66 Pa.C.S. Ch. 29

in effect

66 Pa.C.S. § 2901 Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings given to them in this section: "Dissemination." The act of transmitting, distributing, advising, spreading, communicating, conveying or making known. "Private wire." Any and all service equipment, facilities, conduits, poles, wires, circuits, systems by which or by means of which service is furnished for communication purposes, either through the medium of telephone, telegraph, Morse, teletypewriter, loudspeaker or any other means, or by which the voice or electrical impulses are sent over a wire, and which services are contracted for or leased for service between two or more points specifically designated, and are not connected to or available for general telegraphic or telephonic exchange or toll service, and shall include such services known as "special contract leased wire service," "leased line," "private line," "private system," "Morse line," "private wire," but shall not include the usual and customary telephone service by which the subscriber may be connected at each separate call to any other telephone designated by him only through the general telephone exchange system or toll service, and shall not include private wires used for fire or burglar alarm purposes, nor telegraph messenger call boxes and circuits used in connection therewith, time clock circuits used for furnishing correct time service, nor telegraph teleprinters when these teleprinters terminate in the telegraph companies' offices and are not directly connected between two customers. "Public utility." A person, partnership, association or corporation, now or hereafter owning or operating in this Commonwealth, equipment or facilities for conveying or transmitting messages or communications by telephone or telegraph to the public for compensation.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2902 Private wire for gambling information prohibited.

(a) General rule.--It is unlawful for any public utility knowingly to furnish to any person or corporation any private wire for use or intended for use in the dissemination of information in furtherance of gambling or for gambling purposes. Any contract shall constitute prima facie evidence that such private wire will be used in furtherance of gambling or for gambling purposes if it shall appear in such contract, or otherwise, that such private wire will be used, is intended to be used or has been used for the dissemination of information pertaining to any horse-racing, race track, race horse, betting, betting odds or any information relative thereto. (b) Burden of proof.--In any proceeding before the commission under this chapter and in any hearing or proceeding on appeal, the burden of proof shall be on the public utility and the person or corporation contracting for such private wire to show that the private wire has not been used, or is not being used, or is not intended for use in the furtherance of gambling or for gambling purposes.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2903 Written contract for private wire.

(a) General rule.--It is unlawful for any public utility to furnish to any person or corporation any private wire, except in pursuance of a written contract signed by the public utility, by the person or corporation contracting for said private wire and responsible under the terms of the contract for the payment for the service, and by the person or corporation in possession or control of any place or location designated in the contract for installation or connection of said private wire, which contract shall include a detailed written statement of the purpose for which such private wire is intended to be used. (b) Exceptions.--This section does not apply to: (1) The furnishing of any private wire in case of public emergency, or where the furnishing of the said private wire is for a temporary purpose not to exceed 48 hours. (2) Any private wire furnished for use in radio broadcasting, or to any private wire furnished for use by any protective service operating under a franchise granted by any municipality, or to any private wire furnished for use in interstate commerce, or to any private wire furnished for use of newspapers of general circulation. (c) Action by commission.--It is unlawful for any public utility to furnish to any person or corporation any private wire without first furnishing to the commission a duplicate original of the written contract required by this section. The commission shall examine the same forthwith and conduct such investigation as it may deem necessary, and, if upon examination of the contract, or after investigation, or otherwise at any time, the commission shall find that the said private wire is intended for or has been used for or is being used for the transmission of information or advice in furtherance of gambling, the commission shall disapprove the said contract and give notice of such disapproval to the contracting parties. Thereafter it shall be unlawful for any public utility to furnish the said private wire provided for in the said contract. This subsection does not apply to the furnishing of any private wire in case of public emergency, or where the furnishing of the said private wire is for a temporary purpose not to exceed 48 hours. (d) Hearing.--Any public utility or other person or corporation party to the contract who shall feel aggrieved at the action of the commission in disapproving any contract for any private wire shall be entitled to a hearing before the commission upon written request. (e) Illegal use.--It is unlawful for any person or corporation, who has been furnished a private wire by any public utility in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, to use such private wire for any purpose other than that specified in the contract.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2904 Joint use of telephone and telegraph facilities.

