Code of Colorado Regulations
700 - Department of Regulatory Agencies
723 - Public Utilities Commission
4 CCR 723-2 - RULES REGULATING TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND PROVIDERS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
OPERATING AUTHORITY
Basic Emergency Service
Section 2143 - Basic Emergency Service Reliability and Service Disruption Response

Universal Citation: 700 CO Code Regs 2143

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, March 25, 2025

(a) All BESPs providing BES shall take reasonable measures to provide reliable BES including circuit diversity, central-office backup power, and diverse network monitoring. Where feasible, 9-1-1 circuits within the BES network shall be physically and geographically diverse.

(I) Circuits or equivalent data paths are physically diverse if they provide more than one physical route between end points with no common points where a single failure at that point would cause both circuits to fail. Circuits that share a common segment such as a fiber-optic cable or circuit board are not physically diverse even if they are logically diverse for purposes of transmitting data.

(II) Circuits or equivalent data paths are geographically diverse if they take different paths from endpoint to endpoint, not following the same geographic route.

(b) On or before February 15, 2023, and each two years thereafter, each BESP shall file an improvement plan application or amendment. This application or amendment shall be subject to rule 2002.

(I) The improvement plan shall consist of the following, at a minimum:
(A) a list of service reliability items including, but not limited to, items reported to the FCC in its annual 9-1-1 reliability submission;

(B) a list of projects to improve the reliability of the BES network that the BESP proposes to implement over the course of a twenty-four month period. For each proposed project listed, the BESP shall include the following information:
(i) the proposed beginning and completion date of the project, along with any proposed intermediate milestones for phases of the project;

(ii) firm estimated costs for the project(s) or, for multi-phase projects, for the individual phases of the project to be completed within the improvement plan term, including a proposed profit margin of no more than 10.5 percent;

(iii) the portion of the cost of the project or project phase the BESP requests to be funded through the improvement plan;

(iv) an explanation of different technological options and contractual arrangements considered by the BESP for this project, including, as appropriate, fiber, microwave, satellite, and third party facilities, and the reasons the BESP has selected the options included in its improvement plan for this project, including considerations of cost effectiveness and effectiveness at improving reliability;

(v) a statement describing whether the benefit of the improvement will be exclusive to BES, and, if not, the estimated percentage of the benefit to BES versus other uses of the improvement, such as commercial uses; and

(vi) a statement describing the expected impact of each proposed project, including what benefit the project may have for BES network reliability and which PSAP(s) may be expected to benefit from the project, and the reasons the BESP chose this project over other potential projects. Projects to be included in the application should be proposed based on the following categories, following informal consultation with stakeholders:
(1) projects that have the potential to reduce the likelihood of outages based on past patterns of outages in the BES network and based on the existence of points in the network, equipment, or software that represent a lack of redundancy or diversity;

(2) projects that have the potential to reduce the duration or scope of outages;

(3) projects that have the potential to improve reliability for more than one PSAP;

(4) projects that, when implemented with other projects proposed in the improvement plan application, balance improvements to portions of the network serving both urban and rural communities; and

(5) other projects that the BESP determines would be beneficial to the overall reliability and resiliency of the BES network.

(C) Other changes that the BESP anticipates occurring in Colorado in the next two years that may impact BES.

(D) A statement attesting that the BESP understands that it is responsible for the ongoing maintenance and operations of any improvement made in accordance with an approved improvement plan and funded through an approved improvement amount, unless otherwise approved by the Commission, and that the BESP understands that it may not discontinue the maintenance and operation of any approved and funded improvement without express permission of the Commission.

(E) A proposed improvement amount, as described in subparagraph 2137(e)(II). This improvement amount shall be calculated to reimburse the BESP for its costs, including its proposed profit margin, for all proposed projects in the two-year improvement plan. The BESP may propose different improvement amounts for each of the two years.

