Sec. 153. -
Definitions
For the purposes of this chapter, unless the context
otherwise requires -
The term ''affiliate'' means a person that (directly
or indirectly) owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under
common ownership or control with, another person. For purposes of this
paragraph, the term ''own'' means to own an equity interest (or the
equivalent thereof) of more than 10 percent.
The term ''amateur station'' means a radio station
operated by a duly authorized person interested in radio technique solely
with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest.
(3)
AT&T Consent Decree The term ''AT&T Consent Decree''
means the order entered August 24, 1982, in the antitrust action styled
United States v. Western Electric, Civil Action No. 82-0192, in the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia, and includes any
judgment or order with respect to such action entered on or after August
24, 1982.
(4)
Bell operating company
The term ''Bell operating company'' -
(A)
means any of the following companies: Bell Telephone
Company of Nevada, Illinois Bell Telephone Company, Indiana Bell Telephone
Company, Incorporated, Michigan Bell Telephone Company, New England
Telephone and Telegraph Company, New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, New
York Telephone Company, U S West Communications Company, South Central
Bell Telephone Company, Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company,
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, The Bell Telephone Company of
Pennsylvania, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, The Chesapeake
and Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland, The Chesapeake and Potomac
Telephone Company of Virginia, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone
Company of West Virginia, The Diamond State Telephone Company, The Ohio
Bell Telephone Company, The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, or
Wisconsin Telephone Company; and
(B)
includes any successor or assign of any such company
that provides wireline telephone exchange service; but
(C)
does not include an affiliate of any such company,
other than an affiliate described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
The term ''broadcast station'', ''broadcasting
station'', or ''radio broadcast station'' means a radio station equipment
to engage in broadcasting as herein defined.
The term ''broadcasting'' means the dissemination of
radio communications intended to be received by the public, directly or by
the intermediary of relay stations.
The term ''cable service'' has the meaning given such
term in section 522 of this title.
The term ''cable system'' has the meaning given such
term in section 522 of this title.
The term ''chain broadcasting'' means simultaneous
broadcasting of an identical program by two or more connected stations.
The term ''common carrier'' or ''carrier'' means any
person engaged as a common carrier for hire, in interstate or foreign
communication by wire or radio or interstate or foreign radio transmission
of energy, except where reference is made to common carriers not subject
to this chapter; but a person engaged in radio broadcasting shall not,
insofar as such person is so engaged, be deemed a common carrier.
The term ''connecting carrier'' means a carrier
described in clauses (2), (3), or (4) of section
152(b) of this title.
The term ''construction permit'' or ''permit for
construction'' means that instrument of authorization required by this
chapter or the rules and regulations of the Commission made pursuant to
this chapter for the construction of a station, or the installation of
apparatus, for the transmission of energy, or communications, or signals
by radio, by whatever name the instrument may be designated by the
Commission.
The term ''corporation'' includes any corporation,
joint-stock company, or association.
(14)
Customer premises equipment
The term ''customer premises equipment'' means
equipment employed on the premises of a person (other than a carrier) to
originate, route, or terminate telecommunications.
The term ''dialing parity'' means that a person that
is not an affiliate of a local exchange carrier is able to provide
telecommunications services in such a manner that customers have the
ability to route automatically, without the use of any access code, their
telecommunications to the telecommunications services provider of the
customer's designation from among 2 or more telecommunications services
providers (including such local exchange carrier).
The term ''exchange access'' means the offering of
access to telephone exchange services or facilities for the purpose of the
origination or termination of telephone toll services.
(17)
Foreign communication
The term ''foreign communication'' or ''foreign
transmission'' means communication or transmission from or to any place in
the United States to or from a foreign country, or between a station in
the United States and a mobile station located outside the United States.
(18)
Great Lakes Agreement
The term ''Great Lakes Agreement'' means the
Agreement for the Promotion of Safety on the Great Lakes by Means of Radio
in force and the regulations referred to therein.
The term ''harbor'' or ''port'' means any place to
which ships may resort for shelter or to load or unload passengers or
goods, or to obtain fuel, water, or supplies. This term shall apply to
such places whether proclaimed public or not and whether natural or
artificial.
The term ''information service'' means the offering
of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming,
processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available information via
telecommunications, and includes electronic publishing, but does not
include any use of any such capability for the management, control, or
operation of a telecommunications system or the management of a
telecommunications service.
The term ''interLATA service'' means
telecommunications between a point located in a local access and transport
area and a point located outside such area.
(22)
Interstate communication
The term ''interstate communication'' or ''interstate
transmission'' means communication or transmission
(A)
from any State, Territory, or possession of the
United States (other than the Canal Zone), or the District of Columbia, to
any other State, Territory, or possession of the United States (other than
the Canal Zone), or the District of Columbia,
(B)
from or to the United States to or from the Canal
Zone, insofar as such communication or transmission takes place within the
United States, or
(C)
between points within the United States but through a
foreign country; but shall not, with respect to the provisions of
subchapter II of this chapter (other than section
223 of this title), include wire or radio
communication between points in the same State, Territory, or possession
of the United States, or the District of Columbia, through any place
outside thereof, if such communication is regulated by a State commission.
The term ''land station'' means a station, other than
a mobile station, used for radio communication with mobile stations.
The term ''licensee'' means the holder of a radio
station license granted or continued in force under authority of this
chapter.
(25)
Local access and transport area
The term ''local access and transport area'' or ''LATA''
means a contiguous geographic area -
(A)
established before February 8, 1996, by a Bell
operating company such that no exchange area includes points within more
than 1 metropolitan statistical area, consolidated metropolitan
statistical area, or State, except as expressly permitted under the AT&T
Consent Decree; or
(B)
established or modified by a Bell operating company
after February 8, 1996, and approved by the Commission.
(26)
Local exchange carrier
The term ''local exchange carrier'' means any person
that is engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service or exchange
access. Such term does not include a person insofar as such person is
engaged in the provision of a commercial mobile service under section
332(c) of this title, except to the extent that
the Commission finds that such service should be included in the
definition of such term.
The term ''mobile service'' means a radio
communication service carried on between mobile stations or receivers and
land stations, and by mobile stations communicating among themselves, and
includes
(A)
both one-way and two-way radio communication
services,
(B)
a mobile service which provides a regularly
interacting group of base, mobile, portable, and associated control and
relay stations (whether licensed on an individual, cooperative, or
multiple basis) for private one-way or two-way land mobile radio
communications by eligible users over designated areas of operation, and
(C)
any service for which a license is required in a
personal communications service established pursuant to the proceeding
entitled ''Amendment to the Commission's Rules to Establish New Personal
Communications Services'' (GEN Docket No. 90-314; ET Docket No. 92-100),
or any successor proceeding.
The term ''mobile station'' means a
radio-communication station capable of being moved and which ordinarily
does move.
The term ''network element'' means a facility or
equipment used in the provision of a telecommunications service. Such term
also includes features, functions, and capabilities that are provided by
means of such facility or equipment, including subscriber numbers,
databases, signaling systems, and information sufficient for billing and
collection or used in the transmission, routing, or other provision of a
telecommunications service.
The term ''number portability'' means the ability of
users of telecommunications services to retain, at the same location,
existing telecommunications numbers without impairment of quality,
reliability, or convenience when switching from one telecommunications
carrier to another.
(A)
The term ''operator'' on a ship of the United States
means, for the purpose of parts II and III of subchapter III of this
chapter, a person holding a radio operator's license of the proper class
as prescribed and issued by the Commission.
(B)
''Operator'' on a foreign ship means, for the purpose
of part II of subchapter III of this chapter, a person holding a
certificate as such of the proper class complying with the provisions of
the radio regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication
Convention in force, or complying with an agreement or treaty between the
United States and the country in which the ship is registered.
The term ''person'' includes an individual,
partnership, association, joint-stock company, trust, or corporation.
The term ''radio communication'' or ''communication
by radio'' means the transmission by radio of writing, signs, signals,
pictures, and sounds of all kinds, including all instrumentalities,
facilities, apparatus, and services (among other things, the receipt,
forwarding, and delivery of communications) incidental to such
transmission.
(A)
The term ''radio officer'' on a ship of the United
States means, for the purpose of part II of subchapter III of this
chapter, a person holding at least a first or second class radiotelegraph
operator's license as prescribed and issued by the Commission. When such
person is employed to operate a radiotelegraph station aboard a ship of
the United States, he is also required to be licensed as a ''radio
officer'' in accordance with chapter
71 of
title 46.
(B)
''Radio officer'' on a foreign ship means, for the
purpose of part II of subchapter III of this chapter, a person holding at
least a first or second class radiotelegraph operator's certificate
complying with the provisions of the radio regulations annexed to the
International Telecommunication Convention in force.
The term ''radio station'' or ''station'' means a
station equipped to engage in radio communication or radio transmission of
energy.
(36)
Radiotelegraph auto alarm
The term ''radiotelegraph auto alarm'' on a ship of
the United States subject to the provisions of part II of subchapter III
of this chapter means an automatic alarm receiving apparatus which
responds to the radiotelegraph alarm signal and has been approved by the
Commission. ''Radiotelegraph auto alarm'' on a foreign ship means an
automatic alarm receiving apparatus which responds to the radiotelegraph
alarm signal and has been approved by the government of the country in
which the ship is registered: Provided, That the United States and the
country in which the ship is registered are parties to the same treaty,
convention, or agreement prescribing the requirements for such apparatus.
