TITLE 17 PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY
SERVICES
CHAPTER 11 TELECOMMUNICATIONS
PART 24 QUALITY OF SERVICE STANDARDS
APPLICABLE TO MID-SIZE CARRIERS
17.11.24.1 ISSUING AGENCY: New
Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
[17.11.24.1 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.2 SCOPE: This
rule applies to all mid-size carriers.
[17.11.24.2 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: NMSA
1978 Sections 63-9A-5.1 and 63-9A-5.2.
[17.11.24.3 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.4 DURATION:
Permanent.
[17.11.24.4 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: April
1, 2006, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[17.11.24.5 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.6 OBJECTIVE: The
purpose of this rule is to establish quality of service standards applicable to
mid-size carriers.
[17.11.24.6 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.7 DEFINITIONS: As
used in this rule:
A. access line means a dial tone line that provides local
exchange service from a mid-size carrier’s switching equipment to a point of
termination at the customer’s network interface;
B. basic services means retail telecommunications services
that provide residence or business customers with an individual primary line
providing voice grade access to the public switched network;
C. circumstances beyond a mid-size carrier’s control are
limited to:
(1) failure to obtain necessary rights-of-way
or permits despite the filing of timely applications;
(2) extraordinary weather and other acts of
God; or
(3) supplier issues, vendor issues, and work
stoppages;
D. customer means any person that has applied for or is
currently receiving telecommunications services;
E. designed services means the provisioning of end user
tariffed circuits requiring special treatment, special equipment, or special
engineering design; examples include PBX trunks, rotary lines, DDS, DS-1, DS-3,
ISDN-BRI, and special assemblies;
F. designed services held order means an order for designed
services where facilities are not available that is not provisioned within
forty-five calendar days after the receipt of the customer’s order or within
forty-five calendar days after the customer’s requested service date; an order
shall not be considered a held order if the customer was the cause of the
delay;
G. held order means an order for a basic service placed by a
customer whose premises are within one thousand feet of an existing terminal or
pedestal, which, due to a lack of facilities, is not completed within thirty
days after the receipt of the order (or within thirty days after the customer’s
requested service date, where the customer requested a date more than five days
after submission of the order); an order shall not be considered a held order
if the customer was the cause of the delay;
H. mid-size carrier means any telecommunications company
with more than fifty thousand but less than three hundred seventy-five thousand
access lines in New Mexico;
I. non-basic services means retail telecommunications
services that are not a basic service, a switched access service or a wholesale
service governed by an interconnection agreement;
J. out-of-service trouble report is a report from a
customer of an inability to receive or place calls on an access line due to
lack of dial tone or severe noise that prevents effective communication;
K. repeat trouble report is a network trouble report on an
access line within thirty days of a closed trouble report concerning the same
problem on the same line;
L. telecommunications company means a person that provides
public telecommunications service;
M. trouble report means notification of trouble or perceived
trouble by a customer, third party, or employee acting on behalf of a customer
to a mid-size carrier’s repair office, including trouble reported on the access
lines of the mid-size carrier’s retail customers, but not including troubles
associated with a customer’s unfamiliarity with new features or customer
premises equipment, or extraordinary or abnormal conditions of operation.
[17.11.24.7 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.8 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND SERVICE
STANDARDS: For each requirement in this section of the
rule, a mid-size carrier shall compile service quality data on a monthly basis
by wire center or exchange, as specified, and statewide. A mid-size carrier shall prepare each report
of its data for the commission in printed format and in electronic spreadsheet
format, listing each wire center or exchange, as specified, alphabetically by
name. Within thirty days after the end
of each calendar year, a mid-size carrier shall file its service quality report
with the commission. Delays caused by
customers may be excluded from a mid-size carrier’s calculations.
A. Held orders - basic services.
(1) Service standards. A mid-size carrier’s annual held order rate
for basic services shall not exceed .035%.
A mid-size carrier shall notify each customer affected by a held order
of the projected service date for that order.
(2) Annual reporting requirements. The annual held order rate shall be the
average of the monthly held order rates.
The monthly held order rate shall be calculated as the number of a
mid-size carrier’s held orders for basic service lines as of the last day of
the month, excluding orders for which waivers have been granted, expressed as a
percentage of the total number of the mid-size carrier’s access lines in
service at the end of the month. A
mid-size carrier shall report annually for each wire center and statewide:
(a)
the number of held orders;
(b) the number of total access lines;
(c) the number of held orders expressed as a
percent of total access lines;
(d) the number of held orders excluded from
the calculations;
(e) the number of held orders pending for more
than one hundred eighty days, excluding designed services; and
(f) the number of unfilled orders for designed
services pending for more than one hundred eighty days.
