FAQs

Yes. If a carrier provides service to the public without receiving operating authority, the carrier is subject to sanctions and penalties as provided by law, including the refund of any payments made by customers. (Maryland Public Utilities Article and Related Laws, §2-113(a)(1) and (2)) The Commission does not regulate interexchange telecommunications.

A carrier who provides retail telecommunications services to 20,000 or fewer subscribers must file a completed Application Form including a current link to the carrier’s Pricing Guide. A Sample Pricing Guide is included on the Commission’s website.

A complete application must include (1) a completed Application Form, (2) the carrier’s tariff(s) in legislative and clean forms, and (3) a completed checklist for each required initial tariff. A carrier providing service to fewer than 20,000 subscribers is not required to file or maintain a tariff with the Commission.

The application is distributed to the Commission’s Staff who reviews the filing and recommends that the application be either approved or rejected. During the review period, Staff may contact the applicant to obtain additional information.

An application that is complete and accurate can be processed in approximately 30 to 60 days.

Carriers must file an original and fourteen (14) paper copies along with 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette) of the complete application. Fourteen (14) copies of the initial tariffs in legislative format are required. The legislative format should outline proposed deviations from the model tariff language. COMAR 20.07.04.13.
http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/comarhtml/20/20.07.04.13.aspx

Yes. Applications are considered at weekly Administrative Meetings that are open to the public, and any party or representative may address the item that is before the Commission.

No.

Within a day or two of the Commission’s ruling on the application, the party who submitted the application will receive a written notice of the Commission’s decision and any other relevant information or requirements.

A pricing guide is a list of terms, conditions, and prices of de-tariffed services. An official tariff is not required to be on file with the Commission for services deemed de-tariffed. However, de-tariffed services remain otherwise regulated by the Commission. Therefore, the carrier must continue to comply with all applicable statutory and COMAR rules and regulations, as well as Commission Orders. A Sample Pricing Guide can be found here.

As described in the Commission’s Order No. 88353 in Case No. 9414, carriers providing retail services to 20,000 or fewer subscribers are not required to maintain a tariff with the Commission.

A carrier may file a letter with the Commission including a certification that the company has fewer than 20,000 subscribers, an acknowledgement that the company will file a tariff with the Commission if its number of subscribers exceeds 20,000, a certification that the company will comply with all Commission rules, regulations, and orders, and the URL for the company’s pricing guide. More information on how to file can be found here.

The issued and effective dates should be left blank. The carrier will be directed to file a clean copy of the tariffs to include all applicable dates after the application is considered by the Commission.

Carriers must file an original and 14 copies in standard format, 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette), and 14 copies in legislative format. COMAR 20.07.04.13. http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/comarhtml/20/20.07.04.13.aspx

The Telecommunications page on the Commission’s website provides a Model Standard Tariff for retail local exchange services and a Model Access Tariff for carrier access services. The model tariffs contain all of the provisions for tariffs that meet the Commission’s requirements. The Commission requires carriers to follow the model tariff to expedite the application review process.

A carrier may deviate from the model tariffs, but adherence to the checklist items must be ensured. See Commission letter titled, “Notice to All Telecommunications Providers and Applicants” dated January 28, 2005.
https://www.pscmaryland.com/telecommunications/applications-operating-authority-tariffs

Yes. Fourteen (14) copies of the proposed tariff must be submitted in legislative format. That is, any additional text added to the model tariff must be underlined (underlined) and any text deleted must be bracketed [bracketed]. Tariff provisions that are inconsistent with one another or do not otherwise satisfy the checklist will not be accepted by the Staff reviewer.

Applicants requesting long distance operating authority are required to file their initial long distance tariff at the time of application. Applicants for local operating authority may submit their local tariffs at a later date if they have not completed making interconnection arrangements with other carriers. In no case can a carrier provide service without having approved tariffs on file with the Commission.

Assuming that the Company filed all of the documentation properly, it takes about 1-2 months on average to get the application and the tariff approved. An analyst reviews the filing, writes comments, and passes on the application to the upper management for review and to the Commission for decision. The analyst does not control the scheduling of the filing for the Administrative Meeting held before the Commission, where the Commission will decide ultimately to either accept or reject the filing. Thus, the approximate timing indicated is only an estimate and cannot be held as a precise time frame. A longer or shorter time period may be needed for the review and approval. As it is stated in the “Notice to all Telecommunications Providers and Applicants,” “The Commission believes that requiring carriers to use the model tariff and to show changes in legislative format will expedite the approval process and will help to ensure that all Maryland-specific tariff requirements are included in the initial tariff.”

Carriers must file a transmittal letter and include copies of the proposed tariff in standard and legislative format. A tariff in legislative format shows additional text as underlined (underlined) and text deleted as bracketed [bracketed].

For all revisions to tariffs, carriers must file an original and 14 copies of the tariff in standard format, 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette), and 14 copies of the tariff in legislative format.

The Commission will consider tariff revisions within 30 days of when they are filed.

Yes. The Commission’s Staff will defer consideration of the filing if it finds that corrections are needed to make the filing consistent with the Commission’s requirements.

