DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND CABLE

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title II, ch. c. 25C

in effect

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 1 Department of telecommunications and cable

c. 25C, § 1. Department of telecommunications and cable Section 1. There shall be in the office of consumer affairs and business regulation a department of telecommunications and cable, in this chapter called the department, for the general supervision of telephone and telegraph companies subject to chapter 166 and community antenna television systems as defined in section 1 of chapter 166A and for the development of statewide policy with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, established pursuant to section 6B of chapter 40J regarding advanced telecommunications capability within the commonwealth. For the purposes of this chapter, ''advanced telecommunications capability'' shall mean high-speed, switched, broadband telecommunications capability that enables users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics and video telecommunications using any technology, without regard to any transmission media or technology.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 2 Commissioner; appointment; duties

c. 25C, § 2. Commissioner; appointment; duties Section 2. The department shall be under the supervision and control of a commissioner who shall be appointed by the governor for a term coterminous with that of the governor, and who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The commissioner shall devote his full time to the duties of his office. The position of commissioner shall be classified in accordance with sections 45 and 46C of chapter 30.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 3 Performance of duties by commissioner; pecuniary interest in regulated industry companies

c. 25C, § 3. Performance of duties by commissioner; pecuniary interest in regulated industry companies Section 3. The commissioner shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his official duties. The commissioner shall not own, or be in the employ of, or own any stock in any regulated industry company, nor shall he be in any way directly or indirectly pecuniarily interested in or connected with any such regulated industry company or in the employ or connected with any person financing any regulated industry company. The commissioner shall not personally or through any partner or agent render any professional service or make or perform any business contract with or for any regulated industry company, nor shall he directly or indirectly receive any commission, bonus, discount, present, or reward from any regulated industry company. For the purposes of this section, a regulated industry company shall be defined as any corporation, city, town or other governmental subdivision, partnership or other organization, or any individual engaged within the commonwealth in any business which is, or the persons engaged in which are, in any respect made subject to the supervision or regulation of the department by any provision of law except chapter 110A and chapter 651 of the acts of 1910, as amended.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 4 Supervision of department; presiding officer

c. 25C, § 4. Supervision of department; presiding officer Section 4. The commissioner shall have and exercise supervision and control over all the affairs of the department. He shall preside at all hearings at which he is present, and shall designate an employee of the department to act as presiding officer in his absence.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 5 Protection of confidential and proprietary information during proceedings

c. 25C, § 5. Protection of confidential and proprietary information during proceedings Section 5. Notwithstanding clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 and section 10 of chapter 66, the department may protect from public disclosure trade secrets, confidential, competitively sensitive or other proprietary information provided in the course of proceedings conducted pursuant to this chapter. There shall be a presumption that the information for which such protection is sought is public information and the burden shall be upon the proponent of such protection to prove the need for such protection. Where such a need has been found to exist, the department shall protect only so much of the information as is necessary to meet such need. The commissioner shall adopt procedural regulations consistent with this section to implement this section.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 6 Division of telecommunications

c. 25C, § 6. Division of telecommunications Section 6. There shall be in the department and under the supervision and control of the commissioner a division of telecommunications. The division, subject to such supervision and control, shall perform functions that the commissioner may determine in relation to the administration, implementation, and enforcement of the department's authority over the telecommunications industry, including, but not limited to, the authority granted by chapters 25, 30A, 159 and 166. The commissioner shall annually prepare and submit to the governor and the general court, on or before the first Wednesday of November, a report of the division's activity and of the condition of the telecommunications industry within the commonwealth during the preceding fiscal year, together with recommendations which the commissioner considers necessary or desirable.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 6A Voiceover internet protocol service and internet protocol enabled service; regulation prohibited

