                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 56-1)

Whenever used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#8220;Broadband connection,&#8221; for purposes of this section, means a
connection where transmission speeds exceed 200 kilobits per second in at least
one direction.
		&#8220;Commission&#8221; means the State Corporation Commission.
		&#8220;Corporation&#8221; or &#8220;company&#8221; includes all corporations
created by acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, or under the general
incorporation laws of this Commonwealth, or doing business therein, and shall
exclude all municipal corporations, other political subdivisions, and public
institutions owned or controlled by the Commonwealth.
		&#8220;Electric vehicle charging service&#8221; means the replenishment of the
battery of a plug-in electric motor vehicle, which replenishment occurs by
plugging the motor vehicle into an electric power source in order to charge or
recharge its battery.
		&#8220;Interexchange telephone service&#8221; means telephone service between
points in two or more exchanges that is not classified as local exchange
telephone service. &#8220;Interexchange telephone service&#8221; shall not
include Voice-over-Internet protocol service for purposes of regulation by the
Commission, including the imposition of certification processing fees and other
administrative requirements, and the filing or approval of tariffs. Nothing
herein shall be construed to either mandate or prohibit the payment of switched
network access rates or other intercarrier compensation, if any, related to
Voice-over-Internet protocol service.
		&#8220;Local exchange telephone service&#8221; means telephone service
provided in a geographical area established for the administration of
communication services and consists of one or more central offices together with
associated facilities which are used in providing local exchange service. Local
exchange service, as opposed to interexchange service, consists of
telecommunications between points within an exchange or between exchanges which
are within an area where customers may call at specified rates and charges.
&#8220;Local exchange telephone service&#8221; shall not include
Voice-over-Internet protocol service for purposes of regulation by the
Commission, including the imposition of certification processing fees and other
administrative requirements, and the filing or approval of tariffs. Nothing
herein shall be construed to either mandate or prohibit the payment of switched
network access rates or other intercarrier compensation, if any, related to
Voice-over-Internet protocol service.
		&#8220;Mail&#8221; includes electronic mail and other forms of electronic
communication when the customer has requested or authorized electronic bill
delivery or other electronic communications.
		&#8220;Municipality&#8221; or &#8220;municipal corporation&#8221; shall
include an authority created by a governmental unit exempt from the referendum
requirement of § 15.2-5403.
		&#8220;Person&#8221; includes individuals, partnerships, limited liability
companies, and corporations.
		&#8220;Plug-in electric motor vehicle&#8221; means an on-road motor vehicle
that draws propulsion using a traction battery that has at least four kilowatt
hours of capacity, uses an external source of electric energy to charge or
recharge the battery, has a gross vehicle weight of not more than 14,000 pounds,
and meets any applicable emissions standards.
		&#8220;Public service corporation&#8221; or &#8220;public service
company&#8221; includes gas, pipeline, electric light, heat, power and water
supply companies, sewer companies, telephone companies, and all persons
authorized to transport passengers or property as a common carrier.
&#8220;Public service corporation&#8221; or &#8220;public service company&#8221;
shall not include (i) a municipal corporation, other political subdivision or
public institution owned or controlled by the Commonwealth; however, if such an
entity has obtained a certificate to provide services pursuant to § 56-265.4:4,
then such entity shall be deemed to be a public service corporation or public
service company and subject to the authority of the Commission with respect only
to its provision of the services it is authorized to provide pursuant to such
certificate; or (ii) any company described in subdivision (b)(10) of §
56-265.1.
		&#8220;Railroad&#8221; includes all railroad or railway lines, whether
operated by steam, electricity, or other motive power, except when otherwise
specifically designated.
		&#8220;Railroad company&#8221; includes any company, trustee or other person
owning, leasing or operating a railroad.
		&#8220;Rate&#8221; means rate charged for any service rendered or to be
rendered.
		&#8220;Rate,&#8221; &#8220;charge&#8221; and &#8220;regulation&#8221; include
joint rates, joint charges and joint regulations, respectively.
		&#8220;Regulated operating revenue&#8221; includes only revenue from services
not found to be competitive.
		&#8220;Transportation company&#8221; includes any railroad company, any
company transporting express by railroad, and any ship or boat company.
		&#8220;Virginia limited liability company&#8221; has the same meaning ascribed
to &#8220;limited liability company&#8221; in § 13.1-1002. A foreign limited
liability company, as that term is defined in § 13.1-1002, may become a
Virginia limited liability company, even though also being a limited liability
company organized under laws other than the laws of the Commonwealth, by filing
articles of organization that meet the requirements of §§ 13.1-1003 and
13.1-1011 and include (i) the name of the foreign limited liability company
immediately prior to the filing of the articles of organization; (ii) the date
on which and the jurisdiction in which the foreign limited liability company was
first formed, organized, created or otherwise came into being; and (iii) the
jurisdiction that constituted the seat, siege social, or principal place of
business or central administration of the foreign limited liability company, or
any equivalent thereto under applicable law, immediately prior to the filing of
the articles of organization. With respect to a foreign limited liability
company that is also organized as a Virginia limited liability company, the
terms and conditions of its organization as a Virginia limited liability company
shall be approved in the manner provided for by the document, instrument,
agreement or other writing, as the case may be, governing the internal affairs
of the foreign limited liability company in the conduct of its business or by
applicable law other than the law of the Commonwealth, as appropriate.
		&#8220;Voice-over-Internet protocol service&#8221; or &#8220;VoIP
service&#8221; means any service that: (i) enables real-time, two-way voice
communications that originate or terminate from the user&#8217;s location using
Internet protocol or any successor protocol and (ii) uses a broadband connection
from the user&#8217;s location. This definition includes any such service that
permits users generally to receive calls that originate on the public switched
telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone
network.

HISTORY: Code 1919, §§ 3693, 3881; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 23; 1984, c. 382; 2002,
cc. 479, 489; 2004, c. 1028; 2006, cc. 691, 912, 929, 941; 2007, c. 619; 2009,
c. 746; 2011, cc. 408, 738, 740; 2016, c. 288.