The telecommunications service quality reports are provided on this web site for your information. The data is provided for the Large Incumbent Telecommunications Utilities (companies with 50,000 or more statewide access lines), Small Incumbent Telecommunications Utilities (companies with less than 50,000 statewide access lines), and Competitive Telecommunications Providers, hereafter collectively called Carriers. The new service quality rules became effective December 27, 2005, (Docket AR 492, Order 05-1260). The following explanations are provided for the various service quality reports, pursuant to ORS 759.450, and apply to all Telecommunications Utilities and Competitive Telecommunications Providers.

EXPLANATION: Each large incumbent telecommunications utility and competitive telecommunications provider measures the answering time from the time a call is directed to a representative (live person) to the time it is answered. When a customer has a problem with their service, they call the telecommunications carrier’s repair service center. Some of the bigger companies have centralized centers that are not located in Oregon. Some companies use an interactive recording system, while others will go directly to their representative without an automated system. The option of transferring immediately to a live person when entering an automated system, thereby bypassing the automated questions needed for routing, is required. This is usually accomplished by dialing "0". The customer will still be put in queue for a representative that will be able to help them, but some customers require this additional assistance because of difficulty going through the automated process. For most customers, this option does not provide any advantage.

Company representatives are required to answer calls within 20 seconds at least 80% of the time or have an average speed of answer time of 50 seconds or less. There is no formula to convert between these two measurements and the two numbers should not be compared to one another when comparing different telephone companies’ service. The focus should be on whether a company is meeting the standard it chooses to use. Based on a national survey, the Commission believes both measurements should provide customers with the approximately the same level of service.

 

 

EXPLANATION: Each large incumbent telecommunications utility and competitive telecommunications provider measures the answering time from the time a call is directed to a representative (live person) to the time it is answered. When a customer requires new service, change of service, disconnection, or billing problems, they call the telecommunications carrier’s business office. Some of the bigger companies have centralized centers that are not located in Oregon. Some companies use an interactive recording system, while others will go directly to their representative without an automated system. The option of transferring immediately to a live person when entering an automated system, thereby bypassing the automated questions needed for routing, is required. This is usually accomplished by dialing "0". The customer will still be put in queue for a representative that will be able to help them, but some customers require this additional assistance because of difficulty going through the automated process. For most customers, this option does not provide any advantage.

Company representatives are required to answer calls within 20 seconds at least 80% of the time or have an average speed of answer time of 50 seconds or less. There is no formula to convert between these two measurements and the two numbers should not be compared to one another when comparing different telephone companies’ service. The focus should be on whether a company is meeting the standard it chooses to use. Based on a national survey, the Commission believes both measurements should provide customers with approximately the same level of service.

The reason both measurements are used in the rules is to provide the various companies an opportunity to standardize measurement methods within their company.

 

 

EXPLANATION: Each telecommunications carrier provides a commitment date to a customer when an order for service is received. This is a date by which service is expected. The date is normally six (6) business days unless another date is determined by good faith negotiations between the customer and the carrier. Many factors must be considered when a date is provided. A major consideration is the availability of facilities (cable or equipment) or special requirements for the service, including multiple installations. Commitments missed for reasons attributed to customers or another carrier are not included in the monthly reported number.

 

 

EXPLANATION: The term "Held Orders for Lack of Facilities" is a specialized, smaller count within the "Commitments Met for Service" count for those installations that were not completed by the agreed date. This number does not include delays in providing the service not directly attributed to the lack of facilities. A lack of facilities includes, for example, the lack of capacity at the serving central office (i.e., the place where switching equipment is located) or a lack of local cable plant. Since "Held Orders for Lack of Facilities" count is a special category analyzed only by the PUC engineering staff, it is no longer included on the PUC web site. Instead, you should use the "Commitments Met For Service (Provisioning)" number for a total count of those commitments that were not completed by the initial commitment date. This number is only reduced from the raw count for commitments missed for reasons attributed to customers or another carrier.

 

 

 

 

Even though the trouble report rate is normalized, to take into account the number of access lines a wire center services, small wire center trouble report rates are dramatically affected by a small change in the number of trouble reports. Therefore, the trouble report rate threshold for large wire centers is two (2) per 100 access lines and three (3) per 100 access lines for small wire centers. A wire center is out of standard if it exceeds the threshold for four (4) months in any consecutive twelve-month period. The trouble report rate is calculated by taking the number of trouble reports for a specific wire center, multiplying by 100, and dividing by the number of lines for that wire center.

To understand the difference between trouble reports and trouble report rates, consider the following example. Assume that two wire centers each had a trouble report rate of 2.28, with one wire center having 4,342 access lines and the other with 62,500 access lines. The smaller wire center would equate to 99 trouble reports for the month and the larger wire center would equate to 1,425 trouble reports over the same period.

 

 

STANDARD: A carrier must maintain interoffice final trunk groups to allow 99% completion of calls, during the average busy season busy hour without blockage (P.01 grade of service). When a carrier fails to maintain the interoffice final trunk group P.01 grade of service for four (4) or more consecutive months, it will be considered out-of-standard until the conditions are resolved. A single repeat blockage within two (2) months of restoring the P.01 grade of service will be considered a continuation of the original blockage.

Intra-switch or system blocking relates to the ability of a telephone switch (located at the corresponding wire center) to internally process calls. When a dialed call is not processed properly, it is considered a blocked call. The customer can recognize a blocked call by hearing a fast busy (twice the rate of a normal busy), a recorded announcement (from your telephone switch), dead air (no ring-back or busy), or a delayed dial tone (greater than three (3) seconds).

System blocking tests are performed when ordered by the Commission. Examples of "triggers" that might lead to testing are customer complaints, high trouble report rates, or a slow dial tone. The telephone system is designed for approximately 15% to 25% of customers to be on their phones at the same time. Internet holding times present blocking challenges to the telecommunication carriers. Also, unusual events can cause a blocking problem, such as a natural disaster that would cause a large number of customers to use their telephones at the same time. This blocking could be explained without requiring special testing. The results of any special test will be placed on this web site.

Inter-switch blocking relates to blocking between wire centers. Those switches that have a large volume of traffic are tied together with what are called trunks. Trunks can also go through one or more tandem switches, which provide the routing of the calls to other switches that do not have direct trunks available. This maze of trunks is designed so that during a determined busy hour, not more than 1% of the calls are blocked. Most calls can be routed through different paths to get to the same destination, much like you can take different routes in your car to travel from point A to point B. Blocking is measured from the switch that originates the call to the destination switch. Counting devices on the switch record blocking information. Telecommunications carriers monitor the traffic report on a monthly basis. If blocking is occurring, the number of trunks can be increased. Many factors are considered before changes are actually made to the network and it is not standard practice to change trunk allocations or add new trunks based on a single monthly report. A telecommunications carrier is required to report monthly to the PUC those trunk groups that do not meet the 1% threshold. When a carrier fails to maintain this threshold for four or more consecutive months, it will be considered out-of-standard until the condition is resolved. Those out-of-standard trunk group results will be posted on this web site.

Carriers with over 1,000 access lines are required to provide a monthly service quality report, with the exception of Cooperative Telecommunications Providers. Carriers can also petition the Commission for exemption from service quality reporting requirements if the carrier meets all service quality objective service levels set forth in the service quality rules for the 12 months prior to the month in which the petition is filed.