c. 25C, § 6A. Voiceover internet protocol service and internet protocol enabled service; regulation prohibited Section 6A. (a) For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:— ''Internet Protocol enabled service'' or ''IP enabled service'', service, capability, functionality, or application provided using Internet Protocol, or any successor protocol, that enables an end user to send or receive a communication in Internet Protocol format or any successor format, regardless of technology; provided, however, that no service included within the definition of ''Voice over Internet Protocol service'' shall be included within this definition. ''Voiceover internet protocol service'' or ''VoIP Service'', service that: (1) enables real time, 2–way voice communications that originate from or terminate to the user's location in internet protocol or any successor protocol; (2) uses a broadband connection from the user's location; and (3) permits users generally to receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network. (b) Except as set forth in subsections (c) to (f), inclusive, and notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, no department, agency, commission or political subdivision of the commonwealth, shall enact, adopt or enforce, either directly or indirectly, any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, standard, order or other provision having the force or effect of law that regulates or has the effect of regulating, the entry, rates, terms or conditions of VoIP Service or IP enabled service. (c) Subsection (b) shall not be construed to affect the authority of the attorney general to apply and enforce chapter 93A or other consumer protection laws of general applicability. (d) Subsection (b) shall not be construed to affect, mandate or prohibit the assessment of nondiscriminatory enhanced 911 fees or telecommunications relay service fees. (e) Subsection (b) shall not be construed to modify or affect the rights or obligations of any carrier under sections 47 USC 251 or 47 USC 252. (f) Subsection (b) shall not be construed to affect or modify any obligations for the provision of video service by any party under applicable law.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 7 Assessments against cable television, telephone and telegraph companies; rate; collection

c. 25C, § 7. Assessments against cable television, telephone and telegraph companies; rate; collection Section 7. The commissioner may make an assessment against each cable television, telephone and telegraph company under the jurisdictional control of the department, based upon the intrastate operating revenues subject to the jurisdiction of the department of each such company derived from sales within the commonwealth of cable television, telephone and telegraph service, respectively, as shown in the annual report of each company to the department. These assessments shall be made at a rate not exceeding 0.2 per cent of such intrastate operating revenues, as shall be determined and certified annually by the commissioner as sufficient to reimburse the commonwealth for funds appropriated by the general court for the operation and general administration of the department, exclusive of the cost of fringe benefits as established by the secretary of administration and finance pursuant to section 5D of chapter 29, including group life and health insurance, retirement benefits, paid vacations, holidays and sick leave. The funds may be used to compensate consultants in hearings on petitions filed by companies subject to assessment under this section. Assessments made under this section may be credited to the normal operating cost of each company. Each company shall pay the amount assessed against it within 30 days after the date of the notice of assessment from the department. Such assessments shall be collected by the department and credited to the General Fund. Any funds unexpended in any fiscal year for the purposes for which such assessments were made shall be credited against the assessment to be made in the following fiscal year and the assessment in the following fiscal year shall be reduced by any such unexpended amount.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 8 Lack of jurisdiction over wireless service; affect on related regulatory and enforcement authority

c. 25C, § 8. Lack of jurisdiction over wireless service; affect on related regulatory and enforcement authority Section 8. (a) Notwithstanding chapter 159 or any other general or special law to the contrary, the department shall have no jurisdiction, general supervision, regulation or control over wireless service, including mobile radio telephone service or radio utilities. (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect or modify: (i) the authority of the attorney general to apply and enforce chapter 93A and other consumer protection laws of general applicability; (ii) the authority of the department under sections 18B and 18H of chapter 6A concerning enhanced 911 service, under section 3 of chapter 40A, under section 15E of chapter 166 concerning telephone relay service and under 25A of chapter 166, concering pole attachments; (iii) the rights and obligations of any carrier under 47 U.S.C. § 251 or 47 U.S.C. § 252; (iv) the authority of the department to administer federal programs supported by the federal Universal Service Fund, including Lifeline and Link-up programs, the E-rate program or Connect America Fund; (v) the obligations under state or federal law of a carrier classified as an incumbent local exchange carrier, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 251(h), as of January 1, 2014; or (vi) the authority of the department to receive and refer consumer complaints or to perform consumer education activities.

M.G.L. c. 25C, § 9 Authority to request and obtain information and data from providers of advanced telecommunications capability; identification of areas that lack adequate capability; facilitation of access

c. 25C, § 9. Authority to request and obtain information and data from providers of advanced telecommunications capability; identification of areas that lack adequate capability; facilitation of access Section 9. Consistent with the policies of the Federal Communications Commission, the department shall have authority to request and obtain information and data from providers of advanced telecommunications capability as necessary to identify areas that lack adequate advanced telecommunications capability. Such information and data shall be used to inform work undertaken by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, established pursuant to section 6B of chapter 40J, to facilitate access to and adoption of advanced telecommunications capability in the commonwealth.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter25CFetched: 10/20/2026