196.665 Unlawful combinations, trusts.
196.675 Unlawful for carriers and public utilities to employ assistant district attorneys or judicial officers.
196.68 Municipal officers, malfeasance.
196.69 Interference with commission's equipment.
196.70 Temporary alteration or suspension of rates.
196.71 Municipal public utility contracts.
196.72 Accidents; public utility report; investigation.
196.74 Electric lines; safety and interference.
196.745 Construction and operation; safety; commission orders.
196.76 Other rights of action; penalties cumulative.
196.77 Promotional rates.
196.78 Voluntary dissolution.
196.79 Reorganization subject to commission approval.
196.795 Public utility holding companies.
196.80 Consolidation or merger of utilities.
196.805 Consolidation or merger of telecommunications utilities.
196.81 Abandonment; commission approval required.
196.84 Commission's holding company and nonutility affiliate regulation costs.
196.85 Payment of commission's expenditures.
196.855 Assessment of costs against municipalities.
196.857 Stray voltage program.
196.858 Assessment for telephone relay service.
196.91 Acquisition of existing dams.
196.92 Procedure for acquiring dams.
196.97 Nonessential uses of natural gas.
196.975 Local access and transport area boundaries.
196.98 Water reporting required.
196.01
196.01
Definitions. As used in this chapter and
ch. 197, unless the context requires otherwise:
196.01(1b)
(1b) "Access service" means the provision of switched or dedicated access to a local exchange network for the purpose of enabling a telecommunications provider to originate or terminate telecommunications service. "Access service" includes unbundled local service provided to telecommunications providers.
196.01(1d)
(1d) "Alternative telecommunications utility" means any of the following:
196.01(1d)(a)
(a) Cable television telecommunications service providers.
196.01(1d)(f)
(f) Any other telecommunications provider if the commission finds that the service offered by the telecommunications provider is available from other telecommunications providers within this state directly or indirectly to the public.
196.01(1g)
(1g) "Basic local exchange service" means the provision to residential customers of an access facility, whether by wire, cable, fiber optics or radio, and essential usage within a local calling area for the transmission of high-quality 2-way interactive switched voice or data communication. "Basic local exchange service" includes extended community calling and extended area service. "Basic local exchange service" does not include additional access facilities or any discretionary or optional services that may be provided to a residential customer. "Basic local exchange service" does not include cable television service or services provided by a commercial mobile radio service provider.
196.01(1j)
(1j) "Basic message telecommunications service" means long distance toll service as provided on January 1, 1994, on a direct-dialed, single-message, dial-1 basis between local exchanges in this state at tariff rates. "Basic message telecommunications service" does not include any wide-area telecommunications service, 800-prefix service, volume, dedicated, discounted or other interoffice services or individually negotiated contracts for telecommunications service.
196.01(1m)
(1m) "Broadcast service" means the one-way transmission to the public of video or audio programming regulated under
47 USC 301 to
334 that is provided by a broadcast station, as defined in
47 USC 153 (dd), including any interaction with a recipient of the programming as part of the video or audio programming offered to the public.
196.01(1p)
(1p) "Cable television service" means the one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming regulated under
47 USC 521 to
559 that is provided by, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station or other programming services that make information available to all subscribers generally and includes any subscriber interaction required for the selection of video programming or other program services.
196.01(1r)
(1r) "Cable television telecommunications service provider" means a person who provides one or more telecommunications services but who, during the previous taxable year, received at least 90% of his or her gross income in the particular television franchise area in which telecommunication services are provided from the operation of a cable television system subject in whole or in part to
47 USC 521 to
559.
196.01(2g)
(2g) "Commercial mobile radio service provider" means a telecommunications provider that is authorized by the federal communications commission to provide commercial mobile service.
196.01(2m)
(2m) "Commission" means the public service commission.
196.01(3)
(3) "Indeterminate permit" means any grant, directly or indirectly, from the state to any public utility of power, right or privilege to own, operate, manage or control any plant or equipment or any part of a plant or equipment within this state for the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of any public utility service.
196.01(3b)
(3b) "Interconnection agreement" means an interconnection agreement that is subject to approval by the commission under
47 USC 252 (e).
196.01(3e)
(3e) "Interlata" means between local access and transport areas.
196.01(3g)
(3g) "Intralata" means within the boundaries of a local access and transport area.
Effective date note
NOTE: Sub. (3g) is shown as renumbered from sub. (3r) eff. 5-1-99 by
1997 Wis. Act 229.
196.01(3p)
(3p) "Mobile home park" means any tract of land containing 2 or more individual plots of land that are rented or offered for rent for the accommodation of a mobile home or manufactured home.
196.01(3q)
(3q) "Mobile home park contractor" means a person, other than a public utility, who, under a contract with a mobile home park operator, provides water or sewer service to a mobile home park occupant or performs a service related to providing water or sewer service to a mobile home park occupant.
196.01(3r)
(3r) "Intralata" means within the boundaries of a local access and transport area.
