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sHB5473 / File No. 424 1
General Assembly File No. 424
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5473
House of Representatives, April 7, 2026
The Committee on Energy and Technology reported through
REP. STEINBERG of the 136th Dist., Chairperson of the
Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill
ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SATISFACTION OF
TELECOMMUNICATIONS QUALITY OF SERVICE STANDARDS AND
SETTLEMENTS IN CONTESTED PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE
PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 16 -247a of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2026): 3
(b) As used in sections 16 -247a to 16-247c, inclusive, as amended by 4
this act, 16-247e to 16-247h, inclusive, 16-247k, and sections 16 -247m to 5
16-247r, inclusive: 6
(1) "Affiliate" means a person, firm or corporation which, with 7
another person, firm or corporation, is under the common control of the 8
same parent firm or corporation. 9
(2) "Competitive service" means (A) a telecommunications service 10
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deemed competitive in accordance with the provisions of section 16 -11
247f, (B) a telecommunications service reclassified by the authority as 12
competitive in accordance with the provisions of section 16 -247f, or (C) 13
a new telecommunications service provided under a competitive service 14
tariff accepted by the authority, in accordance with the provisions of 15
section 16-247f, provided the authority has not subsequently reclassified 16
the service set forth in subparagraph (A), (B) or (C) of this subdivision 17
as noncompetitive pursuant to section 16-247f. 18
(3) "Emerging competitive service" means (A) a telecommunications 19
service reclassified as emerging competitive in accordance with the 20
provisions of section 16 -247f, or (B) a new telecommunications service 21
provided under an emerging competitive service tariff accepted by the 22
authority, in accordance with the provisions of section 16 -247f, or of a 23
plan for an alternative form of regulation approved pursuant to section 24
16-247k, provided the authority has not subsequently reclassified the 25
service set forth in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision as 26
competitive or noncompetitive pursuant to section 16-247f. 27
(4) "Facilities-based carrier" means a provider of telecommunications 28
service that owns, operates or controls infrastructure, including fiber 29
cables, switches and lines, that is used to deliver such service to end -30
users. 31
(5) "Incumbent local exchange carrier" means a telephone company 32
that began providing telephone service in the state before the adoption 33
of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended from time 34
to time. 35
[(4)] (6) "Noncompetitive service" means (A) a telecommunications 36
service deemed noncompetitive in accordance with the provisions of 37
section 16 -247f, (B) a telecommunications service reclassified by the 38
authority as noncompetitive in accordance with the provisions of 39
section 16 -247f, or (C) a new telecommunications service provided 40
under a noncompetitive service tariff accepted by the authority, in 41
accordance with the provisions of section 16 -19, and any applicable 42
regulations, or of a plan for an alternative form of regulation approved 43
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pursuant to section 16 -247k, provided the authority has not 44
subsequently reclassified the service set forth in subparagraph (A), (B) 45
or (C) of this subdivision as competitive or emerging competitive 46
pursuant to section 16-247f. 47
[(5)] (7) "Private telecommunications service" means any 48
telecommunications service [which] that is not provided for public hire 49
as a common carrier service and is utilized solely for the 50
telecommunications needs of the person that controls such service and 51
any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, except for telecommunications 52
service which enables two entities other than such person, subsidiary or 53
affiliate to communicate with each other. 54
[(6)] (8) "Telecommunications service" means any transmission in one 55
or more geographic areas (A) between or among points specified by the 56
user, (B) of information of the user's choosing, (C) without change in the 57
form or content of the information as sent and received, (D) by means of 58
electromagnetic transmission, including but not limited to, fiber optics, 59
microwave and satellite, (E) with or without benefit of any closed 60
transmission medium, and (F) including all instrumentalities, facilities, 61
apparatus and services, except customer premises equipment, which are 62
used for the collection, storage, forwarding, switching and delivery of 63
such information and are essential to the transmission. 64
[(7)] (9) "Network elements" means "network elements", as defined in 65
47 USC 153(a)(29). 66
(10) "Voice over Internet protocol service" has the same meaning as 67
provided in section 28-30b. 68
Sec. 2. Section 16 -247p of the general statutes is repealed and the 69
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 70
(a) [Not later than April 1, 2000, the ] The Public Utilities Regulatory 71
Authority shall [, by regulations adopted pursuant to chapter 54, 72
establish] adopt, monitor and enforce quality-of-service standards that 73
shall apply to all providers of telecommunications service and wireline 74
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voice over Internet protocol service, including telephone companies , 75
[and] incumbent local exchange carriers , certified telecommunications 76
providers [and to all telecommunications services] and any provider of 77
voice over Internet protocol service that is registered by the authority, 78
that use facilities or wires located in, under or over any public road or 79
highway in the state for the provision of such service to customers, 80
regardless of the transmission technology used . Such transmission 81
technology includes, but is not limited to, voice over Internet protocol . 82
