The Legislature of the State of Mississippi finds:
That telephone service provides a rapid and essential communications link among the general public and with essential offices and organizations such as police, fire and medical facilities;
That all persons should have basic telephone service available to them at a fair and equitable cost;
That a significant portion of Mississippi’s hearing and speech impaired population have profound disabilities which render normal telephone equipment useless without additional specialized devices; and
That there exists a need for a program whereby access to basic telephone service for hearing and speech impaired persons is equal in cost to the amount paid by other telephone customers.