still regulated for customer service. Idaho Public Utilities Commission Page 25 THE FOLLOWING ARE PRESS RELEASES FROM THE COMMISSION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 TELECOMMUNICATIONS CASES Broadband Tax Credit In January 2022 The Idaho Public Utilities Commission issued a new order that provide further clarifications regarding what information a taxpayer must include when applying to the Commission for an order that its installed equipment meets the statutory definition of “qualified broadband equipment”. This new order took effect in January 21,2022 as it superseded the previous order that was issued in 2001. For more information on the Commission’s decision, please visit: Case Details - IPUC (idaho.gov) 35297.pdf (idaho.gov) The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has accepted the 2021 annual report and the 2022 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 2021 annual report and 2022 budget on April 22. The 2022 operating budget is projected at $142,350. This budget includes the anticipated administrative costs as contracted, the travel/conference costs, the Hamilton TRS payments, and NASRA membership dues. Hamilton Telecommunications operated 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. For more information on the Commission’s decision, please visit: https://puc.idaho.gov/Fileroom/PublicFiles/telecom/35378.pdf BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION