§ 54-8b-1.1. Legislative policy declarations.

     The Legislature declares it is the policy of the state to:

(1) endeavor to achieve the universal service objectives of the state as set forth in Section 54-8b-11;

(2) facilitate access to high quality, affordable public telecommunications services to all residents and businesses in the state;

(3) encourage the development of competition as a means of providing wider customer choices for public telecommunications services throughout the state;

(4) allow flexible and reduced regulation for telecommunications corporations and public telecommunications services as competition develops;

(5) facilitate and promote the efficient development and deployment of an advanced telecommunications infrastructure, including networks with nondiscriminatory prices, terms, and conditions of interconnection;

(6) encourage competition by facilitating the sale of essential telecommunications facilities and services on a reasonably unbundled basis;

(7) seek to prevent prices for tariffed public telecommunications services or price-regulated services from subsidizing the competitive activities of regulated telecommunications corporations;

(8) encourage new technologies and modify regulatory policy to allow greater competition in the telecommunications industry;

(9) enhance the general welfare and encourage the growth of the economy of the state through increased competition in the telecommunications industry; and

(10) endeavor to protect customers who do not have competitive choice.

Enacted by Chapter 269, 1995 General Session