Nothing in this chapter or in any other provision of law shall be
construed to require the recognition of a radiotelegraph auto alarm as
complying with part II of subchapter III of this chapter, on a foreign
ship subject to part II of subchapter III of this chapter, where the
country in which the ship is registered and the United States are not
parties to the same treaty, convention, or agreement prescribing the
requirements for such apparatus.
(37)
Rural telephone company
The term ''rural telephone company'' means a local
exchange carrier operating entity to the extent that such entity -
(A)
provides common carrier service to any local exchange
carrier study area that does not include either -
(i)
any incorporated place of 10,000 inhabitants or more,
or any part thereof, based on the most recently available population
statistics of the Bureau of the Census; or
(ii)
any territory, incorporated or unincorporated,
included in an urbanized area, as defined by the Bureau of the Census as
of August 10, 1993;
(B)
provides telephone exchange service, including
exchange access, to fewer than 50,000 access lines;
(C)
provides telephone exchange service to any local
exchange carrier study area with fewer than 100,000 access lines; or
(D)
has less than 15 percent of its access lines in
communities of more than 50,000 on February 8, 1996.
The term ''safety convention'' means the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea in force and the
regulations referred to therein.
(A)
The term ''ship'' or ''vessel'' includes every
description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance, except
aircraft, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on
water, whether or not it is actually afloat.
(B)
A ship shall be considered a passenger ship if it
carries or is licensed or certificated to carry more than twelve
passengers.
(C)
A cargo ship means any ship not a passenger ship.
(D)
A passenger is any person carried on board a ship or
vessel except
(1)
the officers and crew actually employed to man and
operate the ship,
(2)
persons employed to carry on the business of the
ship, and
(3)
persons on board a ship when they are carried, either
because of the obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked,
distressed, or other persons in like or similar situations or by reason of
any circumstance over which neither the master, the owner, nor the
charterer (if any) has control.
(E)
''Nuclear ship'' means a ship provided with a nuclear
powerplant.
The term ''State'' includes the District of Columbia
and the Territories and possessions.
The term ''State commission'' means the commission,
board, or official (by whatever name designated) which under the laws of
any State has regulatory jurisdiction with respect to intrastate
operations of carriers.
The term ''station license'', ''radio station
license'', or ''license'' means that instrument of authorization required
by this chapter or the rules and regulations of the Commission made
pursuant to this chapter, for the use or operation of apparatus for
transmission of energy, or communications, or signals by radio, by
whatever name the instrument may be designated by the Commission.
The term ''telecommunications'' means the
transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of
information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content
of the information as sent and received.
(44)
Telecommunications carrier
The term ''telecommunications carrier'' means any
provider of telecommunications services, except that such term does not
include aggregators of telecommunications services (as defined in section
226 of this title). A telecommunications
carrier shall be treated as a common carrier under this chapter only to
the extent that it is engaged in providing telecommunications services,
except that the Commission shall determine whether the provision of fixed
and mobile satellite service shall be treated as common carriage.
(45)
Telecommunications equipment
The term ''telecommunications equipment'' means
equipment, other than customer premises equipment, used by a carrier to
provide telecommunications services, and includes software integral to
such equipment (including upgrades).
(46)
Telecommunications service
The term ''telecommunications service'' means the
offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to
such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the
public, regardless of the facilities used.
(47)
Telephone exchange service
The term ''telephone exchange service'' means
(A)
service within a telephone exchange, or within a
connected system of telephone exchanges within the same exchange area
operated to furnish to subscribers intercommunicating service of the
character ordinarily furnished by a single exchange, and which is covered
by the exchange service charge, or
(B)
comparable service provided through a system of
switches, transmission equipment, or other facilities (or combination
thereof) by which a subscriber can originate and terminate a
telecommunications service.
(48)
Telephone toll service
The term ''telephone toll service'' means telephone
service between stations in different exchange areas for which there is
made a separate charge not included in contracts with subscribers for
exchange service.
(A)
Analog television service
The term ''analog television service'' means
television service provided pursuant to the transmission standards
prescribed by the Commission in section 73.682(a) of its regulations (47
C.F.R. 73.682(a)).
(B)
Digital television service
The term ''digital television service'' means
television service provided pursuant to the transmission standards
prescribed by the Commission in section 73.682(d) of its regulations (47
C.F.R. 73.682(d)).
(50)
Transmission of energy by radio
The term ''transmission of energy by radio'' or
''radio transmission of energy'' includes both such transmission and all
instrumentalities, facilities, and services incidental to such
transmission.
The term ''United States'' means the several States
and Territories, the District of Columbia, and the possessions of the
United States, but does not include the Canal Zone.
The term ''wire communication'' or ''communication by
wire'' means the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and
sounds of all kinds by aid of wire, cable, or other like connection
between the points of origin and reception of such transmission, including
all instrumentalities, facilities, apparatus, and services (among other
things, the receipt, forwarding, and delivery of communications)
incidental to such transmission