(II) As part of its decision to approve the improvement plan, the Commission shall also approve an improvement amount. Thereafter, but no more than annually, the BESP or Commission staff may request an adjustment to the improvement amount. The improvement amount shall be calculated to provide reimbursement to the BESP for all approved expenditures already incurred and all expenditures anticipated pursuant to an approved improvement plan. If approved prior August 1, the improvement amount shall be effective the following March 1. If approved after August 1, the improvement amount shall be effective March 1 of the year following the next August 1. The Commission will take the improvement amount into consideration when setting the 9-1-1 surcharge rate as described in subparagraph 2148(a)(II).

(III) The Commission may approve the improvement plan application, in full or as modified by the Commission.

(IV) Following a Commission decision approving an improvement plan application, the BESP shall:
(A) provide notice within 30 days of its intent to accept funds and implement the improvement plan, in full or in part; and

(B) file quarterly reports containing the following information:
(i) a description of all work completed pursuant to the improvement plan since the last quarterly report and cumulatively;

(ii) a list and total of all expenditures incurred by the BESP in completion of the work since the last quarterly report and cumulatively, and expenses expected to be incurred in the following quarter;

(iii) the funding obtained from the improvement amount since the last quarterly report and cumulatively;

(iv) anticipated expenses for the following quarter; and

(v) any actual or anticipated project delays that are expected to affect the dates of any project completion or milestone date as described in the approved improvement plan.

(V) Following approval of the improvement plan, the BESP may file proposed amendments to the improvement plan for approval by the Commission for any significant unforeseen changes to the approved improvement plan.

(VI) Following each quarterly report, if improvement amount revenues significantly exceed current and anticipated expenditures, following notice and comment by interested parties, the Commission may suspend the improvement amount until such time that future quarterly reports demonstrate that the approved expenditures exceed total revenue received by the BESP, or take other actions as appropriate.

(VII) On or before February 15 every two years following the filing of the original improvement plan, unless otherwise approved by the Commission, the BESP shall file a proposed amendment to the improvement plan extending it for an additional two years or a new proposed improvement plan for a two-year period, including additional projects.

(VIII) The Commission may, with cause, revoke approval of the improvement plan and terminate the BESP's authority to charge the improvement amount. The BESP shall be allowed to continue charging the improvement amount until any approved expenditures already made by the BESP have been reimbursed through the improvement amount.

(c) Each BESP shall maintain contact information for each PSAP served by the BESP for notification of actual or potential PSAP service disruptions. No less than annually, the BESP shall contact each PSAP that is served by the BESP to verify the notification information on file.

(d) The BESP shall obtain from each governing body or PSAP its preferred alternative method(s) for the governing body or PSAP and the BESP to communicate during a PSAP service disruption.

(e) Beginning in 2023 and each year thereafter, each BESP shall develop a BES contingency plan in collaboration with all affected BESPs, basic local exchange carriers from which the BESP obtains BES facilities, governing bodies, and PSAPs, to be confidentially filed annually with the Commission no later than April 30. The contingency plan shall include:

(I) identification and location of all primary and backup facilities, equipment, and databases or any and all other components related to BES;

(II) an identification and description of all demarcation points with governing bodies or PSAPs, or other BESPs;

(III) all contingency processes and information from BESPs, PSAPs, and governing bodies necessary for public safety operations until BES is restored;

(IV) the most current version of the contact information collected by the BESP pursuant to paragraph 2143(c), and an indication of whether the information has been updated or confirmed since the previous contingency plan filing;

(V) the results of the BESP's most recent 9-1-1 reliability certification report filed with the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to 47 CFR § 9.19, including, where applicable, reference regarding which PSAP(s) would potentially be impacted by an outage of an item in the report, for use by governing bodies and PSAPs to plan for and mitigate potential outages and continuity of operations;

(VI) any other details deemed relevant by the BESP or reasonably requested by the Commission;

(VIII) alternate communications plans as described in paragraph (g); and

(VIII) a template non-disclosure agreement that may be completed by governing bodies and PSAPs and filed in the proceeding.

