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Telecom Order CRTC 2003-152
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Ottawa, 16 April 2003
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Bell West Inc.'s PIC/CARE access customer handbook
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Reference: 8643-B29-01/00
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1.
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The Commission received an application by Bell Intrigna Inc., now Bell West Inc. (Bell West), dated 22 March 2000, requesting approval of its Primary Interexchange Carrier/Customer Account Record Exchange Access Customer Handbook (PIC/CARE handbook). Bell West filed its PIC/CARE handbook pursuant to Order CRTC 2000-76-1, dated 29 February 2000.
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2.
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Bell West's handbook would provide interexchange carriers (IXCs) with information relating to the exchange of PIC/CARE data between an IXC and a competitive local exchange carrier.
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3.
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The Commission received no comments with respect to the application.
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4.
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The Commission notes that the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) Business Process Working Group developed a model PIC/CARE handbook (CISC model) in July 2000 for use by the telecommunications industry. While the Commission finds that the information provided in Bell West's PIC/CARE handbook is generally consistent with the CISC model, it notes that certain provisions and sections of Bell West's PIC/CARE handbook are incomplete or require modifications.
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5.
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Accordingly, the Commission approves Bell West's PIC/CARE handbook, subject to the company incorporating the amendments identified below:
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· on the page entitled "Proprietary Warning" replace the paragraphs with the following:
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The information contained in this document is not to be reproduced or translated in whole or in part without the written consent of Bell West Inc.
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This work incorporates portions of a document produced by TELUS, Copyright © 1994, reproduced by Bell West Inc. with permission.
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This work contains material that has been derived from the Customer Account Record Exchange - Industry Support Interface (CARE - ISI) guidelines maintained by the Ordering and Billing Forum (OBF). These guidelines may be obtained by contacting the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) at www.atis.org.
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This document is provided subject to the terms and conditions, including fees, set out in Bell West's General Tariff CRTC 21350.
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· in item 1.1, Background:
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- replace the first paragraph with the following:
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In compliance with the following CRTC Decisions:
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Competition in the provision of public long distance voice telephone services and related resale and sharing issues, Telecom Decision CRTC 92-12, 12 June 1992;
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Trunk-side access by resellers to the public switched telephone network, Telecom Decision CRTC 93-8, 23 July 1993;
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Disconnection of equal access service providers and transfer of customer base between equal access services providers, Telecom Decision CRTC 95-5, 24 April 1995;
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Unbundled rates to provide equal access, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-6, 10 April 1997;
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Local competition, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-8, 1 May 1997; and
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Quality of service indicators for use in telephone company regulation, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-16, 24 July 1997.
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Bell West provides Access Customers (ACs) with equal ease of access to local networks for the origination and termination of AC network traffic.
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In Telecom Order CRTC 99-379, dated 29 April 1999, the Commission established that the requirement to provide equal access did not extend to resellers of local service. However, it required these resellers to comply with certain consumer safeguards to ensure that, before contracting with the reseller, customers are advised of, and authorize, their assignment by a reseller to a particular interexchange service provider. Further, when resellers change interexchange service providers, they must obtain their customers' authorization.
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- in the fourth paragraph, add the words "a 10XXX or a" immediately before "101XXX".
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· in item 1.6, Handbook Updates, add the following sentence to the end of the paragraph:
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Bell West will provide, at no charge, two revised copies of the Handbook.
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· in item 2.1, Carrier Identification Code (CIC Codes), replace the first paragraph with the following:
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In order for an AC to offer Equal Access and PIC processing, it must obtain a Carrier Identification Code (CIC). The assignment and management of CIC Codes is administered by the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA). Canadian applicants shall submit all applications for North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) administered resources directly to the CNA for processing.
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For further information, refer to the Carrier Identification Code Assignment Guidelines developed by the Industry Numbering Committee (INC) and the Canadian Adjunct to the INC Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Assignment Guidelines.
