BEFORE THE
GEORGIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
IN RE:
COMPLAINT OF PAY TEL
COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
AGAINST ENCARTELE, INC.

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Docket No.: ____________

COMPLAINT AGAINST ENCARTELE, INC.
Comes now, PAY TEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (APay Tel@), and
pursuant to O.C.G.A. '' 46-2-20, 46-2-21, 46-5-45 and 46-5-163(a),
files this Complaint seeking the initiation of an investigation by
the Georgia Public Service Commission (ACommission@) into the
business operations of Encartele, Inc. (AEncartele@), specifically
to

determine

whether

Encartele

is

unlawfully

providing

Institutional Telecommunications Services (AITS@) in the State of
Georgia without a certificate of authority and in violation of the
rules of this Commission governing ITS.
PARTIES
1.
Pay Tel is a North Carolina corporation, maintaining its
principal place of business at 9A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro,
North Carolina 27407.

Pay Tel provides ITS at various county jails

and institutions within the State of Georgia.

It is authorized to

provide ITS within Georgia pursuant to Certificate No.: P-034
issued by this Commission on September 15, 1998.
2.
1

On information and belief, Encartele is a Nebraska corporation
maintaining its principal place of business at 2615 Harney Street,
Omaha, Nebraska

68131.

Encartele obtained a certificate of

authority to conduct business in Georgia on June 7, 2005.
JURISDICTION
3.
The Commission has jurisdiction over this Complaint pursuant
to the Telecommunications and Competition Development Act of 1995,
O.C.G.A. ' 46-5-160 et. seq., and generally pursuant to O.C.G.A. ''
46-2-20, 46-2-21, and 46-5-45.
4.
O.C.G.A ' 46-5-163(a) provides:
A
telecommunications
company
including
a
telecommunications services reseller shall not provide
telecommunications services without a certificate of
authority issued by the commission. The provisions of
Code Section 46-5-45 shall apply in circumstances where a
telecommunications
company
is
providing
telecommunications services without a certificate issued
by the commission.
5.
O.C.G.A. ' 46-5-45 provides:
Whenever any person is engaged in or is about to engage
in the construction, operation, or acquisition of any
telephone line, plant, or system without having secured a
certificate of public convenience and necessity as
required by Code Section 46-5-41, any interested person
may file a complaint with the commission. The commission
may, with or without notice, make its order requiring the
person complained of to cease and desist from such
construction, operation, or acquisition until the
commission makes and files its decision on the complaint
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or until further order of the commission. The commission
may, after a hearing conducted after the giving of
reasonable notice, make such order and prescribe such
terms and conditions with respect thereto as are just and
reasonable.
FACTS
6.
Pursuant to an Inmate Telecommunications Agreement (AITS
Agreement@) entered into on April 26, 1999, and amended in October
2002, Pay Tel currently provides ITS to the detention facility
operated by Twiggs County, Georgia (ATwiggs County@).
7.
Pay Tel=s ITS Agreement with Twiggs County does not expire
until August 13, 2011.
8.
By letter dated December 8, 2005, counsel for Twiggs County
notified

Pay

Tel

that

its

ITS

Agreement

Awill

no

longer

be

operative after December 31, 2005.@
9.
On information and belief, Encartele has entered into, will
enter into, intends to enter into or has made a proposal to enter
into a contract with Twiggs County authorizing Encartele to provide
ITS at the Twiggs County detention facility beginning on or about
January 1, 2006, or at some other date shortly thereafter.
10.

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On information and belief, Pay Tel believes that Encartele may
also be providing ITS to the detention facilities of Jeff Davis,
Crawford, and Cherokee counties, the Crisp County Youth Detention
Center, and possibly other detention facilities located in Georgia.
11.
Based on a review of the records of this Commission, Encartele
is not certificated to provide ITS in the State of Georgia.
Encartele filed an Application for Certificate of Authority to
Provide Institutional Telecommunication Service with the Commission
on or about December 19, 2005.

