Section 736.105  Definitions

As used in this Part, the following terms shall have these definitions:

"Act" means the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5].

"Answer time" means a measurement in seconds from the point the carrier's telephone system receives the call until the call is answered by the carrier's representative or voice response unit and ready to accept information.  When the carrier uses a menu-driven system, the measurement begins once the menu-based system has transferred the customer into the carrier's telephone system until the call is answered by the carrier's representative.

"Assistance calls" means calls in which the operator provides assistance or instructions to the customer.  Examples include rate quotes, credit requests, trouble reports, dial assistance, and dialing instructions.

"Business office" means those offices of the carrier where calls are answered and made.  A business office typically employs representatives to assist customers for order entry and lookup on customers' orders and account records through the use of a computerized system.

"Busy hour" means the two consecutive half-hours each day during which the greatest volume of traffic is handled.

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Customer" means any person, building owner, firm, partnership, corporation, municipality, cooperative, organization, governmental agency, etc., provided with WETC telecommunications services as defined in Section 13-204 of the Act [220 ILCS 5/13-204].  "Customer" may also be referred to as "end user."

"Customer premises equipment" or "CPE" means the equipment utilized by the customer to gain access to the wireless carrier's network – see "Handset."

"Dropped calls" means a wireless mobile phone call that is terminated unexpectedly and in the absence of disconnection initiated by either party to the call.

"Emergency situation" means a single event that causes an interruption of service or installations affecting end users of a WETC.  The emergency situation shall begin with the first end user whose service is interrupted by the single event, and shall end with the restoration or installation of the service of all affected end users.  The term single event shall include:

a declaration made by the applicable State or federal governmental agency that the area served by the WETC is either a State or federal disaster area; or

an act of third parties, including acts of terrorism, vandalism, riot, civil unrest, or war, or acts of parties that are not agents, employees or contractors of the WETC; or

a severe storm, tornado, earthquake, flood or fire, including any severe storm, tornado, earthquake, flood or fire that prevents the WETC from restoring service due to impassable roads, downed power lines, or the closing off of affected areas by public safety officials.

The term "emergency situation" shall not include:

a single event caused by high temperature conditions alone; or

a single event caused, or exacerbated in scope and duration, by acts or omissions of the WETC, its agents, employees or contractors or by the condition of facilities, equipment, or premises owned or operated by the WETC; or

any service interruption that occur during a single event listed in this definition, but are not caused by those single events; or

a single event that the WETC could have reasonably foreseen and taken precaution to prevent; provided, however, that in no event shall a WETC be required to undertake precautions that are technically infeasible or economically prohibitive.

This Part shall be construed as being content neutral as to whether a strike or other work stoppage is an "emergency situation".  In the event of a strike or other work stoppage, the WETC's obligations to provide remedies for failure to comply with this Part shall, in the absence of a decision by a court of competent jurisdiction, be determined by the Commission on a case-by-case basis based upon the individual factual circumstances of each strike or other work stoppage.  In making such a determination, and notwithstanding the definition of "emergency situation" above, the Commission shall not presume that a strike or other work stoppage is an act of an employee or of the WETC.

"End user" means any person, building owner, firm, partnership, corporation, municipality, cooperative, organization, governmental agency, etc., provided with WETC regulated telecommunications service for consumption, not for resale, as defined in Section 13-204 of the Act [220 ILCS 5/13-204].  "End user" may also be referred to as "customer."

"Handset" means the device employed by the end user to originate, route or terminate regulated telecommunications service over the WETC network.  For the purposes of this Part, handsets are considered to be the equivalent of customer premises equipment ("CPE"), beyond the regulatory authority of the Commission, and subject to the terms and conditions of a contract or warranty between the manufacturer, WETC, and end user.

"Information call" means a call in which a customer will be connected to an information bureau by dialing the proper service code or number and will be given the directory number of the customer whom he desires to call, provided that the customer's number to be called is or will be published or listed in the information records.  An "information call" is also referred to as directory assistance.

"Map" means a drawing showing a geographical area in which a WETC furnishes regulated telecommunications services.

"Regulated telecommunications service" means the ability to transmit and receive voice service over the WETC's network at the end user's residence or business location, as identified by the billing or designated address of the account.  Regulated telecommunications service refers to Commission regulation, and does not include WETC network performance in other service territories (e.g., roaming) or from other cellular towers at locations away from the billing or designated address.

"Repair office" means an office to handle customers' reported telephone facility problems.  Customers may call to request trouble verification tests, initiate trouble reports and obtain information on the status of open trouble reports.

"Reporting entity" means a unit established by the WETC for the purpose of administering the customer service operations established by this Part.

"Signal strength" means the measure of how strongly a transmitted signal is being received, measured or predicted, at a reference point that is a significant distance from the transmitting antenna, measured in dB-microvolts per metre (dBµV/m).

"Traffic" means call volume based on number and duration of messages.

"Trouble report" means any verbal or written report relating to difficulty or dissatisfaction with the operation of regulated telecommunications services to the WETC regarding the operation of the network affecting their regulated telecommunication service, including both service-affecting conditions or out of service conditions.  One report shall be counted for a verbal or written report received.  When several items are reported by one customer at the same time, and the group of troubles so reported is clearly related to a common cause, they are counted as one report.

"Wireless Eligible Telecommunications Carrier" or "WETC" means a wireless telecommunications carrier that has been designated by the Commission as eligible to receive federal universal service funds.