Effective date note
NOTE: Sub. (3r) is renumbered (3g) eff. 5-1-99 by
1997 Wis. Act 229.
196.01(3s)
(3s) "Mobile home park occupant" means a person who rents or owns a mobile home or manufactured home in a mobile home park.
196.01(3t)
(3t) "Mobile home park operator" means a person engaged in the business of owning or managing a mobile home park.
196.01(4)
(4) "Municipality" means any town, village or city wherein property of a public utility or any part thereof is located.
196.01(4m)
(4m) "Pay telephone service provider" means a person who owns or leases a pay telephone located on property owned or leased by that person and who otherwise does not offer any telecommunications service directly or indirectly to the public.
196.01(5)(a)(a) "Public utility" means, except as provided in
par. (b), every corporation, company, individual, association, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court, and every sanitary district, town, village or city that may own, operate, manage or control any toll bridge or all or any part of a plant or equipment, within the state, for the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light, water or power either directly or indirectly to or for the public. "Public utility" includes all of the following:
196.01(5)(a)1.
1. Any person engaged in the transmission or delivery of natural gas for compensation within this state by means of pipes or mains and any person, except a governmental unit, who furnishes services by means of a sewerage system either directly or indirectly to or for the public.
196.01(5)(a)2.
2. A telecommunications utility [commercial service provider].
196.01 Note
NOTE: Par. (a) is shown as affected by two acts of the 1997 legislature and as merged by the revisor under s. 13.93 (2) (c). The bracketed language was inserted by
1997 Wis. Act 218, but was rendered surplusage by
1997 Wis. Act 184. Corrective legislation is pending.
196.01(5)(b)
(b) "Public utility" does not include any of the following:
196.01(5)(b)1.
1. A cooperative association organized under
ch. 185 for the purpose of producing or furnishing heat, light, power or water to its members only.
196.01(5)(b)2.
2. A holding company, as defined in
s. 196.795 (1) (h), unless the holding company furnishes, directly to the public, telecommunications or sewer service, heat, light, water or power or, by means of pipes or mains, natural gas.
196.01(5)(b)3.
3. Any company, as defined in
s. 196.795 (1) (f), which owns, operates, manages or controls a telecommunications utility unless the company furnishes, directly to the public, telecommunications or sewer service, heat, light, water or power or, by means of pipes or mains, natural gas.
196.01(5)(b)4.
4. A cellular mobile radio telecommunications utility [A commercial mobile radio service provider.].
196.01 Note
NOTE: The bracketed language indicates the correct terminology.
1997 Wis. Act 218 changed the term ``cellular mobile radio telecommunications utility" to ``commercial mobile radio service provider" in sub. (5), but did not take into account the creation of par. (b) by
1997 Wis. Act 184. Corrective legislation is pending.
196.01(7)
(7) "Service" is used in its broadest and most inclusive sense.
196.01(8)
(8) "Small telecommunications utility" means any telecommunications utility or a successor in interest of a telecommunications utility that provided landline local and access telecommunications service as of January 1, 1984, and that has less than 50,000 access lines in use in this state.
196.01(8m)
(8m) "Telecommunications carrier" means any person that owns, operates, manages or controls any plant or equipment used to furnish telecommunications services within the state directly or indirectly to the public but does not provide basic local exchange service, except on a resale basis. "Telecommunications carrier" does not include an alternative telecommunications utility or a commercial mobile radio service provider.
196.01(8p)
(8p) "Telecommunications provider" means any person who provides telecommunications services.
196.01(9)
(9) "Telecommunications reseller" or "reseller" means a telecommunications utility that resells message telecommunications service, wide-area telecommunications services or other telecommunications services which have been approved for reselling by the commission.
196.01(9m)
(9m) "Telecommunications service" means the offering for sale of the conveyance of voice, data or other information at any frequency over any part of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the sale of service for collection, storage, forwarding, switching and delivery incidental to such communication and including the regulated sale of customer premises equipment. "Telecommunications service" does not include cable television service or broadcast service.
196.01(10)
(10) "Telecommunications utility" means any person, corporation, company, cooperative, partnership, association and lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court that owns, operates, manages or controls any plant or equipment used to furnish telecommunications services within the state directly or indirectly to the public. "Telecommunications utility" does not include a telecommunications carrier.
196.01(12)
(12) "Transmission facility" means any plant or equipment used to carry telecommunications services by wire, optics, radio signal or other means.
196.01(13)
(13) "Wide-area telecommunications service" means the offering of message-based telecommunications service using a single, dedicated access line at the originating end of the call at a significant volume-based discount.
196.01 History
History: 1977 c. 29,
418;
1981 c. 390;
1983 a. 27,
53,
76,
192,
425,
538;
1985 a. 79,
1985 a. 297 ss.
14 to
22,
39;
1987 a. 27;
1989 a. 344;
1993 a. 121,
496;
1995 a. 46,
409;
1997 a. 184,
218,
229; s. 13.93 (2) (c).
196.01 Annotation
Commission may determine that holding company, formed by public utility corporation to engage in non-utility business ventures, is itself public utility, where holding company possesses power to control utility plant or equipment or where arrangement is device to evade regulatory jurisdiction.
71 Atty. Gen. 147.
