§24-2-6. Power as to connecting telephone and telegraph services.
Whenever, after hearing, upon notice, the public service
commission shall determine that public convenience or necessity
requires that conduits, subways, poles or other equipment on,
over or under any street or highway belonging to or used by any
public utility should be used in part by another public utility
for the operation of its property in any locality not reached by
the lines or connections of one of such utilities, or a
municipality, the public service commission may, by order, fix
the just and reasonable terms and conditions of such use, and
prescribe the compensation to be paid therefor. And, whenever,
after hearing, upon notice, the public service commission shall
determine that public convenience and necessity require a
physical connection for the establishment of a continuous line of
communication between any two or more public utilities regularly
engaged in the conveyance of telephone or telegraph messages, for
the conveyance of such messages between different localities,
which are not reached by the lines or connections of one of such
utilities, the public service commission, may, by order,
ascertain, determine and fix the just and reasonable terms and
conditions of such physical connection, including just and
reasonable rules and regulations and the just and reasonable
charge that shall be made to the public for the use of such
continuous line between such localities and the division of the
charge between such two or more public utilities, and the
apportionment of the cost of making such physical connection between such public utilities, and it shall be the duty of such
public utility thereafter to conform to such order of the public
service commission. But no order shall be made by the public
service commission under this section to apply where such use or
physical connection will prevent those owning, operating,
managing or controlling any part of such conduits, subways, poles
or other equipment, or such proposed continuous lines of
communication, from performing their public duties, nor result in
serious injury to those owning, operating, managing or
controlling any part of such conduits, subways, poles or other
equipment, or of the proposed continuous lines of communication.
Such use so ordered shall be permitted and such physical
connection or connections so ordered shall be made; and the
terms, conditions and compensation so prescribed for such use and
such physical connections shall be the lawful conditions and
compensation for such use and physical connection, and the lawful
terms and conditions upon which such use and physical connections
shall be had and made. Any such order may be from time to time
revised by the commission upon application of any interested
party or upon its own motion.