49-03.1-09. Registration of telecommunications companies that are not incumbent
telecommunications companies - Penalty.
1. Before providing service in this state or collecting payment for service in advance of
providing the service for which payment was collected, a telecommunications
company that is not an incumbent telecommunications company under chapter 49-21
shall register with the commission in a form satisfactory to the commission.
2. Registration must include, at a minimum, the following information, updated within
fifteen days after any change:
a. The company's name, complete address, and telephone number;
b. All names under which the company does business;
c. All names under which the company has registered with the secretary of state;
d. The company's secretary of state system identification number;
e. The name, title, address, and telephone number of an authorized representative
to whom the commission may make inquiries;
f. A toll-free telephone number to which consumer inquiries or complaints may be
made; and
g. Whether the company has ever had its authority to provide service revoked, and
if so, the date and jurisdiction of revocation.
3. As part of the registration process, the commission may require by rule the posting of
a surety bond in an amount determined by the commission. In addition to any other
penalties provided by law, a violation of this subsection or any rule or order under this
subsection is a class C felony if the accumulated customer loss resulting from a
violation is greater than five thousand dollars.
4. The commission may revoke a company's registration, after notice and hearing under
chapter 28-32, for violation of any law, rule, or order of the commission.
5. A company's registration is void if the company is voluntarily dissolved, involuntarily
dissolved, or forfeits its authority to transact business under state law. The registration
of a company that is involuntarily dissolved or that forfeits its authority to transact
business is void effective with the effective date of involuntary dissolution under
subsection 7 of section 10-19.1-146 or forfeiture under subsection 8 of section
10-19.1-146.
6. If the commission finds an emergency exists that requires ex parte action, the
commission may issue a cease and desist order without prior notice against a
telecommunications company that the commission has reason to believe has not
complied with this section and is requiring that customers pay for service in advance of
receiving that service. The cease and desist order must be:
a. Directed against the telecommunications company's advance payment
requirements, not the company's provision of service to current customers;
b. Accompanied by service on the telecommunications company of a commission
order opening an investigation or a formal complaint regarding the company's
compliance with this section; and
c. Accompanied by service on the telecommunications company of a notice of
opportunity to be heard on the cease and desist order within fifteen days of
issuance of the cease and desist order.
7. Subsections 3 through 6 do not apply to a facilities-based company providing
commercial mobile radio service, as defined in title 47, Code of Federal Regulations,
part 20, section 20.3.
