As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Acquire” means and includes construct, acquire by purchase, lease, devise, gift, or other modes of acquisition;
(2) “Board” means a board of directors of a corporation organized under this subchapter;
(3) “Commission” means the Arkansas Public Service Commission;
(4) “Cooperative” means a corporation organized and operating pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter;
(5) “Federal agency” includes the United States and any department, administration, commission, board, bureau, office, establishment, agency, authority, or other instrumentality of the United States;
(6) “Member” means an incorporator of a cooperative and each person thereafter lawfully admitted to and retaining membership therein;
(7) “Municipality” means any incorporated city or town of this state;
(8) “Obligations” includes bonds, notes, debentures, interim certificates, or receipts and all other evidences of indebtedness issued by a cooperative. However, obligations shall not include amounts represented by capital stock, certificates of membership, or amounts due as patronage profits;
(9) “Person” includes any natural person, firm, association, corporation, business trust, or partnership;
(10) “Rural area” means any area within this state which is located outside the boundaries of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, or village having a population in excess of two thousand five hundred (2,500) inhabitants according to the last preceding federal census;
(11) “State agency” includes the State of Arkansas and any department, administration, commission, board, bureau, office, establishment, agency, authority, instrumentality, or any political subdivision of the State of Arkansas;
(12) “Telecommunications company” means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity that offers telecommunications services to the public for compensation; and
(13) “Telecommunications service” means the offering to the public for compensation the transmission of voice, data, or other electronic information at any frequency over any part of the electromagnetic spectrum, notwithstanding any other use of the associated facilities. Such term does not include radio and television broadcast or distribution services or the provision or publishing of yellow pages, regardless of the entity providing such services or services to the extent that such services are used in connection with the operation of an electric utility system owned by a government entity.