(3) Reporting of unfilled orders when
construction cannot be completed due to circumstances beyond mid-size carrier’s
control. Within thirty days of the end
of the month in which the mid-size carrier incurs a held order that is not
filled because the mid-size carrier must undertake construction of facilities
in order to provide the requested service, and such construction cannot be
completed in compliance with the held order standard due to circumstances
beyond the mid-size carrier’s control, the mid-size carrier shall file a report
to the commission with the following information:
(a) order number;
(b) wire center;
(c) application date;
(d) requested date of service;
(e) the circumstances beyond the mid-size
carrier’s control that have caused the order to be delayed;
(f) explanation of what steps the mid-size
carrier has taken within the thirty-day period since the order was received to
overcome the circumstances beyond the mid-size carrier’s control;
(g) the date the customer notification letter
was sent;
(h) job number; and
(i) an affidavit from a manager having direct
knowledge of the conditions leading to the mid-size carrier being unable to
provide service for the orders on the list.
(4) Waivers.
Upon the filing of a report pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of
17.11.24.8 NMAC, the mid-size carrier is granted a waiver exempting any order
that is the subject of a report from the reporting requirements of Paragraph
(2) of Subsection A of 17.11.24.8 NMAC.
Waivers are granted for up to one year from the report filing date. At the end of the one-year period, the mid-size
carrier must remove the order from the waivers list and the order shall be
subject to the applicable basic services installation interval standards and
reporting requirements.
B. Installation of basic services.
(1) Service standards. A mid-size carrier’s annual installation rate
for basic services shall be at least ninety-six percent of basic service
requests provisioned within five working days of the date such requests were
received or by such later dates as requested by customers.
(2) Reporting requirement. A mid-size carrier shall report annually for
each exchange and statewide the percent of service requests for basic services
that were provisioned within five working days of each service request date or
by such later dates as requested by customers.
Held orders shall not be included in the calculations.
C. Installation of designed services.
(1) Service standards.
(a) Within three working days of receipt of a
customer’s request for designed services, a mid-size carrier shall inform the
customer whether necessary facilities are available to provision the service.
(b) Where facilities are available, no less than
eighty-five percent of service requests for designed services shall be
provisioned within fifteen calendar days of the dates such requests were
received or by the dates requested by customers, whichever is later.
(c) Where facilities are not available, no
less than eighty-five percent of service requests for designed services shall
be provisioned within forty-five calendar days of the dates such requests were
received or by the dates requested by customers, whichever is later.
(2) Annual reporting requirements. A mid-size carrier shall report annually for
each exchange and statewide the percent of requests for designed services
provisioned within fifteen working days, where facilities are available, and
within forty-five days, where facilities are not available, for each month in
the year. The reported percent of
requests shall be a twelve-month average percent calculated using twelve months
of data in the calendar year. Wholesale
orders for designed services and designed services orders involving third
parties may be excluded from the calculations.
(3) Reporting of unfilled orders when
construction cannot be completed due to circumstances beyond mid-size carrier’s
control. Within thirty days of the end
of the month in which a mid-size carrier incurs a designed services held order
that is not filled because the mid-size carrier must undertake construction of
facilities in order to provide the requested service, and such construction
cannot be completed in compliance with the held order standard due to
circumstances beyond the mid-size carrier’s control, the mid-size carrier shall
file a report to the commission with the following information:
(a) order number;
(b) wire center;
(c) application date;
(d) requested date of service;
(e) the circumstances beyond the mid-size
carrier’s control that have caused the order to be delayed;
(f) explanation of what steps the mid-size
carrier has taken within the forty-five day period since the order was received
to overcome the circumstances beyond the mid-size carrier’s control;
(g) the date the customer notification letter
was sent;
(h) job number; and
(i) an affidavit from a manager having direct
knowledge of the conditions leading to the mid-size carrier being unable to
provide service for the orders on the list.
(4) Waivers.
Upon the filing of a report pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection C of
17.11.24.8 NMAC, the mid-size carrier is granted a waiver exempting any order
that is the subject of a report from the reporting requirements of Paragraph
(2) of Subsection C of 17.11.24.8 NMAC.
