DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND INDUSTRY SERVICES

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

PAYPHONE SERVICE

(By authority conferred on the public service commission by sections 213 and 320 of

Act No. 179 of the Public Acts of 1991, as amended, being SS484.2213 and

484.2320 of the Michigan Compiled Laws)

R 484.151 General provisions.

Rule 1. These rules apply to all aspects of payphone service, except for the

provision of operator services.

History: 1996 AACS.

R 484.152 Definitions.

Rule 2. As used in these rules:

(a) "Aggregator" means a person who, in the ordinary course of its operations,

makes telephones available to the public or to transient users of its premises for telephone

calls using a provider of operator services.

(b) "Call" means an effort by a person to obtain a telephone connection, whether

the connection is completed or not.

through use of a payphone service.

(d) "Commission" means the Michigan public service commission.

(e) "Inoperative payphone" means a telephonic device that is physically broken or

that will not allow the completion of a telephone call for reasons other than error by

the end user.

(f) "Payphone service" means a telephone service provided from a public,

semipublic, or individually owned and operated telephone that is available to the

public and is accessed by the depositing of coins or currency or by other means of

payment at the time that the call is made. Payphone service does not include service from

telephones that are located in correctional facilities, which are considered toll terminals.

History: 1996 AACS.

R 484.153 Posting requirements; content.

Rule 3. Each provider or aggregator of payphone service shall post on or near the

payphone, in plain view of end users, all of the following information:

(a) The name of the provider or aggregator.

(b) The address of the provider or aggregator.

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(d) Either an identification number for the payphone or the telephone number of

the payphone.

(e) The toll-free number established by the commission that can be called to

report an inoperative payphone.

History: 1996 AACS.

R 484.154 Posting requirements; time.

Rule 4. (1) The information required to be posted pursuant to R 484.153 shall be

displayed on or near every payphone in Michigan within 90 days after the effective

date of these rules or at the time of installation or activation of a payphone, whichever

is later.

(2) If a provider is in compliance with the requirements of R 484.153(a),

(b), (c), and (d) at the time that these rules become effective and if the provider

has already posted its own toll-free repair number on its payphones, the information

required to be posted pursuant to R 484.153(e) need not be displayed on that provider's

payphones until 180 days after the effective date of these rules.

History: 1996 AACS.

R 484.155 Reporting requirements; signage.

Rule 5. At least once annually, a provider or aggregator of payphone service in

Michigan shall file a sworn affidavit by an officer of the provider or aggregator

stating the actions that the provider has taken to ensure compliance with the payphone

signage requirements set forth in R 484.153.

History: 1996 AACS.

R 484.156 Reporting of repairs.

Rule 6. Within 2 business days of completing a repair to a payphone that was

reported to the provider as being inoperative as a result of a report received by the

commission on the toll-free line established pursuant to R 484.153(e), the provider or

aggregator of the payphone service shall confirm completion of the repair to the

commission.

History: 1996 AACS.

R 484.157 Duty to investigate and repair inoperative payphone.

Rule 7. By the next working day after receiving a report that a payphone is

inoperative, a provider or aggregator of payphone service shall determine the

cause for inoperability and pursue 1 of the following courses of action to remedy

the problem:

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(a) If the cause of inoperability is a repairable defect in the payphone device itself,

then the provider of payphone service shall complete the repair of the payphone

device as soon as possible, but not more than 48 hours after receipt of a report of an

inoperative payphone.

(b) If the cause of inoperability is vandalism, theft, or other problem requiring

replacement of the payphone or other reconstruction at the payphone site, the provider

of payphone service shall complete the repair within 30 days after receipt of the report

of an inoperative payphone.

caused by the service provided by the basic local exchange provider or other third party,

then the provider of payphone service shall notify the responsible party immediately

upon discovery.

History: 1996 AACS.

R 484.158 Requirements for payphone service.

Rule 8. (1) All payphones in Michigan shall provide a dial tone before requiring

payment. A provider that cannot comply with this requirement at the time that these

rules take effect due to the technological capability of its system shall comply with this

rule not later than January 1, 1997.

(2) The provider of a payphone that is located within a 9-1-1 service district shall

provide both of the following:

(a) A prominently displayed notice that a caller can dial 9-1-1 in an emergency and

that deposit of a coin or another form of payment is not required.

(b) The capability to allow a caller to dial 9-1-1 without first inserting a coin or

paying any other charge.

(3) A provider of a payphone that is not located within a 9-1-1 service district shall

provide both of the following:

(a) A prominently displayed notice that a caller can reach emergency services

by calling the operator and that depositing a coin or another form of payment is not

required.

(b) The capability to allow a caller to reach emergency services by calling the

operator without first inserting a coin or paying any other charge.

History: 1996 AACS.

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