Such standards shall include, but not be limited to, measures relating to 83
customer trouble reports, service outages, installation appointments 84
and repeat problems, as well as timeliness in responding to complaints 85
or reports. 86
(b) (1) The authority shall [include with ] adopt methodologies for 87
monitoring compliance with the quality of service standards 88
[methodologies for monitoring compliance with and enforcement of 89
such standards] adopted by the authority pursuant to this section. Such 90
monitoring shall include input from employees of telephone companies, 91
incumbent local exchange carriers, voice over Internet protocol service 92
providers registered by the authority and certified telecommunications 93
providers, including members of collective bargaining units. 94
(2) The authority shall require any company, carrier or provider that 95
is subject to quality of service standards pursuant to subsection (a) of 96
this section to submit semiannual reports concerning the compliance of 97
such company, carrier or provider with such standards. The authority 98
shall establish semiannual reporting periods pursuant to this 99
subdivision, and each such company, carrier or provider shall submit 100
each such report not later than the last day of the month immediately 101
following the semiannual reporting period established by the authority. 102
(3) Any facilities -based carrier that resells telecommunications 103
service or voice over Internet protocol service to any company, carrier 104
or provider that is subject to quality of service standards pursuant to 105
subsection (a) of this section shall submit semiannual reports, on the 106
schedule established pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, 107
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concerning any lines of service such carrier maintains on behalf of the 108
incumbent local exchange carrier, certified telecommunications 109
provider or voice over Internet protocol provider registered by the 110
authority. A facilities -based carrier that provides voice over Internet 111
protocol service shall report such carrier's data on a state -wide basis if 112
such carrier is unable to report on a wire center or regional basis. 113
(4) Any telephone company, incumbent local exchange carrier, voice 114
over Internet protocol provider registered with the authority or certified 115
telecommunications provider that fails to meet any quality of service 116
standard adopted pursuant to this section for more than two 117
consecutive months shall file an exception report with the authority not 118
later than the last day of the month immediately following such 119
company, carrier or provider's failure to meet a quality of service 120
standard for more than two consecutive months. 121
(c) Any company, carrier or provider that fails to comply with the 122
semiannual report requirements or exception report requirements 123
provided in this section shall be fined not more than two thousand 124
dollars for each violation in addition to any fines for failure to meet any 125
quality of service standard. A violation of the provisions of this section 126
concerning semiannual quality of service reports or exception reports 127
shall constitute a continued violation pursuant to section 16-41 from the 128
date the company, carrier or provider fails to timely provide any such 129
report until the date the authority receives such report. 130
[(b)] (d) Not later than April 1, 2000, the authority shall, by 131
regulations adopted pursuant to chapter 54, establish comprehensive 132
performance standards and performance based reporting requirements 133
for functions provided by a telephone company to a certified 134
telecommunications provider, including, but not limited to, telephone 135
company performance relating to customer ordering, preordering, 136
provisioning, billing, maintenance and repair. Such service standards 137
shall be sufficiently comprehensive to ensure that a telephone company 138
meets its obligations under 47 USC 251. Such regulations may also 139
contain provisions the authority deems necessary to prevent 140
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anticompetitive actions by any telephone company or certified 141
telecommunications provider. 142
Sec. 3. Section 16 -19jj of the general statutes is repealed and the 143
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 144
(a) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may, whenever it deems 145
appropriate and [is] consistent with the principles set forth in sections 146
16-19 and 16 -19e, adopt any proposed [settlements] settlement 147
agreement produced by negotiation or any alternative dispute 148
resolution [mechanisms] process to resolve contested cases and 149
proceedings. 150
(b) Parties or intervenors to a contested proceeding may propose a 151
settlement by filing a motion [, which shall be filed not later than three 152
weeks prior to the scheduled issuance date of the proposed final 153
decision in the proceeding ] with the authority . The parties or 154
intervenors proposing the settlement shall provide the proposed 155
settlement agreement to all parties and intervenors not less than three 156
business days before the filing of a motion pursuant to this subsection, 157
[with a] and shall request that [the] such party or intervenor provide a 158
position statement on the proposed settlement agreement for reference 159
in the motion. [Motions] Any person providing a position statement 160
pursuant to this subsection shall state whether they support, oppose or 161
take no position concerning the proposed settlement agreement. The 162
moving parties or intervenors shall include any position statement 163
received by such parties or intervenors from any person pursuant to this 164
subsection. 165
(c) Any motion made pursuant to [this] subsection (b) of this section 166
proposing a settlement agreement concerning a rate case initiated 167
pursuant to section 16 -19 shall include [, as applicable: (1) An ] an 168
analysis identifying estimates of any increases or decreases to 169
components of rates resulting from the proposed settlement agreement 170