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· in item 2.2, Feature Group D (Trunk-side Access), provide the contact information (address, telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address) for the Bell West CSG;
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· in item 2.3, Equal Access Switches, add the following sentence, inserting the appropriate contact information, to the end of the paragraph:
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An AC may contact (insert contact information) to obtain information about Bell West's switches.
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· move item 2.5, Rates and Charges, to new item 1.7 and renumber the remaining item in section 2 accordingly;
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· amend item 3.7, Acquisitions and Mergers, as follows:
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- in the first sentence, insert the words "a portion of or" after the words "AC acquires"; and
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- in the fourth paragraph, replace "(See Section 2.5)" with "(See Section 1.7)".
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· in item 6.1, General, add the following as the first bulleted item in the list:
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· confirmation of customer activation;
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· add the following as item 7.8, Quality of Service:
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In Quality of service indicators for use in telephone company regulation, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-16, 24 July 1997 and Final standards for quality of service indicators for use in telephone company regulation and other related matters, Decision CRTC 2000-24, 20 January 2000, the Commission established that for Indicator 1.7, One-time activation of PICs for alternate providers of long distance service (APLDS), a standard of 90% or more must be achieved. Bell West will measure this quality of service indicator and report to the CRTC as required.
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· in item 8.3, Mergers and Acquisitions, add the following paragraph at the beginning of the item:
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As per Disconnection of equal access service providers and transfer of customer base between equal access service providers, Telecom Decision CRTC 95-5, 24 April 1995, in the case of a mass transfer due to a merger or acquisition of an AC, an acquiring AC is required only to notify customers of the change. The acquiring AC must send a notification to the individual customers, within 90 calendar days, that includes, among other information, details of the impact, if any, on the customer's service, including any change in rates, billing frequency, contract terms or other conditions of service. Further, where the acquiring AC makes any material change in the rates, terms or conditions of the acquired customers' service prior to the end of the 90 day period, notification must be received by the customers prior to the effective date of any such change.
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· in item 8.4, Outbound Contact Resulting in a PIC Change, add the following immediately after the bulleted list:
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The following terms and conditions apply to each form of end-customer order confirmation:
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i) Written order confirmation
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The end-customer's signature on a document, which clearly states that the end-customer's service will be transferred to the AC, constitutes confirmation of the service order. The end-customer must be fully informed as to what he or she is signing. Refer to Appendix J for Equal Access Authorization Forms.
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ii) Oral order confirmation verified by an independent third party
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The independent third party shall be an appropriately qualified, bonded and independent party operating in a location physically separate from the AC or its agents. The AC and its agents shall have no ownership interest in the independent third party nor shall the independent third party perform any telemarketing, direct mail or other sales solicitation functions for the AC or any affiliates of the AC. Compensation of the independent third party shall not be based on the number or percentage of sales confirmed.
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In the course of contact with an end-customer, representatives of the AC are permitted to transfer the end-customer directly to the independent third party to complete the confirmation.
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In the performance of confirmation functions, the independent third party must confirm that it is speaking to the end-customer, and must confirm the information set out in Section 8.5 with that person.
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iii) Electronic order confirmation through the use of a toll-free number
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The AC must provide toll-free access to the end-customer for the purpose of accessing an electronic order confirmation system.
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In the course of contact with an end-customer, representatives of the AC are permitted to transfer the end-customer directly to the electronic order confirmation system to complete the confirmation.
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If the end-customer is not accessing the electronic order confirmation system from the telephone access service on which the PIC is to be changed, then the electronic order confirmation system must include further security measures to verify the end-customer's identity before the confirmation is processed.
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Calls to a toll-free number will connect the end-customer to an interactive voice response (IVR) unit (or a touch-tone pad input device or a similar device), which will record the following information: automatic recording of the working telephone number to be subscribed to the PIC (or evidence of further security measures as required to verify end-customer identity), date and time, and PIC to confirm the end-customer's choice of AC. The IVR system must require the end-customer to take some action (e.g., pressing a key on their dial pad) thus positively confirming the service order.
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iv) Electronic order confirmation via the Internet
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The AC must use at least one of the following methods of security to ensure privacy and authenticity of information sent between the two parties (AC and end-customer):
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· A secure link between the AC and the end-customer.
