(a) DELAYED ENTRY INTO ALARM MONITORING-
(1) PROHIBITION- No Bell operating company or affiliate thereof shall engage in the
provision of alarm monitoring services before the date which is 5 years after the date of
enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
(2) EXISTING ACTIVITIES- Paragraph (1) does not prohibit or limit the provision,
directly or through an affiliate, of alarm monitoring services by a Bell operating company
that was engaged in providing alarm monitoring services as of November 30, 1995, directly
or through an affiliate. Such Bell operating company or affiliate may not acquire any
equity interest in, or obtain financial control of, any unaffiliated alarm monitoring
service entity after November 30, 1995, and until 5 years after the date of enactment of
the Telecommunications Act of 1996, except that this sentence shall not prohibit an
exchange of customers for the customers of an unaffiliated alarm monitoring service
entity.
(b) NONDISCRIMINATION- An incumbent local exchange carrier (as defined in section
251(h)) engaged in the provision of alarm monitoring services shall--
(1) provide nonaffiliated entities, upon reasonable request, with the network services
it provides to its own alarm monitoring operations, on nondiscriminatory terms and
conditions; and
(2) not subsidize its alarm monitoring services either directly or indirectly from
telephone exchange service operations.
(c) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF COMPLAINTS- The Commission shall establish procedures
for the receipt and review of complaints concerning violations of subsection (b) or the
regulations thereunder that result in material financial harm to a provider of alarm
monitoring service. Such procedures shall ensure that the Commission will make a final
determination with respect to any such complaint within 120 days after receipt of the
complaint. If the complaint contains an appropriate showing that the alleged violation
occurred, as determined by the Commission in accordance with such regulations, the
Commission shall, within 60 days after receipt of the complaint, order the incumbent local
exchange carrier (as defined in section 251(h)) and its affiliates to cease engaging in
such violation pending such final determination.
(d) USE OF DATA- A local exchange carrier may not record or use in any fashion the
occurrence or contents of calls received by providers of alarm monitoring services for the
purposes of marketing such services on behalf of such local exchange carrier, or any other
entity. Any regulations necessary to enforce this subsection shall be issued initially
within 6 months after the date of enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
(e) DEFINITION OF ALARM MONITORING SERVICE- The term `alarm monitoring service' means a
service that uses a device located at a residence, place of business, or other fixed
premises--
(1) to receive signals from other devices located at or about such premises regarding a
possible threat at such premises to life, safety, or property, from burglary, fire,
vandalism, bodily injury, or other emergency, and
(2) to transmit a signal regarding such threat by means of transmission facilities of a
local exchange carrier or one of its affiliates to a remote monitoring center to alert a
person at such center of the need to inform the customer or another person or police,
fire, rescue, security, or public safety personnel of such threat,
but does not include a service that uses a medical monitoring device attached to an
individual for the automatic surveillance of an ongoing medical condition.
