4993577 Public Service Commission - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - RM27-2014-01, In The Matter Of The Commission’s Investigation Into The Rules Governing Local Exchange Carrier Quality Of Service Standards For The District
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PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
RM27-2014-01, IN THE MATTER OF THE COMMISSION’S INVESTIGATION INTO THE RULES GOVERNING LOCAL EXCHANGE CARRIER QUALITY OF SERVICE STANDARDS FOR THE DISTRICT,
1. The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (“Commission”) hereby gives notice, pursuant to Sections 34-802, 2-505, and 34-2002(g) of the District of Columbia Code,[1] of its intent to amend Chapter 27, “Regulation of Telecommunications Service Providers” of Title 15, “Public Utilities and Cable Television”, of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”), in not less than 30 days from the date of publication of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) in the D.C. Register.
2. The proposed amendments to Section 2720 of Title 15 of the DCMR update the retail quality of service measures that are applicable to telecommunications service providers that have more than 10,000 access lines. The proposed amendments add two new measures, a Trouble Clearing Time measure and a Repeat Trouble measure to evaluate the time needed to repair service-affecting but not out-of-service problems and to evaluate the percentage of repeated problems with a particular service line. The proposed amendments also include changing some reporting requirements, requiring aggregation of results and disaggregation of results both by the type of customer and the type of facility used to provide service.
3. Section 2720 is amended to read as follows:
2720 RETAIL QUALITY OF SERVICE MEASURES
2720.1 The rules in this section are reliability performance standards adopted by the Public Service Commission in accordance with D.C. Code § 34-706(e).
2720.2 All telecommunications service providers having more than ten thousand (10,000) access lines shall comply with and report on the following retail quality of service measures.
2720.3 Installation Commitments Met measure – This measure evaluates the percentage of times that a telecommunications service provider completed the installation of the customer’s local exchange service by the installation date. The installation date for business and residential customers is the close of business on the fifth business day following the date that the request for the installation was made. The following requirements apply:
(a) The standard for this measure is ninety-five percent (95%) completion by the installation date per month;
(b) Results for this measure shall be calculated by dividing the number of installation dates met by the total number of installation date commitments made. Results shall be stated as a percentage rounded to the hundredth decimal place using traditional mathematical rounding;
(c) Data collected for this measure shall be aggregated and disaggregated into residential and business customer categories and into copper and fiber facilities and reported in aggregate and by the business customer/copper facility; business customer/fiber facility; residential customer/copper facility; and residential customer/fiber facility categories; and
(d) If the installation date is missed due to customer fault, then it shall not be included in the sample to be measured. Customer fault means that access to the customer premises is unavailable during the five day window or installation at the customer’s premise cannot be done because the premises is unsafe or if the customer requests a different installation date from the telecommunications service provider before the installation date.
2720.4 Trouble Reports Per One hundred (100) Lines measure – This measure evaluates the number of access lines per one hundred (100) access lines for which a customer reports a trouble. The following requirements apply:
(a) The following types of access lines shall be included in the measurement:
(1) Residential access lines;
(2) Business single line and Centrex lines;
(3) Payphone lines; and
(4) Voice-grade PBX trunks.
(b) Customer trouble reports for the following services shall not be included in the measurement:
(1) Dedicated non-switched services;
(2) Wide area telephone service;
(3) Integrated service digital network services;
(4) The special service portion of PBX service;
(5) Broadband services;
(6) Voice mail and customer premises equipment;
(7) Inside wire; and
(8) Payphone equipment.
(c) If a customer has multiple access lines and more than one (1) access line experiences a network service problem, then each access line shall be counted separately;
(d) The standard for this measure is four (4) troubles per one hundred (100) lines;
(e) Results for this measure shall be calculated by dividing the number of initial trouble reports by the total number of access lines. This figure is then multiplied by one hundred (100). Results shall be reported to the hundredth decimal place, rounded using traditional mathematical rounding principles; and
(f) Data collected for this measure shall be aggregated and disaggregated into residential and business customer categories and by copper and fiber facilities and reported in aggregate and by the business customer/copper facility; business customer/fiber facility; residential customer/copper facility; and residential customer/fiber facility categories.
2720.5 Out-of-service Clearing Time measure – This measure evaluates the percentage of customer troubles that are classified as out-of-service problems that are cleared within twenty-four (24) hours. The following requirements apply:
(a) For purposes of starting the twenty-four (24) hour time clock to calculate the time period:
(1) If an outage report is received during normal business hours, then the time clock begins when the outage report is received by the telecommunications service provider;
(2) If an outage report is received outside of normal business hours, then the time clock begins at the beginning of the day on the next business day;
(3) If the telecommunications service provider is unable to gain access to the customer premises to repair the out-of-service condition, then the twenty-four (24) hour time clock is stopped until the provider can gain access to the property; and
(4) Each telecommunications service provider shall establish its normal business hours in its customer bills and on a page that is readily accessible to consumers on its website.
