Section 882 Of Article 8. Universal Telephone Service From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 8.
882
. (a) The Public Utilities Commission shall, as soon as
practicable, open a proceeding or proceedings to, or as part of
existing proceedings shall, consider ways to ensure that advanced
telecommunications services are made available as ubiquitously and
economically as possible, in a timely fashion, to California's
citizens, institutions, and businesses. The proceeding or proceedings
should be completed within one year of commencement.
(b) The proceeding or proceedings shall develop rules, procedures,
orders, or strategies, or all of these, that seek to achieve the
following goals:
(1) To provide all citizens and businesses with access to the
widest possible array of advanced communications services.
(2) To provide the state's educational and health care
institutions with access to advanced communications services.
(3) To ensure cost-effective deployment of technology so as to
protect ratepayers' interests and the affordability of
telecommunications services.
(c) In the proceeding or proceedings, the commission should also
consider, but need not limit its consideration to, all of the
following:
(1) Whether the definition of universal service should be
broadened.
(2) How to encourage the timely and economic development of an
advanced public communications infrastructure, which may include a
variety of competitive providers.