Waivers are granted for up to one year from the report filing date. At the end of the one-year period, the
mid-size carrier must remove the order from the waivers list and the order
shall be subject to the applicable basic services installation interval
standards and reporting requirements.
D. Trouble reports.
(1)
Service standard. A mid-size
carrier’s annual trouble report rate shall not exceed five reports per month
per one hundred access lines in service.
(2) Reporting requirements. A mid-size carrier shall report annually for
each wire center and statewide the percent of access lines for which trouble
reports were received during each month in the year.
E. Out-of-service trouble reports.
(1) Service standard. A mid-size carrier’s annual out-of-service
rate shall be at least eighty-five percent of out-of-service trouble reports cleared
within twenty-four hours.
(2) Reporting requirements. A mid-size carrier shall report annually for
each wire center and statewide the number of access lines for which
out-of-service trouble reports were received during each month in the year and
the percent cleared each month. Out-of-service trouble reports received after
4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday shall be deemed as received at 8:00 a.m. the
following business day.
F. Repeat trouble reports.
(1) Service standard. A mid-size carrier’s annual repeat trouble
report rate shall not exceed eighteen percent of total monthly trouble reports.
(2) Reporting requirements. A mid-size carrier shall report annually for
each wire center and statewide the percent of access lines for which repeat
trouble reports were received during each month in the year.
[17.11.24.8 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.9 OUTAGES:
A. Initial outage report.
A mid-size carrier shall report outages lasting longer than one hour and
affecting more than one thousand five hundred customers to the consumer
relations division of the commission by telephone, facsimile, email, or in
person within ninety minutes of the onset of the outage or, for outages not
occurring during business hours, at the start of the next business day.
B. Subsequent outage report.
A mid-size carrier shall submit a subsequent written report stating the
location, duration, number of customers affected, cause and corrective action
taken. Both the initial and subsequent
outage reports shall state whether 911 circuits were affected.
C. Quarterly outage reports.
A mid-size carrier shall file quarterly a record of each outage in the
preceding three months for which the mid-size carrier was unable to provide
emergency service and an explanation of why emergency service was unavailable.
[17.11.24.9 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.10 PROVISION
OF SERVICE DURING MAINTENANCE OR EMERGENCIES:
A. Emergency procedures.
Each mid-size carrier shall establish and instruct its employees
regarding procedures for preventing or mitigating interruption to or impairment
of telecommunications service in emergencies resulting from power failures,
sudden and prolonged increases in traffic, illness of operators, fire, storm,
or acts of God. Mid-size carriers shall file written plans detailing their
emergency procedures with the telecommunications bureau of the commission
within sixty days after certification by the commission or adoption of this
rule, whichever is later. Any changes to
the plan shall be filed with the telecommunications bureau of the commission
within thirty days of the change.
B. Reserve power requirements. Mid-size carriers shall maintain in each
local central office, toll switching office, and tandem switching office a
minimum of four hours of battery reserve rated for peak traffic load
requirements and shall:
(1) install a permanent auxiliary power unit
in toll and tandem switching offices and in central offices serving ten
thousand or more access lines; and
(2) have available a mobile power unit which
normally can be delivered and connected within four hours for central offices
serving fewer than ten thousand access lines.
C. Maintenance scheduling.
Mid-size carriers shall schedule maintenance requiring extended service
interruptions when it will cause minimal inconvenience to customers and, to the
extent possible, shall notify customers in advance of extended service
interruptions. Mid-size carriers shall
make emergency service available in any area that experiences service
interruptions affecting one thousand or more access lines and lasting more than
four hours between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. If a mid-size carrier cannot provide
emergency service during such a scheduled maintenance period, it shall file a
report of the occurrence with the telecommunications bureau of the commission.
D. Loss of switch plan.
Each mid-size carrier shall develop a contingency plan to prevent or
minimize service interruptions due to the loss of a central office switch that
serves more than ten thousand access lines or is the toll or tandem switching
office for more than ten thousand access lines.
The plan shall describe the actions and systems installed to prevent or
minimize the probability of such an occurrence as well as the actions and
systems available to minimize the extent of any incurred service interruption.
Mid-size carriers shall file the plans with the telecommunications bureau of
the commission within sixty days after certification by the commission or after
adoption of this rule, whichever is later.