(f) The BESP shall meet with each governing body or PSAP, upon request, to review the information contained in the most recent contingency plan as it relates to the governing body or PSAP.

(g) Where feasible, the BESP should develop plans for its technicians to communicate with the NOC in the event of an isolation of a central office serving a PSAP in a manner that will allow for expeditious resolution of the PSAP service disruption.

(h) Each BESP shall provide each PSAP that it serves with a telephone number that the PSAP can use to report to the BESP technical issues regarding BES. The telephone number should be staffed at all times, including nights, weekends, and holidays, by personnel capable of processing the call to initiate immediate corrective action. The BESP shall log all calls and communications between the NOC and PSAPs or governing bodies by date, time, PSAP, party placing the call or sending the message, and individuals participating in the call and subject, with a summary of the call including any instructions provided the PSAP.

(i) All call recordings and messages transmitted or received by the BESP regarding a PSAP service disruption shall be retained for at least 24 months. All logs, call recordings and messages concerning a specific disruption shall be assigned a unique trouble ticket number.

(j) In the event of a confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption, the following shall occur.

(I) The BESP shall notify each affected governing body or PSAP via the contacts previously provided in accordance with paragraph (c) of this rule. Such notifications shall be made as soon as is practical, and shall include a trouble ticket number, the nature and extent of the confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption, if known, and the actions being taken to correct the disruption. If applicable, the notice shall include interim measures being taken to route 9-1-1 calls to alternate PSAPs or other locations. If known, the notification shall also include an estimated time of repair.

(II) If the confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption exceeds or is anticipated to exceed 15 minutes from the time a BESP becomes aware of the disruption, the BESP shall implement the appropriate contingency plan as established in paragraph (e) or provide temporary solutions so that 9-1-1 calls can be answered until the disruption is resovled. The BESP shall coordinate any alternate solutions with the contact(s) provided in accordance with paragraph (c) for the affected governing body or PSAP. In the event of a confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption, the BESP must deliver all 9-1-1 calls to an alternate PSAP, if possible, until the PSAP service disruption is resolved.

(III) If a confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption exceeds 30 minutes in duration, the responsible BESP shall inform the Commission within two hours of the time that the BESP becomes aware of the disruption. Such notification shall be made through a service disruption reporting form, available on the Commission's website.

(IV) In addition to the notification to Commission staff required by subparagraph (III), the BESP shall also copy Commission staff on all email notifications provided to Colorado PSAPs regarding confirmed or possible PSAP service disruptions at an email address designated for this purpose.

(V) The BESP shall notify the Commission of restoration of service by the beginning of the next business day following service restoration.

(VI) The BESP shall submit a final report to the Commission through the service disruption reporting form within 30 days of the restoration of service. The report shall include a statement as to whether call back numbers for 9-1-1 calls which could not be connected due to the confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption were provided to the PSAP as required by subparagraph 2143(j)(VII).

(VII) Following the restoration of PSAP service, the BESP shall notify each affected governing body or PSAP whether call back phone numbers are available for calls that were made to 9-1-1 but could not be delivered due to the disruption. If available, these call back numbers shall be provided to each governing body or PSAP within two hours of the restoration of service. When possible, this information should also include location information. The BESP must provide this information to the governing body or PSAP without requiring a request from the governing body or PSAP.

(VIII) In the event of a confirmed PSAP service disruption of more than four hours duration, or 12 hours in duration if the disruption is due to a fiber cut, the BESP shall provide a credit equal to the ratio of hours of the full duration of the disruption in hours to the total number of hours in the billing cycle. The credit shall be provided within no more than two billing cycles to the governing body or PSAP that normally receives the bill. If, as the result of a formal complaint proceeding or other proceeding, the Commission finds that a BESP has failed to provide a credit required under this paragraph, the Commission may order the amount of the credit to be doubled. The BESP must provide billing credits required under this rule automatically, without requiring a request from the governing body or PSAP. Additionally, civil penalties may be assessed as described in rules 2009 through 2011.