and the causal relationship of particular rate component increases or 171
decreases to provisions in the proposed settlement agreement, to the 172
extent ascertainable. [; and (2) a statement of the position of nonsettling 173
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parties and intervenors on the proposed settlement, such as "support", 174
"oppose" or "no position", if such party or intervenor complies with the 175
request to provide such statement. If a proposed settlement is submitted 176
prior to the close of the evidentiary record, prefiled testimony shall be 177
submitted with the settlement.] 178
[(c)] (d) The provisions of any proposed settlement agreement shall 179
be supported by citations to the evidentiary record or other evidence as 180
the authority may require. 181
[(d)] (e) The authority may hold hearings and may order briefs to be 182
filed related to any proposed settlement agreement. 183
[(e) (1) If the term of any provision in a settlement of a proceeding to 184
amend rates under section 16 -19 extends longer than the effective date 185
of the rate amendment approved in the subsequent proceeding to 186
amend rates under section 16 -19, the authority may reject or modify 187
such provision. 188
(2) Any proceeding to amend rates under section 16 -19 that is 189
resolved by a settlement shall not constitute a general rate hearing for 190
purposes of the periodic review required under section 16 -19a, if the 191
previous proceeding to amend rates under section 16 -19 was resolved 192
by a settlement in full or in part.] 193
Sec. 4. Subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of section 16-47 of the general 194
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 195
(Effective October 1, 2026): 196
(d) (1) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall investigate and 197
hold a public hearing on the question of granting its approval with 198
respect to any application made under subdivision (1) of subsection (b) 199
of this section or subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section and 200
thereafter may approve or disapprove any such application in whole or 201
in part and upon such terms and conditions as it deems necessary or 202
appropriate. In connection with its investigation, the authority may 203
request the views of the gas company, electric distribution company, 204
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water company, telephone company, community antenna television 205
company or holding company [which] that is the subject of the 206
application with respect to the proposed acquisition. After the filing of 207
an application satisfying the requirements of such regulations as the 208
authority may adopt in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, 209
but not later than thirty business days after the filing of such application, 210
the authority shall give prompt notice of the public hearing to the person 211
required to file the application and to the subject company or holding 212
company. Such hearing shall be commenced as promptly as practicable 213
after the filing of the application, but not later than sixty business days 214
after the filing. The authority shall make its determination as soon as 215
practicable, but not later than two hundred days after the filing of the 216
application, unless the person required to file the application agrees to 217
an extension of time or the authority extends the time as provided in 218
this subsection. The authority may extend the time period for making 219
its determination by not more than thirty days if, before the end of such 220
time period, the authority notifies all parties and intervenors to the 221
proceedings of such extension. The authority may, in its discretion, 222
grant the subject company, certificate holder, provider or holding 223
company the opportunity to participate in the hearing by presenting 224
evidence and oral and written argument. [If the authority fails to give 225
notice of its determination to hold a hearing, commence the hearing, or 226
render its determination after the hearing within the time limits 227
specified in this subdivision, the proposed acquisition shall be deemed 228
approved.] In each proceeding on a written application submitted under 229
said subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section or subdivision (1) of 230
subsection (c) of this section , the authority shall, in a manner which 231
treats all parties to the proceeding on an equal basis, take into 232
consideration (1) the financial, technological and managerial suitability 233
and responsibility of the applicant, (2) the ability of the gas company, 234
electric distribution company, water company, telephone company, 235
community antenna television company or holding company which is 236
the subject of the application to provide safe, adequate and reliable 237
service to the public through the company's plant, equipment and 238
manner of operation if the application were to be approved, and (3) for 239
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an application concerning a telephone company, the effect of approval 240
on the location and accessibility of management and operations and on 241
the proportion and number of state resident employees. The authority 242
shall only grant its approval of an application filed on or after January 243
1, 2021, made under subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section, if 244
the holding company effects a change in the composition of the board 245
of directors to include a proportional percentage of Connecticut -based 246
directors equivalent to the percentage that Connecticut service areas 247
represent of the total service areas covered by the holding company. 248
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 16-247a(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 16-247p
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 16-19jj
Sec. 4 October 1, 2026 16-47(d)(1)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(b), the definition of "incumbent local exchange carrier" was
moved to preserve alphabetical order.