(a) Through lines for continuous service.--The commission may, upon complaint or upon its own motion, after reasonable notice and hearing, by order, require any two or more public utilities, whose lines or wires form a continuous line of communication, or could be made to do so by the construction and maintenance of suitable connections or the joint use of facilities, or the transfer of messages at common points, between different localities which cannot be communicated with, or reached by, the lines of either public utility alone, where such service is not already established or provided, to establish and maintain through lines within this Commonwealth between two or more such localities. The rate for such service shall be just and reasonable and the commission shall have power to establish the same, and declare the portion thereof to which each company affected thereby is entitled and the manner in which the same must be secured and paid. All facilities necessary to establish such service shall be constructed and maintained in such manner and under such rules, with such division of expense and labor, as may be required by the commission. (b) Trunk line connections.--The commission may, upon complaint or upon its own motion, after reasonable notice and hearing, by order, require any one or more public utilities to connect their facilities, through the medium of suitable trunk lines, with such manual or automatic inter-communicating telephone or telegraph systems as may be wholly owned or leased by such public utilities, or by any other person or corporation. Rates for such trunk line connections and service shall be in accordance with tariffs filed with and approved by the commission.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2905 Telephone message services.

(a) Notice.--Any telephone message service that provides a commercial, informational, public service or other message for a specific charge billed to the caller by a local phone company, prior to the presentation of the message, shall warn the caller that the cost of the call will be charged and that the charge will be itemized on the caller's telephone bill. In the event the message requested contains explicit sexual material, the warning preceding the message shall also inform the caller the message contains explicit sexual material. (b) Intrastate services.--Before any call can be completed to any telephone message service containing explicit sexual material, the caller shall have first obtained an access code number or other personal identification number consisting of not less than nine digits from the telephone message service through written application to the telephone message service. This access code number or personal identification number must be presented to the telephone message service after the warning message and in order to complete the call. (c) Dissemination to minors.--Access codes or personal identification numbers obtained to complete calls containing explicit sexual material as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5903 (relating to obscene and other sexual materials) shall not be issued to a minor. Telephone message services shall exercise all reasonable methods to ascertain that the applicant is not a minor. (d) Telephone company duties.--Every local telephone company and competitive interexchange telephone service shall list all telephone message service calls on the customer telephone bill and shall designate the type or title of message obtained. In addition, the telephone company shall provide, upon request, at no cost to the consumer, the name and address of any telephone service provider. All telephone companies shall include in their telephone message service tariffs, whether provided through the 976 exchange or otherwise, or in any contract with such telephone message service sponsor, a clause requiring compliance with this section as a condition for continuation of the service. (e) Costs of service.-- (1) All costs relating to this section shall be borne solely by the telephone message service. (2) All telephone message services shall provide, in writing, to all telephone companies and competitive interexchange telephone companies providing service in this Commonwealth, their complete telephone number or numbers, including area codes and type or title of service provided. This information shall be provided at the time of newly established service, change in service and annually. (f) Blocking access.--Every telephone company shall, except to the extent that written authorization is required by a customer for availability of access to all or certain types of telephone message services, provide to customers the option of having access to such telephone message services blocked. The telephone company may not charge the customer any fee or other cost for blocking access to availability of telephone message services unless such telephone company has already provided such blocking to the customer without fee. (g) Enforcement.-- (1) The commission shall promulgate rules or regulations to ensure the compliance of telephone companies providing messages covered by this section. (2) The failure of a telephone company to comply with this section shall be a violation of this section and the telephone company shall be subject to enforcement proceedings pursuant to section 502 (relating to enforcement proceedings by commission). (3) Failure of a telephone message service to comply with this section shall be a violation of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, and 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39 (relating to theft and related offenses). (Mar. 30, 1988, P.L.301, No.37, eff. 60 days) 1988 Amendment. Act 37 added section 2905.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2906 Dissemination of telephone numbers and other identifying information.