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· A key server, to allow a party to encrypt messages that only a key holder can decrypt.
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· A unique password between the AC and the end-customer.
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The AC may use another form of "off-line" or "on-line" identification (e.g., toll-free number or customer password sent to the billing address) in order to further verify the authenticity of the end-customer and to confirm the end-customer's request.
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The Internet order confirmation process must confirm the information set out in Section 8.5 and must also include an explicit indication from the end-customers that they are the authorized account-holder for their telephone service.
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The AC must appropriately notify its customers of the potential for risk in doing business over the Internet, so that end-customers are aware of the need for safeguards on both ends to ensure confidentiality and security.
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· in the first paragraph of item 9.1, Overview, replace the words "access line" with the words "long distance service";
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· replace item 9.2, Disputes Identified by AC's, with the following:
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9.2 Dispute Identification Procedures
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Where the end-customer contacts Bell West to report a PIC change dispute, Bell West must:
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i) Determine whether the PIC change dispute occurred co-incident with a change in local service provider (which may also be in dispute);
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ii) If a change in local service provider did not occur, advise the end-customer to contact the end-customer's previous AC in order to initiate the dispute and to have the end-customer's service restored with the previous AC;
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iii) If a change in local service provider occurred and is also in dispute, advise the end-customer to contact the end-customer's previous LEC in order to have the end-customer's previous local and long distance services restored;
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iv) If a change in local service provider occurred but is not in dispute:
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· Resolve the PIC problem where the current PIC is a result of a LEC-initiated PIC process.
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· Advise the end-customer to contact the end-customer's previous AC where the current PIC is a result of an AC-initiated PIC request.
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Where the end-customer contacts the AC against whom the end-customer's complaint is directed ("Disputed AC"), that AC must:
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i) Determine whether the PIC change dispute occurred coincident with a change in local service provider (which may also be in dispute).
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ii) If a change in local service provider occurred and is also in dispute, advise the end-customer to contact the end-customer's previous LEC in order to have the end-customer's previous local and long distance services restored.
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iii) If a change in local service provider did not occur, or if a change in local service provider occurred but is not in dispute, advise the end-customer to contact the end-customer's previous AC in order to initiate the dispute and to have the end-customer's service restored with the previous AC.
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Where the end-customer contacts the AC recording and initiating a dispute on behalf of the end-customer ("Initiating AC"), that AC must:
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i) Determine whether the PIC change dispute occurred coincident with a change in local service provider (which may also be in dispute).
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ii) If a change in local service provider occurred and is also in dispute, advise the end-customer to contact the end-customer's previous LEC in order to have the end-customer's previous local and long distance services restored.
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iii) If a change in local service provider occurred, but the change is not in dispute, restore the end-customer's PIC through a normal PIC change request to the end-customer's current LEC.
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iv) If a change in local service provider did not occur, proceed with the following questions.
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The Initiating AC must obtain a positive response from the end-customer to the following questions prior to initiating a dispute:
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· Do you want [Initiating AC] to initiate a dispute against [Disputed AC] on your behalf for switching you without your permission?
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· Are you reasonably certain that neither you nor any other authorized adult member (authorized employee) of your household (business) requested the change?
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· [Initiating AC] may only initiate a dispute if you were switched without your permission and not for any other complaint you have with [Disputed AC]. Do you understand?
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· Do you understand that your long distance service will be restored with [Initiating AC]?
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If all of these questions are answered in the affirmative, the AC initiates a dispute by forwarding a PIC Dispute Notification form to Bell West and coordinates restoration of the end-customer's service with the previous AC.
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Refer to Appendix E for PIC Dispute Notification Form.
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Dispute notification from the AC is only accepted at the WTN level.
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· replace item 9.3, Disputes Identified by ACs, with the following :
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9.3 AC Dispute Responsibilities
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In order to initiate a dispute through Bell West, the Initiating AC shall provide Bell West with, at a minimum:
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- Name of the end-customer.
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- WTN (Working Telephone Number).
