The commission , on its own motion or upon request , shall designate a telecommunications company that meets the requirements of 47 C.F.R § 54.201 (January 1, 2006) to serve as an eligible telecommunications carrier within each service area of the state.

Upon request and consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, the commission may, in an area served by a rural telephone company, and shall, in all other areas, designate more than one telecommunications company as an eligible telecommunications carrier for a service area designated by the commission, so long as each additional requesting carrier meets the requirements of 47 C.F.R. § 54.201 (January 1, 2006).

The commission may not, in an area served by a rural telephone company, designate more than one eligible telecommunications carrier absent a finding that designation of an additional eligible telecommunications carrier is in the public interest. In an area served by a rural telephone company, the commission may not find the additional designation to be in the public interest if the telecommunications company requesting the designation does not offer its services coextensively with the rural telephone company’s service area.

Source: 25 SDR 89, effective December 27, 1998; 32 SDR 231, effective July 10, 2006 ; 52 SDR 32, effective September 29, 2025 .

General Authority: SDCL 49-31-76 .

Law Implemented: SDCL 49-31-3 , 49-31-76 , 49-31-78 .

Prior versions effective: 2006-07-10.