(b) The standard for this measure shall be eighty percent (80%) clearance within twenty-four (24) hours;
(c) Results for this measure shall be calculated by dividing the number of out-of-service reports cleared within twenty-four (24) hours by the total number of out-of-service reports received. The result shall be reported as a percentage rounded to the hundredth decimal place using traditional mathematical rounding; and
(d) Data collected for this measure shall be aggregated and disaggregated into residential and business customer categories and by copper and fiber facilities and reported in aggregate and by the business customer/copper facility; business customer/fiber facility; residential customer/copper facility; and residential customer/fiber facility categories.
2720.6 Trouble Clearing Time measure – This measure evaluates the percentage of customer trouble reports that are cleared within forty eight (48) hours.
(a) The forty-eight (48) hour time period shall be calculated as follows:
(1) If a trouble report is received during normal business hours, then the time clock begins when the trouble report is received by the telecommunications service provider;
(2) If a trouble report is received outside of normal business hours, then the time clock begins at the beginning of the next business day; and
(3) If the telecommunications service provider is unable to gain access to the customer premises to repair the trouble condition, then the forty-eight (48) hour time clock is stopped until the provider can gain access to the property.
(b) The standard for this measure shall be eighty percent (80%) clearance within forty-eight (48) hours;
(c) Data collected for this measure shall be aggregated and disaggregated into residential and business customer categories and by copper and fiber facilities and reported in aggregate and by the business customer/copper facility; business customer/fiber facility; residential customer/copper facility; and residential customer/fiber facility categories; and
(d) Results for this measure shall be calculated by dividing the number of trouble reports in each category that is cleared within forty-eight (48) hours by the total number of trouble reports received for that category. The result shall be reported as a percentage rounded to the hundredth decimal place using traditional mathematical rounding.
2720.7 Repeat Trouble measure – This measure evaluates the percentage of troubles that occur again within 30 calendar days. The following requirements apply:
(a) The standard for this measure shall be ten percent repeat troubles per month;
(b) Data collected for this measure shall be aggregated and disaggregated into residential and business customer categories and by copper and fiber facilities and reported in aggregate and by the business customer/copper facility; business customer/fiber facility; residential customer/copper facility; and residential customer/fiber facility categories; and
(c) Results for this measure shall be calculated by dividing the number of repeat troubles for each category by the total number of trouble reports received for that category. The result shall be reported as a percentage rounded to the hundredth decimal place using traditional mathematical rounding.
2720.8 Data for all measures shall be collected and reported on a District of Columbia-wide basis.
2720.9 Exceptions - The measures shall not apply to the following services:
(a) UNE-P;
(b) UNE-L;
(c) DS1;
(d) DS0;
(e) DS3;
(f) EEL;
(g) Resold services;
(h) VoIP; and
(i) Failures caused by collocation or interconnection problems.
2720.10 Reporting - Each telecommunications service provider shall collect and retain accurate data demonstrating their compliance with the measures in this chapter. Data is to be collected on a monthly basis in a format established by Commission order and these rules. The following applies to the data telecommunication service providers are required to provide:
(a) Each telecommunications service provider shall submit its monthly reports to the Commission on a quarterly basis, with the months of January, February, and March being submitted on April 30; the months of April, May, and June being submitted on July 30; the months of July, August, and September being submitted on October 30; and the months of October, November, and December being submitted on January 30 of the next year;
(b) If a telecommunications service provider fails a measure in a quarterly report, the provider shall file an explanation for the failure and a plan to remedy the failure. If the failure was due to data clustering, customer error, or unforeseeable events, then the telecommunications service provider may request a waiver of the performance standard. The request for a waiver shall contain a detailed explanation of the reasons for granting such a waiver; and
(c) Each telecommunications service provider shall retain its reporting data for three (3) years in the event that the records are audited by the Commission.
2720.11 Penalties – Pursuant to D.C. Code § 34-706(e) and the Commission’s rules adopted pursuant to D.C. Code § 34-706(e), the Commission may impose a penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation of these rules.
2799 Definitions
“Repeat trouble” - the same trouble that occurs again within 30 days.
4. Any person interested in commenting on the subject matter of this proposed rulemaking must submit comments and reply comments in writing no later than thirty (30) days and forty-five (45) days, respectively, from the date of publication of this Notice in the D.C. Register. Comments and reply comments are to be addressed to Brinda Westbrook-Sedgwick, Commission Secretary, Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, 1333 H Street, N.W., West Tower, Suite 200, Washington D.C., 20005. After the comment period expires, the Commission will take final rulemaking action.