The Commission has not acted on

Encartele=s Application.
12.
On information and belief, Pay Tel further believes that
Encartele, (to the extent it may be providing ITS service) is
providing service in a manner which violates the Commission=s ITS
rules.
COUNT I
REQUEST FOR A CEASE AND DESIST ORDER BASED ON
ENCARTELE=S PROVISION OF ITS SERVICE WITHOUT
A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY
13.
Pay

Tel

incorporates

by

reference

the

allegations

paragraphs 1 through 12, as if fully set forth herein.
14.

4

of

Both the Telecommunications and Competition Development Act of
1995 and Commission Utility Rule 515-12-1-.30(2) require that ITS
providers obtain a certificate of authority from the Commission in
order to lawfully provide ITS.
15.
As of the date of this pleading, Encartele has not been
granted

a

certificate

of

authority

to

provide

ITS

by

this

Commission.
16.
Pursuant to O.C.G.A. ' 46-5-45, where it appears that a person
is engaged in or is about to engage in the operation of a telephone
line

without

having

secured

a

certificate

of

authority,

any

interested person may file a complaint with the Commission, and the
Commission may, with or without notice, order the person complained
of to cease and desist from such operation until the Commission
makes and files its decision on the complaint.
17.
Pay Tel requests that the Commission issue a Cease and Desist
Order to prohibit Encartele from providing ITS in the State of
Georgia until such time as the Commission may hold a hearing on
this matter.
COUNT II
REQUEST FOR A CEASE AND DESIST ORDER BASED ON
ENCARTELE=S PROVISION OF ITS SERVICE
IN VIOLATION OF COMMISSION RULES

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18.
Pay

Tel

incorporates

by

reference

the

allegations

of

paragraphs 1 through 17, as if fully set forth herein.
19.
Pursuant

to

the

Commission

Utility

Rules

governing

the

provision of ITS, the ITS provider must order a separate public
telephone access line for institutional services, which may serve
up to three instruments per line installed.
20.
The provisioning of ITS by means of technology other than
public access line, such as broadband, is prohibited.
21.
On information and belief, Pay Tel believes that Encartele may
be providing ITS by means of broadband and/or VoIP, rather than
public access lines.
22.
While Pay Tel favors revising the Commission=s current rules
governing ITS to allow ITS providers to utilize new technologies,
each ITS provider must comply with the current rules until they are
modified by the Commission.

Encartele=s failure to comply with the

current ITS rules places all other ITS providers at competitive and
economic disadvantage.
23.

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Pay Tel requests that the Commission issue a Cease and Desist
Order to prohibit Encartele from providing ITS in the State of
Georgia

in

a

manner

which

violates

this

Commission=s

rules

governing ITS.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Pay Tel respectfully requests that:
a.

the Commission issue an Order which prohibits Encartele,
Inc. from providing ITS in the State of Georgia without a
Certificate of Authority;

b.

the Commission issue an Order which prohibits Encartele,
Inc.

from

providing

service

in

violation

of

this

Commission=s rules;
c.

the Commission conduct a hearing on the issues raised in
this Complaint; and

d.

the Commission grant such other and further relief as it
deems just and proper.

This ____ day of December, 2005.
GALLOWAY & LYNDALL, LLP
Attorneys for Pay Tel Communications, Inc.
_____________________________________________
Newton M. Galloway
Georgia Bar No. 283069
The Lewis-Mills House
406 North Hill Street
Griffin, Georgia 30223
(770) 233-6230 telephone
(770) 233-6231 facsimile

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that I have this day served a copy of the foregoing
COMPLAINT AGAINST ENCARTELE, INC. upon the following persons by
causing copies of the same to be placed in an envelope with
adequate postage affixed thereon and deposited in the United States
Mail addressed as follows:
Ms. Jeanette Mellinger, Director
Consumers Utility Counsel
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
Suite 356, East Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334
Business Filings, Inc.
Registered Agent for Encartele, Inc.
1201 Peachtree Street, NE
Atlanta, GA 30361
Mr. Joseph C. Byam
Registered Agent for Encartele, Inc.
317 American National Building
8990 West Dodge Road
Omaha, Nebraska 68114
This ___ day of December, 2005.
________________________________________
Counsel for Pay Tel Communications, Inc.

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