Any changes to the plan shall be filed with the telecommunications
bureau within thirty days of the change.
[17.11.24.10 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.11 ACCESS TO AND AUDIT OF DATA:
Unless otherwise authorized by the commission, a mid-size carrier shall
make all records required by this rule available to the commission or its
authorized representative at any time upon request. A mid-size carrier shall make customer
proprietary network information available to the commission to the extent
allowed by law. A mid-size carrier shall
retain records of reports, measurements, summaries, and backup information for
at least two years. A mid-size carrier’s
service quality data shall be subject to periodic audit by the commission.
[17.11.24.11 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.12 LINE EXTENSION: Each
mid-size carrier shall file, pursuant to 17.11.24.16 NMAC, a tariff describing
its line extension policy and any subsequent modifications to its line
extension policy.
[17.11.24.12 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.13 TIMELY
RESPONSE BY CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES:
A. Service standards.
A mid-size carrier’s business offices and repair centers shall answer
ninety percent of calls within twenty seconds.
If a carrier uses an automatic response system, the system shall answer
ninety-five percent of calls within fifteen seconds of the customer’s selection
or within forty seconds if the customer does not make a selection. A mid-size carrier shall ensure that no more
than one percent of calls to its business offices reach a busy signal and that
no more than one percent of calls to its repair centers reach a busy signal.
B. Reporting requirement.
A mid-size carrier shall file an exception report within twenty-one
calendar days of the end of any month in which it failed to meet any of the
standards set forth in 17.11.24.13(A) NMAC.
The report shall identify each offending repair center or business
office, the percent of calls answered, the percent of calls reaching a busy
signal, the reason for failure to meet the respective standard, the remedial
action taken by the mid-size carrier, and any known results of that remedial
action.
[17.11.24.13 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.14 DIRECTORY
ASSISTANCE AND INTERCEPT:
A. Service standard.
A mid-size carrier shall list basic service customers (except those
customers requesting otherwise) in the directory assistance database within
twenty-four hours of service connection, except during times of regular
maintenance, in which case the listing shall occur within forty-eight hours of
service connection.
B. Errors in listing.
If a mid-size carrier makes an error in the listed number or name of any
customer, then until a new directory is published, the mid-size carrier shall
make, at no charge to the customer, whatever special arrangements are necessary
and reasonable to ensure that calling parties are able to reach the customer
whose listed number or name is in error.
If a mid-size carrier makes an error in the listed number, name or
address of any customer, the mid-size carrier shall place the customer’s
correct name, address and telephone number in the files of the directory
assistance and intercept operators within seventy-two hours of confirmation of
the error.
C. Intercept service.
When a customer’s telephone number is changed at the request of the
customer after a directory is published, the mid-size carrier shall provide
intercept service for all calls to the former number for the lesser of sixty
days or until a new directory is issued.
If the change is made at the initiative of the mid-size carrier, the mid-size
carrier shall provide intercept service for the former number at no charge to
the customer for the greater of sixty days or the remaining life of the current
directory. The mid-size carrier shall
provide the correct number to its information operator within twenty-four hours
of the number change (except during times of regular maintenance, in which case
the listing shall occur within forty-eight hours of service connection) or send
it to the carrier providing information operator service within twenty-four
hours if the local exchange carrier does not provide its own service. The mid-size carrier intercept recording
shall state how the caller can obtain the new number.
[17.11.24.14 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.15 WAIVERS:
Pursuant to NMSA 1978 Section 63-9A-5.1(H), a mid-size carrier may
petition the commission for a waiver of this rule for good cause shown.
[17.11.24.15 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.16 TARIFFS: A
mid-size carrier may propose changes to terms and conditions in its tariffs
related to this rule by filing with the commission a notice and tariff sheets
reflecting the modified terms and conditions.
The modified terms and conditions shall become effective ten days after
a mid-size carrier files such commission notice and tariff sheets, unless the
commission suspends the mid-size carrier’s proposed tariffs.
[17.11.24.16 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
17.11.24.17 REVIEW AND REPORT TO LEGISLATURE: Two
years after the effective date of this rule, the commission and any mid-size
carrier shall independently review the provisions of this rule and,
subsequently, shall report their findings to the legislature. All or part of such findings may be reported
to the legislature either jointly or separately.
[17.11.24.17 NMAC -
N, 4-1-2006]
HISTORY OF
17.11.24 NMAC: [RESERVED]