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- Date that the end-customer notified the Initiating AC of the disputed PIC Change.
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· amend item 9.4, CSG Dispute Process, as follows:
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- insert the following after the eighth bulleted item:
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· disputes involving PIC changes resulting exclusively and directly from the transfer of the customer base between ACs due to a merger or an acquisition do not constitute valid PIC change disputes;
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- insert the following after the original eleventh bulleted item:
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· if the end-customer order confirmation is received within 15 business days, but Bell West determines that the end-customer order confirmation does not meet the requirements as defined in Section 8.5, the disputed AC shall be deemed to have performed an unauthorized PIC change;
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· in item 9.5, Dispute Challenge, amend the second bulleted list as follows:
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- insert the following after the first bulleted item:
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· the DIR shall be made available by the initiating AC to Bell West within 5 business days of a request from Bell West to validate a dispute;
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- add the following to the end of the original third bulleted item:
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· Bell West will determine the outcome of the dispute based on the end-customer order confirmation requested from the Disputed AC.
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· in item 9.6, Dispute Initiation Record (DIR), amend the last item in the bulleted list as follows:
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- replace the words "following three questions" with "four questions in Section 9.2"; and
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- delete the three questions listed.
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· delete item 13.3, PIC Disputes Identified by End-User;
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· in item 14.2, PIC Correction Criteria, add the following sentence to the end of the first paragraph:
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Where the AC's original PIC request has not yet been completed, the AC should use any available PIC/CARE processes to cancel the original request rather than submit a PIC correction request to Bell West.
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· in item 14.4, AC PIC Correction Responsibilities, replace the second occurrence of "and" with a comma and add the following to the end of the sentence: "and an estimated date of completion";
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· add section 16.0, Local Procedures, and provide information for the following items as described in Section 14.0 of the CISC model handbook:
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16.1 Daily Queries
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16.2 Contact/Escalation List
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16.3 Expedited Orders
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16.4 Business Migrations/Conversions
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16.5 Pre-subscription Process
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16.6 Special Services
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16.7 LEC Mergers and Acquisitions
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· in item 16.7, LEC Mergers and Acquisitions, insert the following as the last sentence:
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For more information, see Schedule H, Section B of the Master Agreement for Local Interconnection.
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· amend the glossary of terms as follows:
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- in the definition of "AC", add the words "using trunk-side access" to the end of the sentence;
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- in the definition of "end-user", add the following to the end of the definition: "Also referred to as the end-customer";
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- in the definition of "FGD", add the words "via 1+ dialling" to the end of the sentence;
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- add the following sentence to the end of the definition of "NPA": A defined geographic area identified by a unique three-digit code used in the North American Numbering Plan;
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- add the following to the end of the definition of "tandem": See Access Tandem;
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- add the following to the end of the definition of "Tariff": filed with and approved by the CRTC;
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- add the following to the end of the definition of "WTN": and may be the same as the BTN; and
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· add the following definitions:
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ATIS - Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions - Telecommunications association where technical and operational issues are identified that affect telecommunications facilities and services. The solutions to these issues are developed into industry standards and operational guidelines.
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Disputed AC - The AC against whom an end-customer complaint is directed.
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Escalation - Process of placing higher priority on a PIC query in the event that the initial resolution has not been resolved by the predetermined interval.
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Expedited Order - Priority request with shortened intervals relative to standard intervals.
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Initiating AC - The AC recording and initiating a dispute on behalf of the end-customer.
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IXC - Interexchange Carrier - Provider of facilities-based long distance service. Also referred to as AC in the handbook.
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LEC - Local Exchange Carrier - also referred to as the AP in the handbook.
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LNP - Local Number Portability.
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LSR - Local Service Request - see CLOG.
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6.
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The Commission directs Bell West to issue forthwith a revised PIC/CARE handbook. The company is further directed to provide the Commission with a copy of its revised PIC/CARE handbook for placement in the public examination room in Gatineau.
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Secretary General
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This document is available in alternative format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca
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Date Modified: 2003-04-16