The issue date should be the date the tariff revision is sent to the Commission. The effective date should be approximately 30 days after the filing is received by the Commission. (Allow 3 –7 days in transit)

The law states that a public notice should be provided to customers about any rate changes at least 30 days prior to those rate changes. (Public Utilities Article and Related Laws, §4-203)

Yes. Promotions must specify a beginning and ending date in the tariff. The promotional period is limited to 6 months and cannot be extended. If a carrier wishes to offer a promotion longer than 6 months, a tariff revision must be filed to convert the promotion to a permanent offering.

Carriers must file an original and 14 copies of the tariff in standard format and 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette). No copies in legislative format are required.

Promotions may be filed on 1-day notice. As with standard tariff revisions, the issue date should be the date the tariff revision is sent to the Commission. The effective date should reflect the 1-day notice period and 7-day transit time. Therefore, the effective date should be 8 days later than the issued date.

Typically three to four weeks.

Generally no, but if a Company’s application for operating authority is scheduled to be approved within a week or so, an exception may be made.

Yes.

Corporate transactions include name changes, transfers of control, transfers of assets and/or customers, mergers, and acquisitions.

Yes.

Carriers must provide documentation that authorizes the transaction, i.e., amended articles of incorporation, merger agreement, etc. If a name change results from a transaction, the new name must also be properly registered with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. If a merger creates a new entity, the new entity must file a complete application for operating authority. All existing tariffs must be modified to reflect a new name as appropriate.

• Initial tariffs – An original and 14 copies in standard format, 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette), and 14 copies in legislative format.
• Tariff revisions – An original and 14 copies in standard format, 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette), and 14 copies in legislative format.
• Promotions – An original and 14 copies in standard format and 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette). No copies in legislative format are required.
• Interconnection Agreement and Amendments – An original and 14 copies and 1 electronic copy (CD or diskette).

Filing fees are available at Filing Fees schedule

There are no required periodic reports for CLECs and interexchange carriers. All information required by the Commission will be obtained from forms mailed to carriers by the Commission.

Prior to disconnection of a telecommunications provider by an underlying carrier for non-payment of bills, the underlying carrier is required to inform the Commission of the non-payment in accordance with COMAR 20.45.04.14. http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/comarhtml/20/20.45.04.14.aspx

The requirements for discontinuance of local service are included in COMAR 20.45.04.13. http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/comarhtml/20/20.45.04.13.aspx

The interest rate is calculated annually, usually by the end of December. It is developed using the average 1-year Treasury rates for the months of September, October, and November and is applicable for the following calendar year.

The Commission has accepted the existing Verizon Maryland tariffs currently on file and Verizon customers agree to abide by the conditions specified therein when they enter a commercial relationship with Verizon. The appropriate site which describes whether local exchange service is furnished at business or residential rates is Verizon Tariff Number 202, Section 1, pages 1-2. http://www.verizon.com/tariffs/PDFViewer.aspx?doc=181404

Nothing in the regulations specifically addresses this issue. However, common practice in the industry is that a credit, regardless of the amount, is applied to future billings unless the customer specifically requests a refund or the account has been closed.

There is no regulation regarding this time period, but common practice is one or two billing cycles.

There is no specific length of time specified in the regulations.

Companies are required to maintain billing records for at least 3 years.

Not without prior authorization from the Commission.

The new 667 area code will serve customers in the same geographic region as the current 410 and 443 area codes when implemented, but only customers initiating new lines or services after March 24, 2012. No lines with 410 or 443 numbers will be changed to 667 numbers.

Starting March 24, 2012, new lines or services may be assigned a phone number with the 667 area code. As is current practice with calls to 410 and 443 numbers, calls to the new 667 area code will require callers to dial the area code and 7-digit phone number.

An overlay is the addition of another area code to the same geographic region as an existing area code. In this instance, the new 667 area code is being added to the same region served by the 410 and 443 area codes.

The 667 overlay does not require any customers to change their existing area code or telephone numbers, but it does require anyone receiving a 667 telephone number to dial the area code and the 7-digit number for all calls, including calls within the same area code.

For 410 and 443 customers, there will be no change to your existing area code, phone number or dialing requirement. The 410 and 443 area codes already have mandatory 10-digit dialing in place and no changes will be made to those dialing requirements with the implementation of the new 667 area code. The 410 and 443 customers simply need to be aware that the new 667 area code will serve the same geographic region as the existing 410 and 443 area codes.

If you are a customer who receives a 667 telephone number, you should be aware that 10-digit dialing will be required for all calls, even those within the same area code.

No; 410 and 443 customers will only need to continue to dial the area code for all calls. Your current area code and 7-digit telephone number will not change. The price of a call, your wireless plan and coverage area, and other rates and services will not change because of the 667 overlay. All local calls will remain local, regardless of the number of digits dialed.

The following items will not change due to the overlay:

• Your area code and 7-digit phone number
• The price of a call, your coverage area, and your other rates and services
• Any 3-digit number that may be available in your community can still be dialed with just three digits (e.g., 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711, 811, 911)

Beginning March 24, 2012, new phone lines or services may be assigned numbers with the 667 area code. If you are assigned a phone number with the 667 area code, you will need to dial the area code for all calls, including calls to another 667 number.

Since three area codes will serve the same area, if you have a 410, 443, or 667 area code, you will need to dial the area code for ALL calls, including calls within your same area code.

If you have any questions about the 410, 443, and 667 area code overlay, please contact your local carrier. Updates will be posted to the PSC website.