(a) A petition under this subchapter must be signed by a number of the exchange's subscribers equal at least to the lesser of 100 of the exchange's subscribers or five percent of the exchange's subscribers.
(b) An exchange that petitions under Section 55.045(2) must demonstrate in the petition that the exchange shares a community of interest with the requested exchange.
(c) For purposes of this section, the relationships between exchanges that create a community of interest include:
(1) a relationship because of schools, hospitals, local governments, or business centers; or
(2) other relationships that would make the unavailability of expanded local calling service a hardship for the residents of the area.