Georgia Code
Part 4 - Emergency Telephone Number 9-1-1 System
§ 46-5-122. Definitions

As used in this part, the term:
(2.1) “Call” means any communication, message, signal, or transmission.
(2.2) “Center” means the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.
(11.1) “9-1-1 number” means the digits, address, Internet Protocol address, or other information used to access or initiate a call to a public safety answering point.
(12.1) “Prepaid wireless service” means any method where a telephone subscriber pays in advance for a wireless telecommunications connection:
Such term shall include, without limitation, calling or usage privileges included with the purchase of a wireless telephone as well as additional calling or usage privileges purchased by any means, including, without limitation, a calling card, a call, or an Internet transaction.
(16.1) (A) “Telephone service” means any method by which a 9-1-1 emergency call is delivered to a public safety answering point. Such term shall include local exchange access facilities or other telephone communication service, wireless service, mobile telecommunications service, computer service, Voice over Internet Protocol service, or any technology that delivers a call to a public safety answering point that is:
(17.1) “Voice over Internet Protocol service” includes any technology that permits a voice conversation through any device using a voice connection to a computer, whether through a microphone, a telephone, or other device that sends a digital signal over the Internet through a broadband connection to be converted back to the human voice at a distant terminal and that delivers a call to a public safety answering point. Voice over Internet Protocol service shall also include interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol service, which is service that enables real-time, two-way voice communications, requires a broadband connection from the user’s location, requires Internet protocol compatible customer premises equipment, and allows users to receive calls that originate on the public service telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network.
(17.2) “Voice over Internet Protocol service supplier” means a person or entity who provides Voice over Internet Protocol service to subscribers for a fee.
(B) When a service supplier provides to the same person, business, or organization the voice channel capacity to make more than one simultaneous outbound call from an exchange access facility, then each such separate outbound call voice channel capacity, regardless of technology, shall constitute a separate telephone service.
(C) When the same person, business, or organization has several wireless telephones, each wireless telecommunications connection shall constitute a separate telephone service; provided, however, that multiple wireless devices that share a single telephone number and which are generally offered for use primarily by a single individual shall constitute a single telephone service.
(D) A broadband connection used for telephone service shall not constitute a separate voice channel capacity subscription for purposes of the 9-1-1 charge.
History. Ga. L. 1977, p. 1040, § 3; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 46; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 46; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1984, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 179, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 93, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1368, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1017, § 3; Ga. L. 1999, p. 873, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 46; Ga. L. 2005, p. 660, § 9/HB 470; Ga. L. 2007, p. 318, § 2/HB 394; Ga. L. 2011, p. 240, § 1/HB 280; Ga. L. 2012, p. 820, § 1/HB 1049; Ga. L. 2016, p. 91, § 19/SB 416; Ga. L. 2018, p. 689, § 2-1/HB 751.
The 2004 amendment, effective May 13, 2004, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation in paragraph (12).
The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, substituted “9-1-1” for “ ‘911’ ” throughout this Code section; redesignated former paragraphs (1.1) and (2) as present paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; added present paragraph (4); redesignated former paragraph (3) as present paragraph (5); added present paragraph (6); redesignated former paragraph (4) as present paragraph (7); added present paragraph (8); redesignated former paragraph (5) as present paragraph (9); added present paragraph (10); redesignated former paragraph (6) as present paragraph (11); added present paragraph (12); redesignated former paragraphs (7) through (14) as present paragraphs (13) through (21), respectively; and in present paragraph (14), substituted “emergency management dispatching” for “civil defense”.
The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, added paragraphs (2.1) through (2.3), (11.1), (12.1), (16.1), (17.1), and (17.2); in paragraph (5), in the first sentence, inserted “or ‘9-1-1 system’ ”, deleted “local exchange” preceding “telephone service” near the beginning of the first sentence, substituted “, computer service,” for “or”, inserted “, or other service”, inserted “or otherwise responded to”, and, in the second sentence, deleted “telephone” preceding “system that provides” near the beginning, and substituted “user” for “caller”; substituted “Code” for “code” twice in paragraph (6); added the present third sentence in paragraph (7); substituted the present provision of paragraph (16) for the former provisions which read: “ ‘Service supplier’ means a person or entity who provides local exchange telephone service or wireless service to a telephone subscriber.”; substituted the present provisions of the first sentence of paragraph (17) for the former provisions which read: “ ‘Telephone subscriber’ means a person or entity to whom local exchange telephone service or wireless service, either residential or commercial, is provided and in return for which the person or entity is billed on a monthly basis.”; added the present last sentence in paragraph (19); and deleted “local exchange” preceding “telephone service” in paragraph (21).
The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, substituted “subsection (f)” for “subsection (e)” in subparagraph (18)(C).
The 2012 amendment, effective July 1, 2012, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (12.1) for the former provisions, which read: “ ‘Prepaid wireless service’ means any method pursuant to which a customer pays a wireless service provider in advance for a wireless telecommunications connection. Such term shall include, without limitation, calling or usage privileges included with the purchase of a wireless telephone as well as additional calling or usage privileges purchased by any means, including, without limitation, a calling card, a wireless communication, or an Internet transaction.”
The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, inserted “and Homeland Security” in paragraph (2).
The 2018 amendment, effective January 1, 2019, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (2) for the former provisions, which read: “ ‘Agency’ means the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency established pursuant to Code Section 38-3-20 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.”; deleted paragraph (2.3), which read: “ ‘Department’ means the Department of Community Affairs established pursuant to Code Section 50-8-1.”; substituted the present provisions of paragraph (3) for the former provisions, which read: “ ‘Director’ means the director of emergency management appointed pursuant to Code Section 38-3-20.”; added “or, in the case of detariffed services, as defined in publicly available guidebooks or other publicly available service supplier publications” at the end of the second sentence of paragraph (7); substituted the present provisions of paragraph (16.1) for the former provisions, which read: “ ‘Telephone service’ means any method by which a 9-1-1 emergency call is delivered to a public safety answering point. The term ‘telephone service’ shall include local exchange telephone service or other telephone communication service, wireless service, prepaid wireless service, mobile telecommunications service, computer service, Voice over Internet Protocol service, or any technology that delivers or is required by law to deliver a call to a public safety answering point.”; substituted the present provisions of paragraph (17) for the former provisions, which read: “ ‘Telephone subscriber’ means a person or entity to whom telephone service, either residential or commercial, is provided. When the same person, business, or organization has several telephone access lines, each exchange access facility shall constitute a separate subscription. When the same person, business, or organization has several wireless telephones, each wireless telecommunications connection shall constitute a separate connection.”; and, in paragraph (17.1), in the first sentence, substituted “includes” for “means” near the beginning, inserted “through any device” near the middle, substituted “device that” for “device, which” in the middle, and deleted “or is required by law to deliver” following “that delivers” near the end. See Editor’s notes for applicability.
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2007, in paragraph (7), the comma following “facility” in the third sentence was deleted.
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2018, p. 689, § 2-1/HB 751 provides for the repeal of paragraph (2.3) and the repeal and reservation of paragraph (3), effective January 1, 2019.
Ga. L. 2018, p. 689, § 4-1(b)/HB 751, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “The provisions of this Act shall not in any manner diminish, extinguish, reduce, or affect any cause of action for audits, services, or the recovery of funds from service providers which may have existed prior to January 1, 2019. Any such cause of action is expressly preserved.