(1) The commission may consider designating an area of exchanges a "region" and, as may be necessary, one or more individual exchanges in the region "required exchanges" when the circumstances so demand, including when:

(a) multiple exchanges share a community of interest with a common exchange;

(b) unsuccessful, impractical, inequitable, or problematic EAS would exist in the absence of designation as a region (including when customer confusion is likely to occur or when overlapping, bridging, or like methods of avoidance of toll charges are possible) ; or

(c) two or more exchanges are petitioning the same exchange for EAS, one exchange is petitioning two or more exchanges for EAS, a petitioning exchange is contiguous to, or within, a designated region, the petitioned exchange is within a region, or like circumstances or conditions exist.

(2) The designation of an area as a region may also be considered on petition signed by at least 30 percent of the customers within any petitioning exchange or an application by a regulated or unregulated local exchange company.

(3) Designation of an area of exchanges as a region is in the commission's discretion and the commission retains the option to deny EAS to affected individual exchanges if it determines that regional EAS would be contrary to the public interest under the circumstances.

(4) Exchanges within a region need not meet the threshold calling criteria established in ARM 38.5.1313 with all other exchanges within the region, but:

(a) must meet the criteria with at least one exchange within the region; or

(b) be designated a "required exchange" by the commission.

(5) Except as provided above, regional EAS will be considered under the same procedure and criteria as exchange-to-exchange EAS, with reasonable variation and allowance to accommodate the increase in number of exchanges affected and initial involvement of "required exchanges."