Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
Every intrastate toll service provider must adhere to the
following standards:
(1) Measurement
and Reporting Requirement. Each intrastate toll service provider must take the
measurements required by this rule and report them to the Commission as
specified.
(2) Additional Reporting
Requirements. The Commission may require a telecommunications carrier to
provide additional reports on any item covered by this rule.
(3) Blocked Calls. An intrastate toll service
provider must engineer and maintain all intraoffice, interoffice, and access
trunking and associated switching components to allow completion of all
properly dialed calls made during the average busy season busy hour without
encountering blockage or equipment irregularities in excess of the
Commission-approved service levels listed in subsection (b) of this section, or
alternatively, provide the level of service specified by the intrastate toll
service provider in accordance with ORS
759.020(6).
(a) Measurement:
(A) An intrastate toll service provider must
collect traffic data; that is, peg counts and usage data generated by
individual components of equipment or by the wire center as a whole, and
calculate blockage levels of the interoffice final trunk groups;
(B) System blockage will be determined by
special testing at the wire center. Commission Staff or a carrier technician
will place test calls to a predetermined test number, and the total number of
attempted calls and the number of completed calls will be counted. The percent
of completion of the calls shall be calculated.
(b) Commission-Approved Service Level:
(A) An intrastate toll service provider must
maintain interoffice final trunk groups to allow 99 percent completion of calls
during the average busy season busy hour without blockage (P01 grade of
service);
(B) An intrastate toll
service provider must maintain its network operation so that 99 percent of the
calls do not experience blockage during any normal busy hour. If a final trunk
group provisioned by an intrastate toll service provider exceeds the blockage
standard specified herein for four consecutive months, the trunk group will be
considered in violation of this standard.
(c) Reporting Requirement: In accordance with
ORS 759.020(6),
each intrastate toll service provider must inform customers of the service
level furnished by the carrier. Each provider must also identify the service
level it plans to furnish in its annual report filed with the Commission. An
intrastate toll service provider must file a switching system blockage report
after a Commission-directed switching-system blockage test is
completed.
(d) Retention
Requirement: Each intrastate toll service provider must maintain records for
one year.
(4) Special
Service Lines. All special service access lines must meet the performance
requirements specified in applicable intrastate toll service provider tariffs
or contracts.
(5) An intrastate
toll service provider connected to the facilities of other telecommunications
carriers as defined in ORS
759.400(3)
shall operate its system in a manner that will not impede a telecommunications
carrier's or intrastate toll service provider's ability to meet required
standards of service. A telecommunications carrier or intrastate toll service
provider shall report interconnection operational problems promptly to the
Commission.
(6) Remedies for
Violation of This Standard:
(a) If a
telecommunications carrier subject to this rule violates one or more of its
service standards, the Commission must require the intrastate toll service
provider to submit a plan for improving performance as provided in ORS
759.450(5). If
an intrastate toll carrier does not meet the goals of its improvement plan
within six months, or if the plan is disapproved by the Commission, penalties
may be assessed in accordance with ORS
759.450(5) through
(7).
(b) In addition to the remedy provided under
ORS 759.450(5), if
the Commission believes that an intrastate toll service provider subject to
this rule has violated one or more of its service standards, the Commission
shall give the intrastate toll service provider notice and an opportunity to
request a hearing. If the Commission finds a violation has occurred, the
Commission may require the intrastate toll service provider to provide the
following relief to the affected customers:
(A) Customer billing credits equal to the
associated nonrecurring and recurring charges of the intrastate toll service
provider for the affected service for the period of the violation; or
(B) Other relief authorized by Oregon
law.
(7)
(a) If the Commission determines that
effective competition exists in one or more exchange, it may exempt all
telecommunications carriers providing telecommunications services in those
exchanges from the requirements of this rule, in whole or in part. In making
this determination, the Commission must consider:
(A) The extent to which the service is
available from alternative providers in the relevant exchange(s);
(B) The extent to which the services of
alternative providers are functionally equivalent or substitutable at
comparable rates, terms, and conditions;
(C) Existing barriers to market
entry;
(D) Market share and
concentration;
(E) Price to cost
ratios;
(F) Number of
suppliers;
(G) Price demand side
substitutability (for example, customer perceptions of competitors as viable
alternatives); and
(H) Any other
factors deemed relevant by the Commission.
(b) When a telecommunications carrier or
intrastate toll service provider petitions the Commission for exemption under
this provision, the Commission must provide notice of the petition to all
relevant telecommunications carriers providing the applicable service(s) in the
exchange(s) in question. Such notified telecommunications carriers will be
provided an opportunity to submit comments in response to the petition. The
comments may include requests that, following the Commission's analysis
outlined above in Section (7)(a)(A) through (H), the commenting
telecommunications carrier be exempt from these rules for the applicable
service(s) in the relevant exchange(s).
(c) For purposes of this rule, if a final
trunk group provisioned by an intrastate toll provider exceeds the blockage
standard specified by the provider for four consecutive months, that trunk
group will be considered in violation of the provider's service
standard.
Publications: Publications referenced are available from the
agency.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 183, 756 & 759
Stats. Implemented: ORS
756.040,
759.020,
759.030,
759.050 &
759.450
