For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
GROSS CHARGES. The amount paid to a telecommunications retailer for the act or privilege of originating or receiving telecommunications within the city and for all services rendered in connection therewith valued in money whether paid in money or otherwise, including cash, credits, services, and property of every kind or nature, and shall be determined without any deduction on account of the cost of such telecommunications, the cost of the materials used, labor or service costs, or any other expense whatsoever. In case credit is extended, the amount thereof shall be included only as and when paid. GROSS CHARGES for private line service shall include charges imposed at each channel point within the city, charges for the channel mileage between each channel point within the city, and charges for that portion of the interstate inter-office channel provided within the city. However, GROSS CHARGES shall not include the following:
(1) Any amounts added to a purchaser's bill because of a charge made under the following:
(a) The fee imposed by this section;
(b) Additional charges added to a purchaser's bin under section 9-221 or 9-222 of the Public Utilities Act, ILCS Ch. 220, Act 5, §§ 9-221 or 9-222;
(c) The tax imposed by the Telecommunications Excise Tax Act, ILCS Ch. 35, Act 630, §§ 1 et seq.;
(d) 911 surcharges; or
(e) The tax imposed by section 4251 of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2) Charges for a sent collect telecommunication received outside the city;
(3) Charges for leased time on equipment, charges for the storage of data or information or subsequent retrieval, or the processing of data or information intended to change its form or content. The equipment includes, but is not limited to, the use of calculators, computers, data processing equipment, tabulating equipment, or accounting equipment, and also includes the usage of computers under a time-sharing agreement;
(4) Charges for customer equipment, including such equipment that is leased or rented by the customer from any source, wherein such charges are disaggregated and separately identified from other charges;
(5) Charges to business enterprises certified under ILCS Ch. 220, Act 5, § 9-222.1 of the Public Utilities Act to the extent of such exemption and during the period of time specified by the city;
(6) Charges for telecommunications and all services and equipment provided in connection therewith between a parent corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries, and only to the extent that the charges between the parent corporation and wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries represent expense allocation between the corporations and not the generation of profit other than a regulatory required profit for the corporation rendering such services;
(7) Bad debts. (BAD DEBT means any portion of a debt that is related to a sale at retail for which gross charges are not otherwise deductible or excludable that has become worthless or uncollectible as determined under applicable federal income tax standards; if the portion of the debt deemed to be bad is subsequently paid, the retailer shall report and pay the tax on that portion during the reporting period in which the payment is made);
(8) Charges paid by inserting coins in coin-operated telecommunications devices; and
(9) Charges for telecommunications and all services and equipment provided to the city.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY. Any municipal street, alley, water, or public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, including utility easements wherein the city has acquired the right and authority to locate or permit the location of utilities consistent with telecommunications facilities. PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY shall not include any real or personal city property that is not specifically described in the previous sentence and shall not include city buildings and other structures or improvements, regardless of whether they are situated in the public right-of-way.
RETAILER MAINTAINING A PLACE OF BUSINESS IN THIS STATE, OR ANY LIKE TERM. Any retailer having or maintaining within the state, directly or by a subsidiary, an office, distribution facilities, transmission facilities, sales office, warehouse, or other place of business, or any agent or other representative operating within this state under the authority of the retailer or its subsidiary, irrespective of whether the place of business or agent or other representative is located here permanently or temporarily, or whether the retailer or subsidiary is licensed to do business in this state.
SALE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AT RETAIL. The transmitting, supplying, or furnishing of telecommunications and all services rendered in connection therewith for a consideration, other than between a parent corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries, when the gross charge made by one such corporation to another such corporation is not greater than the gross charge paid to the retailer for their use or consumption and not for sale.
SERVICE ADDRESS. The location of telecommunications equipment from which telecommunications services are originated or at which telecommunications services are received. If this is not a defined location, as in the case of wireless telecommunications, paging systems, maritime systems, air-to-ground systems, and the like, SERVICE ADDRESS shall mean the location of the customer's primary use of the telecommunications equipment as defined by the location in the state where bills are sent.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS. Includes, but is not limited to, messages or information transmitted through use of local, toll, and wide area telephone service, channel services, telegraph services, teletypewriter service, computer exchange services, private line services, specialized mobile radio services, or any other transmission of messages or information by electronic or similar means, between or among points by wire, cable, fiber optics, laser, microwave, radio, satellite, or similar facilities. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, TELECOMMUNICATIONS shall also include wireless telecommunications as hereinafter defined. TELECOMMUNICATIONS shall not include value added services in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, content, code, and protocol of the information for purposes other than transmission. TELECOMMUNICATIONS shall not include purchase of telecommunications by a telecommunications service provider for use as a component part of the service provided by him or her to the ultimate retail consumer who originates or terminates the end-to-end communications. Retailer access charges, right of access charges, charges for use of intercompany facilities, and all telecommunications resold in the subsequent provision and used as a component of or integrated into, end-to-end telecommunications service shall not be included in gross charges as sales for resale. TELECOMMUNICATIONS shall not include the provision of cable services through a cable system as defined in the Cable Communications Act of 1984 (47 U.S.C. §§ 521 et seq.) as now or hereafter amended or cable or other programming services subject to an open video system fee payable to the city through an open video system as defined in the Rules of the Federal Communications Commission (47 C.F.R. §§ 76.1550 et seq.) as now or hereafter amended.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER. Any telecommunications retailer; and any person that is not a telecommunications retailer that installs, owns, operates, or controls equipment in the public right-of-way that is used or designed to be used to transmit telecommunications in any form.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS RETAILER, RETAILER, or CARRIER. Includes every person engaged in the business of making sales of telecommunications at retail as defined in this section. The city may, in its discretion, upon application, authorize the collection of the fee hereby imposed by any retailer not maintaining a place of business within this state, who, to the satisfaction of the city, furnishes adequate security to ensure collection and payment of the fee. When so authorized, it shall be the duty of the retailer to pay the fee upon all of the gross charges for telecommunications in the same manner and subject to the same requirements as a retailer maintaining a place of business within the city.
WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS. Includes cellular mobile telephone services, personal wireless services as defined in § 704(C) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Pub. Law No. 104-104), 42 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7), as now or hereafter amended, including all commercial mobile radio services and paging services.
(Ord. 97-35, passed 11-10-1997)