(a) General rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, but subject to the provisions of this title, any telephone call identification service offered in this Commonwealth by a public utility or by any other person, partnership, association or corporation that makes use of the facilities of a public utility shall be lawful if it allows a caller to withhold display of the caller's telephone number and other identifying information on both a per-call and per-line basis from the telephone instrument of the individual receiving the telephone call. (b) Charge prohibited.--There shall be no charge to the caller who requests that the caller's telephone number and other identifying information be withheld on a per-call basis. The commission may approve a charge to the caller who requests that the caller's telephone number and other identifying information be withheld on a per-line basis if the commission finds, after notice to all customers and an opportunity for hearing, that the charge is just and reasonable and that the charge should be imposed on the caller. Tariff rates shall not apply to victims of domestic violence receiving services from a domestic violence program or protected by a court order nor to social welfare agencies, such as women's shelters, health and counseling centers, public service hotlines and their staffs. In addition, the commission shall direct that the tariff rates shall not apply to customers who order the per-line blocking service within 60 days of its introduction or within 60 days of any request for new telephone service or transfer of existing telephone service. The commission shall also direct that, as soon as practicable, any public utility or any other person, partnership, association or corporation that makes use of the facilities of a public utility which provides this service shall also provide to the calling party only the ability to selectively unblock at no charge on a per-call basis a blocked line using a means which differs from the means to activate per-call blocking. The commission, in the interest of balancing respective privacy interests, shall also permit a tariffed service that automatically prevents the completion of telephone calls to customers who do not wish to receive calls from callers that withhold their telephone number or other identifying information; the terms and conditions of such a tariff shall be subject to commission approval. (c) Notice.--A public utility offering a call identification service shall notify its subscribers that their calls may be identified to a called party at least 60 days before the service is offered and shall clearly advise its subscribers of their ability to withhold their telephone number and other identifying information on both a per-call and a per-line basis. The form of the required notices must be approved by the commission. (d) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, but subject to the provisions of this title, provision of any of the following caller identification services shall be lawful even if the caller cannot withhold display of the caller's telephone number and other identifying information from the instrument of the individual receiving the telephone call: (1) An identification service which is used within the same limited system, including a Centrex or private branch exchange (PBX) system, as the recipient telephone. (2) An identification service which is used on a public agency's emergency telephone line or on the line which receives the primary emergency telephone number 911. (3) An identification service provided in connection with any "800" or "900" access code telephone service until the public utility develops the technical capability to comply with subsection (a), as determined by the commission. Until such capability is developed, telephone subscribers shall be notified annually by the public utility that use of an "800" or "900" number may result in the disclosure of the subscriber's telephone number or other identifying information to the called party. (4) An identification service for which the identification information is a necessary component of the communication being conveyed and for which, without such information, the called party would not reasonably be able to act upon or otherwise use the other portions of the communication. This exception is intended to cover services, such as health alert, home monitoring and other similar telemetry services. (Dec. 22, 1993, P.L.565, No.83, eff. imd.) 1993 Amendment. Act 83 added section 2906.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2907 State correctional institutions.

(a) Identification of calls.--Telecommunication service providers which provide telecommunication services to State correctional institutions shall identify to the called party any call made by an inmate as originating from a correctional institution. (b) Payment of calls.-- (1) The Department of Corrections may direct that calls made by an inmate shall be collect calls. (2) The Department of Corrections may provide guidelines for alternative payment methods for telephone calls made by inmates, provided that the alternative methods are consistent with security needs, orderly operation of the prison and the public interest. (c) No cause of action created.--This section shall not be construed to create any cause of action or any legal right in any person or entity. In addition, this section is not intended to create any right of an inmate to make a telephone call or to compel a particular method of payment. (Dec. 18, 1996, P.L.1061, No.156, eff. 60 days; Apr. 2, 2002, P.L.218, No.23, eff. imd.)

66 Pa.C.S. § 2911 Legislative findings and declarations.

The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: (1) It is in the public interest of the citizens of this Commonwealth to maintain and promote the availability and affordability of public coin telephone service. (2) The public safety, health and welfare requires that public coin telephone stations shall, except in extraordinary circumstances, have the capability of making and receiving local and toll calls in order to provide adequate service.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2912 Availability of adequate coin telephone service.

(a) General rule.--All public utilities, as defined in this chapter, shall maintain a sufficient number of public coin telephone stations within its service territory to provide adequate access to emergency telephone service, to ensure that there is adequate access to the telephone network for individuals who do not subscribe to telephone service and for any other purpose determined to be appropriate by the commission. (b) Definition.--As used in this subchapter the term "public coin telephone stations" means those stations which are readily accessible to the public 24 hours per day or are designated as public telephones pursuant to tariffs approved by the commission.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2913 Minimum service requirement.

(a) General rule.--All public and semipublic coin telephone stations maintained by a public utility or provided, maintained or sold in this Commonwealth by any other person, partnership, association or corporation shall, except in extraordinary circumstances, provide two-way service. The commission shall permit public coin telephones to be converted so that they are technically capable of placing, but not receiving, calls only when such conversion is necessary to protect the public safety, health and welfare and would be in the best interests of the public. (b) Public coin telephone service by nonpublic utilities.--No public utility shall provide telephone service to any person, partnership, association or corporation for the purpose of providing public and semipublic coin service unless the coin telephone complies with subsection (a). (c) Definition.--As used in this section the term "two-way service" means the technical capability to place and receive local and intrastate telephone calls, the conspicuous display of a telephone number at which the public coin telephone can be reached and the ability to recognize when a call is incoming.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2914 Establishment of just and reasonable rates.

The commission shall ensure that all public and semipublic coin telephone service rates for local and intrastate calls are just and reasonable.

66 Pa.C.S. § 2915 Duty of commission.

The commission shall ensure that the provisions of this subchapter are implemented by all public utilities, coin telephone station manufacturers, vendors, owners and lessors doing business in this Commonwealth. The commission shall, within 120 days after the effective date of this subchapter, promulgate regulations implementing the provisions of this subchapter.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=66Fetched: 10/16/2026