ET Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill broadens telephone and telecommunications quality of
service standards and requires the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority
(PURA) to ensure compliance, which does not result in a fiscal impact
as PURA has the staff and expertise necessary to meet the requirements
of the bill.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5473
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SATISFACTION OF
TELECOMMUNICATIONS QUALITY OF SERVICE STANDARDS
AND SETTLEMENTS IN CONTESTED PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE
PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
SUMMARY
This bill broadens telephone and telecommunications quality of
service standards by applying them to (1) all telecommunications
service providers (including incumbent local exchange carriers), (2)
wireline voice over internet protocol (VOIP) service provid ers, and (3)
VOIP service providers that are registered with the Public Utilities
Regulatory Authority (PURA) and use facilities or wires in a public road
or highway, regardless of transmission technology used. The bill also
increases reporting requirement s and penalties related to quality of
service standards.
The bill also makes changes to PURA’s process for adopting
settlements in contested case proceedings, including rate cases. Among
other things, it removes provisions (1) limiting the use of settlements to
meet the law’s requirement for periodic rate cases and (2) allowing
PURA to reject or modify settlement provisions that extend longer than
the effective date of rate amendments approved in a subsequent
proceeding.
Lastly, the bill prevents applications seeking a change in control over
a PURA-regulated utility from being deemed approved if PURA fails to
act within certain timeframes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
§§ 1 & 2 — QUALITY OF SERVICE STANDARDS
Current law requires PURA, by regulation, to set quality of service
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standards for telephone companies, certified telecommunications
providers, and all telecommunications services. By law, a certified
telecommunications provider is a person PURA certifies to provide
intrastate telecommunications services. A telephone compan y is a
telecommunications company that provides at least one noncompetitive
or emerging competitive service. Quality of service standards include
measures related to customer trouble reports, service outages,
installation appointments, repeat problems, and timeliness in
responding to complaints or reports.
The bill instead requires PURA (not through regulations) to adopt,
monitor, and enforce quality of service standards and applies them to:
1. all telecommunications service and wireline VOIP service
providers, including telephone companies, incumbent local
exchange carriers (ILEC) , and certified telecommunications
providers; and
2. VOIP providers that are registered by PURA and use facilities or
wires located in, under, or over any public road or highway in the
state, regardless of the transmission technology the provider uses
(including VOIP).
An ILEC is a telephone company that began providing telephone
service in the state before the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996
(see BACKGROUND). VOIP is a service that enables real-time, two-way
communication, requires a broadband connection from the users’
locations, requires IP -compatible customer premises equipment, and
allows subscribers generally to receive and terminate calls from the
public switched telephone network.
Reporting Requirements and Penalties
Under the bill, PURA must require any company, carrier, or provider
subject to quality of service standards to report semiannually on their
compliance. The bill requires PURA to set semiannual reporting periods
and companies, carriers, and providers to submit their report by the last
day of the month immediately following the reporting period.
