SECTION 165:56-3-1. Certificate of Convenience and Necessity

(a)   Requirement for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. No person shall resell any telecommunications service obtained from a certificated carrier to any customer in Oklahoma, without first having secured a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity from the Commission.

(b)   Application for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. An application for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity shall be made pursuant to the requirements of 17 O.S. § 131 et seq. and shall conform to the requirements thereof and with the Commission's Rules of Practice, OAC 165:5, and any additional requirements set forth in this Chapter. An original and four (4) copies of the application for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity shall be filed with the Commission's Court Clerk. A filing fee pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice, OAC 165:5, shall be required.

(c)   Application requirements for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. An applicant to the Commission for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to provide reseller service in the State of Oklahoma shall be required to demonstrate its financial, managerial, and technical ability to provide the requested reseller service in the State of Oklahoma. An application for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to provide reseller services shall include as attachments to the application the following information, which must be certified as true and correct by an officer of any corporate applicant, or an authorized representative of an unincorporated applicant, in a format approved by the Director of the Public Utility Division:

(1)   As applicable, the complete name, including each and every trade name under which business will be conducted, corporate or other headquarters address and names/addresses of principal corporate officers or partners of the entity proposing to resell telecommunications service to the public in the State of Oklahoma. Also, include the telephone number and, if applicable, the toll-free telephone number.

(2)   If different from those provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the name(s) and address(es) of all officers and corporate offices of the reseller located in the State of Oklahoma and the name(s) and address(es) of employee(s) responsible for Oklahoma operations.

(3)   A copy of the applicable certificate, issued by Oklahoma's Secretary of State, to transact business in the State of Oklahoma.

(4)   A copy of the Corporate Trade Name Report, issued by Oklahoma's Secretary of State, shall be provided for each and every trade name, i.e. a d/b/a, utilized by the reseller.

(5)   A financial statement.

(6)   Contact name(s), address(es) and telephone number(s) of the individual(s) responsible for providing service to customers, for repairs and maintenance, for answering complaints, and supplying refunds. This will be the principal contact to be utilized by the Commission's Consumer Services Division and Public Utility Division regarding questions and complaints against the reseller.

(7)   A description of the reseller's proposed procedures used to verify customer- ordered changes in presubscribed carriers, including, but not limited to, a proposed letter of agency that is consistent with the requirements of 47 CFR Ch. I, Section 64.1150, proposed independent third-party verification script and/or proposed telephone contact script.

(8)   A complete set of proposed tariffs which shall include terms and conditions of service and all rates, charges, and service classifications in a format approved by the Director of the Public Utility Division. The proposed tariffs shall comply with OAC 165:56-5-1 through OAC 165:56-5-3.

(9)   A copy of the applicant's proposed complaint report form which is consistent with OAC 165:56-7-5. The complaint report form and complaint codes suggested by the Director of the Consumer Services Division are included as Appendix H and Appendix I, respectively, to this Chapter.

(10)   A written affirmation, signed before a Notary Public by someone with authority to bind the applicant, that:

(A)   The information contained in the application is true and correct;

(B)   The reseller is familiar with and will comply with all applicable federal and state laws and the rules and orders of the Commission;

(C)   The applicant possesses the financial ability to provide reseller services in the State of Oklahoma;

(D)   The reseller will contribute to the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund annually pursuant to OAC 165:59;

(E)   The reseller understands the Commission's contempt authority;

(F)   A statement that the applicant is not currently under investigation, either in this state or in another state or jurisdiction, for violation of any deceptive trade or consumer protection law or regulation, if that is the case;

(G)   A statement that the applicant has not been fined, sanctioned or otherwise penalized either in this state or in another state or jurisdiction for violation or any consumer protection law or regulation, if that is the case;

(H)   If either of the statements required in (F) and (G) above is untrue, a detailed explanation of the circumstances of the investigation or fine, sanction, or penalization including a detailed description of the cause(s), the number of customers involved, and current status of the proceeding; and

(I)   A statement as to whether the applicant currently seeks state or federal universal service funding of any kind for services provided in the state(s) in which applicant is currently authorized to provide service, and whether applicant intends to seek Oklahoma Universal Service Fund funding in Oklahoma.

