Skip to content

Title 47 — Telecommunications

Part II · Chapter 5 — Wire or Radio Communication

§ 260. Provision of telemessaging service

Statutory text

(a)

Nondiscrimination safeguards

Any local exchange carrier subject to the requirements of section 251(c) of this title that provides telemessaging service—

(1)

shall not subsidize its telemessaging service directly or indirectly from its telephone exchange service or its exchange access; and

(2)

shall not prefer or discriminate in favor of its telemessaging service operations in its provision of telecommunications services.

(b)

Expedited consideration of complaints

The Commission shall establish procedures for the receipt and review of complaints concerning violations of subsection (a) or the regulations thereunder that result in material financial harm to a provider of telemessaging 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, the Commission shall, within 60 days after receipt of the complaint, order the local exchange carrier and any affiliates to cease engaging in such violation pending such final determination.

(c)

“Telemessaging service” defined

As used in this section, the term “telemessaging service” means voice mail and voice storage and retrieval services, any live operator services used to record, transcribe, or relay messages (other than telecommunications relay services), and any ancillary services offered in combination with these services.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 104–104 title I § 101(a) · 110 Stat. 79

    Enacted · 47 U.S.C. § 260

    (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 260, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 101(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 79.)

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 260, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 101(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 79.)

0 of 1 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Credits

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 260, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 101(a), , 110 Stat. 79.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc47.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-09-09

USLM identifier /us/usc/t47/s260