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The bill similarly requires any facilities -based carrier that resells
telecommunications service or VOIP service to a company , carrier, or
provider that is subject to quality of service standards to report
semiannually (presumably, to PURA) on the same schedule. A facilities-
based carrier is a telecommunications service provider that owns,
operates, or controls infrastructure (including fiber cables, switches, and
lines) used to deliver service to end users. Under the bill, this
semiannual report concerns any lines of service the carrier maintains on
behalf of an ILEC, certified telecommunications provider, or VOIP
provider registered by PURA. If the facility-based carrier provides VOIP
service, it must report data on a state-wide basis if it is unable to report
on a wire center or regional basis.
The bill requires telephone companies, ILECs, VOIP providers, and
certified telecommunications providers that fail to meet any quality of
service standard for more than two consecutive months to file an
exception report with PURA. This report is due the last day of the month
immediately following the failure to meet standards for more than two
consecutive months.
The bill sets a fine of up to $2,000 for any company, ILEC, or provider
that fails to comply with semiannual or exception reporting
requirements. The fine is in addition to any fines for failing to meet a
quality of service standard. Reporting requirement violations ar e a
continued violation from the date the company, ILEC, or provider fails
to timely file a report until the date PURA receives the report. By law,
for a continued violation, each day is deemed a separate offense.
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes, including in
requirements for PURA to include company employee input when
monitoring standards.
§ 3 — SETTLEMENTS IN PURA CONTESTED CASE PROCEEDINGS
Existing law allows PURA to adopt proposed settlements made
through alternative dispute resolution to resolve contested cases if
PURA deems doing so appropriate and consistent with ratemaking
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principals set in state law. Parties or intervenors to a contested
proceeding may propose a settlement by filing a motion with PURA.
The bill removes a requirement that this motion be filed at least three
weeks before the date the proposed final decision i n the proceeding is
scheduled to be issued.
By law, certain utility companies with at least 75,000 customers must
have a rate case at least once every four years (CGS § 16 -19a). Under
current law, any rate amendment proceeding that is resolved by a
settlement does not constitute a general rate hearing for purposes of this
requirement if the previous rate proceeding was partially or fully
resolved by a settlement. The bill eliminates this provision, allowing
sequential settlement agreements to meet the periodic review
requirement.
Under current law, if a term of any provision in a settlement of a
proceeding to amend rates extends longer than the effective date for the
rate amendment approved in the proceeding, PURA may reject or
modify the provision. The bill eliminates this authority.
The bill makes several minor changes to the settlement process.
Under both the bill and current law, parties proposing the settlement
must give it to all parties and intervenors at least three business days
before filing a motion and request that each party and intervenor share
their position on the proposed settlement for reference in the motion.
The bill requires the motion propos ing a settlement to include any
position statement received, rather than a statement of each non-settling
party’s position.
The bill limits the requirement to provide an analysis of rate increases
or decreases under a proposed settlement to rate cases and specifies that
these are estimates. It eliminates the requirement that if a proposed
settlement is submitted before the evid entiary record closes, pre -filed
testimony must be submitted with the settlement. It also allows
settlements produced through negotiation, in addition to those
produced through alternative dispute resolution processes.
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§ 4 — DEEMED APPROVALS OF PROPOSED ACQUISITIONS
By law, anyone seeking a change in control over a PURA -regulated
utility (for example, electric, gas, and water companies), or interfering
with or exercising control over them, generally must first apply for and
receive PURA’s approval. This applies to mergers and actions that
create a holding company or change control of an existing holding
company. The law also requires PURA’s approval before a PURA-
regulated utility or their holding companies interfere or attempt to
interfere with, or exercise or attempt to exercise control over, another
PURA-regulated utility.
By law, PURA must (1) give notice of a public hearing within 30
business days after the application is filed, (2) start the hearing within
60 business days after the filing, and (3) make its determination within
200 days after the filing, unless the period is extended. The bill removes
a provision that deems applications approved if PURA fails to meet
these timeframes.
BACKGROUND
Telecommunications Regulation
The law subjects telecommunications services to varying levels of
regulation based on the service’s degree of competitiveness and the type
of company providing the service. Generally, it applies more stringent
regulation to telephone companies providing noncompetitive services
(legacy utility phone companies) and less stringent regulatory
requirements to telecommunications providers providing competitive
services. This framework emerged after the federal Telecommunications
Act of 1996 as a way to implement deregulation by creating a process
for providers to certify that their services are competitive and, therefore,
subject to lighter regulation.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Energy and Technology Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 17 Nay 9 (03/19/2026)