(11)   The reseller's carrier identification code (CIC) and a statement that the reseller will provide its CIC to each LEC providing service in the State of Oklahoma, in order for the reseller to be identified. In the event the reseller does not have an assigned CIC, proof shall be provided that efforts to obtain the code have been initiated. If the reseller uses more than one CIC, each CIC and all associated trade name(s) shall be provided.

(12)   A statement regarding whether the applicant intends to utilize the services of a billing agent to issue bills to end-users.

(13)   A brief description of its history of providing the requested telecommunications service, or other telecommunications services, in order to demonstrate its managerial experience. The history shall include a list of the geographic areas in which it previously provided service and/or is currently providing service and such other documentation as may be requested by the Commission. Applicants for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity without prior experience shall list the experience of each principal officer, partner, or the sole proprietor in order to demonstrate its managerial ability, and/or provide other documentation as may be requested by the Commission.

(14)   A description of the applicant's experience in providing telecommunications services in order to demonstrate its technical abilities. In the case of applicants for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity without prior experience, the applicant shall provide documentation which supports its technical abilities or other documentation as may be requested by the Commission.

(15)   A list of all other states, if any, where:

(A)   The applicant is authorized to operate;

(B)   Authorization to operate is pending;

(C)   A request for authorization has been denied, including the reason stated for denial, with a certified copy of the denial document attached; and,

(D)   Authorization has been revoked, with a certified copy of the revocation document attached.

(16)   A statement that the service territory is to be the State of Oklahoma or, if less than the State of Oklahoma, a description of the proposed service territory is to be provided.

(d)   Requirements for expanding authority under an existing CCN. An Applicant wishing to expand its service authority under an existing Certificate of Convenience and Necessity granted pursuant to Chapters 55, 56, 57 and/or 58, must make application to the Commission and provide all information and notice as required in Sections 165:56-3-1(c) and 165:56-3-2. However, information submitted in support of a previous Application for certification, if such Application was approved by the Commission, may be used in support of the current Application by providing a written affirmation, signed before a Notary Public, and by someone with authority to bind the Applicant, stating that the previously submitted information is still true and correct, and circumstances have not changed. If the previously submitted information is no longer true and correct, or if circumstances have changed, Applicant shall submit updated information along with a written affirmation fully explaining all changed circumstances.

(e)   Amended application. During the Staff's review of the reseller's application, certain revisions and/or corrections to documents attached to the application may be requested. After the parties have agreed to the necessary revisions and/or corrections, such revisions and/or corrections shall be attached to an amended application. The reseller shall file an original and four (4) copies of its amended application with the Commission's Court Clerk. Requested revisions and/or corrections may include, but shall not be limited to:

(1)   Revisions to the applicant's proposed tariffs;

(2)   Provision of documents omitted from the originally filed application; and/or,

(3)   Correction of the statement, in the body of the application only, regarding the services for which authority to provide is being sought.

(f)   Additional information. The Public Utility Division Staff may issue data requests for additional relevant information as may be necessary. Data request responses shall be submitted to the Staff member requesting the information, and not filed with the Commission's Court Clerk.

(g)   Approval requirement. Unless provided otherwise in this Chapter, or by the laws of the State of Oklahoma, no Certificate of Convenience and Necessity shall be granted except by Order of the Commission, after such notice and hearing, if any, as directed by the Commission.

[Source: Added at 12 Ok Reg 2147, eff 7-1-95; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 2855, eff 7-15-97; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 3075, eff 7-15-98; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2290, eff 7-1-99; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2000, eff 7-1-02; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 2123, eff 7-1-04; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 1050, eff 9-14-18]