(k) Commission staff shall commence an informal investigation regarding each confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption meeting the below criteria, despite the dispute resolution process in the BESP's tariff, if any. The 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force may participate in the investigation.

(I) Informal investigations are required when the service disruption meets any of the following criteria:
(A) multiple PSAPs are affected;

(B) the details of the service disruption, such as the cause, the beginning and end times, and the implemented mitigation strategies are unclear from the information available to Commission staff;

(C) the service disruption lasted longer than four hours;

(D) there was an apparent failure to notify the PSAP as required by subparagraph 2143(j)(I);

(E) there were repeated service disruptions of a similar nature or in the same area within a 30-day period;

(F) at the request of one or more affected PSAP or governing body; or

(G) when there was a possible violation of a Commission rule.

(II) Each informal investigation under this paragraph will be handled as follows.
(A) Commission staff shall refer an informal investigation form to the BESP for its written response on a standardized form developed by Commission staff for that purpose. This form shall include questions developed by and solicited from the affected governing body or PSAP and the 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force. The BESP shall respond in writing with complete responses within thirty days, or such lesser or greater period as Commission staff may require if such period is reasonable under the circumstances of the informal investigation. If requested, the response shall include:
(1) the NOC call log entries; and

(2) copies of e-mails and transcripts or recordings of phone calls between the NOC and other parties related to the confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption.

(B) The BESP's responses shall fairly meet the substance of each request. The BESP may not provide an incomplete response citing a lack of information or knowledge unless it states it has made diligent and reasonable inquiry and requests that Commission staff allow a reasonable extension of time not to exceed fourteen days. Additional reasonable extensions of time may be granted upon request. Requests for any extensions shall be accompanied with estimates of when information may be provided.

(C) Commission staff, the affected governing bodies or PSAPs, or the 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force may also request a meeting with the BESP, which may be recorded, provided that the recording may not be used by any person for any purpose in subsequent proceedings before the Commission. The BESP should arrange for appropriate staff to participate in the meeting, including technical support, service, and management with relevant knowledge and sufficient level of authority or supervision.

(III) During the pendency of an informal investigation, communications regarding the investigation between Commission staff and any participant in the investigation shall be in writing and copied to the BESP, Commission staff, the affected governing body or PSAP, and the Chair of the 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force or his or her designee. Commission staff shall maintain a complete file related to each informal investigation, including all communications and recordings, and access to and use of the file is subject to applicable Commission rules regarding information claimed to be confidential or highly confidential.

(IV) Commission staff will document in a report the closure of each informal investigation within sixty days of the confirmed or possible PSAP service disruption, or such greater period as Commission staff may require if such period is reasonable under the circumstances of the informal investigation. The report should include whether the incident was a PSAP service disruption as defined in paragraph 2131(cc), whether the BESP handled the PSAP service disruption in a timely manner with the appropriate personnel, and whether the BESP has taken or committed to taking corrective action to prevent or mitigate a similar disruption from occurring in the future, specifying the corrective action and the timeframe, if applicable. The report shall also document any non-compliance with Commission rules or the BESP's tariff, including the BESP's service quality plan. Within 14 days, the 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force, the affected governing body or PSAP, or the BESP may submit to Commission staff written comments, which Commission staff shall append to the report and preserve in the informal investigation file.

(V) At any time, Commission staff, the 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force, or the affected governing body or PSAP may commence a proceeding before the Commission, at which time the informal investigation process shall terminate, if not yet closed, other than Commission staff's preparation of the report. If the affected governing body or PSAP seeks relief in an alternative forum, then the informal investigation process shall terminate, if not yet closed, other than Commission staff's preparation of the report.

(l) Nothing in rule 2143 shall be construed to impose any obligation on any provider other than BESPs.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Colorado may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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