Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §7104, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 692, §1, is amended to read:

2. General availability. The commission shall seek to ensure that similar telecommunication services are available to consumers throughout all areas of the State at reasonably comparable rates, including access to dial-up Internet services pursuant to section 7108.

Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §7108 is enacted to read:

§7108.__Access to Internet by customer

1.__Standard.__All basic local service telephone lines in the State that are owned and furnished by local exchange carriers must be capable of providing dial-up Internet access at speeds of 28.8 kilobytes or greater.

2.__Process.__The commission shall investigate all complaints from telephone customers who allege that the condition of the local telephone line servicing the customer's premises is not sufficient to allow for transmission of data at the rate of 28.8 kilobytes.__If the commission finds that a local telephone line fails to meet the standard, it shall require the local exchange carrier to make improvements necessary to meet the standard within a reasonable time.

3.__Rulemaking.__The commission shall adopt rules establishing the terms and conditions required of local exchange carriers to meet the standards required in subsection 1.__Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

Sec. 3. Report. By December 20, 2003, the Public Utilities Commission shall submit to the Joint Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy a report on the status of the ability of Maine citizens to access the Internet from their residences or places of business. The report must include an assessment of the number of basic service telephone lines in the State that remain incapable of data transmission at the standard under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 7108, subsection 1 and must include a detailed list of actions that the commission has undertaken to advance universal access to dial-up Internet services.