[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14942-14944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7988]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[CC Docket No. 87-313; DA 98-483]
Accounting and Audits Division
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This Public Notice invites interested parties to comment on a
proposal of numerous improvements to the ARMIS Report 43-05 Service
Quality Report, which provides data regarding service quality, and the
ARMIS Report 43-06 Customer Satisfaction Report, which provides data
concerning customer satisfaction. The ARMIS 43-05 Service Quality
Report captures important service quality trends of price cap carriers
on a study area basis. The ARMIS Report 43-06 Customer Satisfaction
Report, reflects the results of customer satisfaction surveys conducted
by carriers.
DATES: Comments are to be filed on or before April 24, 1998. Reply
comments are due on or before May 15, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20052.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Dale, Common Carrier Bureau,
Accounting and Audits Division, (202) 418-2260, or via E-mail to
``[email protected]''.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. In this Public Notice released March 11, 1998 (``Notice''), the
Common Carrier Bureau (``the Bureau'') proposes a number of
improvements to the ARMIS Report 43-05 Service Quality Report, which
provides data regarding service quality, and the ARMIS Report 43-06
Customer Satisfaction Report, which provides data concerning customer
satisfaction. The ARMIS 43-05 Service Quality Report captures important
service quality trends of price cap carriers on a study area basis.
ARMIS Report 43-05 contains five tables: (1) Installation and repair
intervals for interexchange carriers; (2) installation and repair
intervals for local access customers; (3) common trunk blockage; (4)
total switch downtime and occurrences of two minutes or more duration;
and (5) service quality complaints. ARMIS Report 43-06, the Customer
Satisfaction Report, reflects the results of customer satisfaction
surveys conducted by carriers. The report captures trends in service
quality as measured by the perception of residential, small business,
and large business customers. All incumbent local exchange carriers
(``LECs'') subject to price cap regulation file the Service Quality
Report, but only the Bell operating companies and GTE file the Customer
Satisfaction Report.
A. Service Quality in Rural Areas
2. We are particularly interested in the quality of service
available in rural areas. We seek additional comments on modifications
to both the ARMIS 43-05 Service Quality Report and the ARMIS 43-06
Customer Satisfaction Report that would permit detailed analysis of the
quality of service provided to rural areas. For ARMIS Report 43-05,
carriers already disaggregate the reported data into MSA and non-MSA
categories throughout most of the report. For ARMIS Report 43-06, the
Customer Satisfaction Report, we propose disaggregating the reported
data to reflect customer satisfaction by MSA and non-MSA categories. We
seek comment on whether this level of disaggregation adequately
illustrates the quality of service provided to rural areas, or whether
we should consider a greater level of detail.
3. Additionally, although ARMIS Report 43-05 collects data
concerning switch outages, the report does not collect data concerning
facility outages caused by cable cuts, which are the primary source of
network outages. Because many rural areas do not meet
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the reporting threshold identified in the Commission's network outage
reports, the ARMIS 43-05 Service Quality Report does not provide a
complete picture of the quality of service in many rural areas.
Therefore, we propose modifying ARMIS Report 43-05 to include a table
for reporting facility outages resulting in a threshold number of
customers out of service for longer than twelve hours. There are very
few, if any, rural areas that meet the threshold number of 30,000
customers set in the Commission's rules for reporting network outages,
(See 47 CFR 63.100) so the Commission does not collect all the
information needed to monitor the quality of service in rural areas.
Therefore, we propose using a percentage of subscribers in wire center
serving area that are affected by the facility outage. Carriers would
report facility outages affecting greater than five--or perhaps ten--
percent of the subscribers served in a wire center serving area.
Carriers would disaggregate this data into MSA and non-MSA categories.
We seek comment on this proposal, on the recommended format of a
facility outage table in ARMIS Report 43-05, and on the suggested
reporting threshold necessary to provide an accurate picture of rural
service quality.
B. ARMIS 43-05 Service Quality Report
1. Table I--Installation and Repair Intervals (Interexchange Access)
4. Table I of the ARMIS Service Quality Report 43-05 presents
incumbent LEC installation and repair intervals for service provided to
interexchange carriers. This table contains useful information
regarding the number of complaints, referred to as ``trouble reports,''
received by an incumbent LEC from an interexchange carrier in a given
period and percentages of service commitments met by the incumbent
LECs. It does not, however, contain information regarding the total
number of switched or special access lines that could trigger trouble
reports. Consequently, it is difficult for the Commission and other
interested parties to benchmark data for incumbent LECs of varying
sizes. We propose that incumbent LECs should report the total number of
switched and all special access lines provided to interexchange
carriers in each study area.
2. Table II--Installation and Repair Intervals (Local Service)
5. Table II is the primary source of service quality information
regarding the services provided by price cap LECs to their local
customers. Table II consists of two major columns (one for residential
customers and one for business customers) and five major rows
(Installation Intervals, Repair Intervals, Initial Trouble Reports,
Repeat Trouble Reports, No Trouble Found) that contain data on how
price cap LECs perform during the reporting period in the installation
and repair of basic local telecommunications services. Each column and
row is further disaggregated to provide greater detail regarding the
installation and repair of lines. As a whole, Table II illustrates the
service quality provided by the price cap LECs to residential and
business customers. This information is used by the Commission state
commissions, and other interested parties to evaluate and benchmark
carriers' installation and repair data.
6. Customer trouble reporting measures both the number and the
types of service problems that local business and residential customers
report to the reporting carrier. These trouble reports are categorized
as either ``initial'' trouble reports or ``repeat'' trouble reports. A
``repeat trouble'' is a trouble reported on a line within thirty days
of the disposition of a previous trouble; all other trouble reports are
categorized as ``initial.'' In addition to the quantity and type of
troubles, carriers also report the time needed to close out the
troubles. One way for closing out a trouble is the ``no trouble found''
report. Currently, carriers are required to report only the total
number of instances in which, upon investigation, no trouble was found.
Analysis of existing reports shows a substantial increase in the number
of troubles closed out as ``no trouble found.'' We propose that
carriers should be required to disaggregate this information into two
rows in Table II--one showing the total number of ``no trouble found''
reports for ``initial'' trouble reports, and one for ``repeat'' trouble
reports.
7. Incumbent LECs provide local special service circuits, which are
circuits other than those used for basic telephone service, to business
customers. In its current format, Table II does not require incumbent
LECs to report information on local (intraLATA or intrastate) special
service circuits. Many types of special service circuits perform the
same function as those circuits that incumbent LECs already report in
Table II. We propose modifying Table II to require carriers to report
data on local special service circuits and to disaggregate this data by
MSA and non-MSA categories. We seek comment on this proposal and
additional suggestions for the reporting format of information on local
special service circuits.
C. Table IV--Switches
8. Table IV of ARMIS Report 43-05 contains information about the
number of switches of various sizes and a count of those switches that
experience operating downtime of two minutes or more. Switch size is
reported according to the number of lines each switch serves.
Currently, carriers are required to report outages by various switch
sizes up to 20,000 lines with all larger switches being categorized
into a single row. Because 47 CFR 63.100 requires that carriers report
network outages for switches over 30,000 lines, we propose that a new
row should be added to Table IV for switches over 20,000 lines but less
than 30,000 lines with the last row modified to include switches with
30,000 or more lines.
9. Paperwork Reduction Act. As part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork burdens, we invite the general public to take this
opportunity to comment on information collections contained in this
Public Notice, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law No. 104-13. Public and agency comments are due at the same
time as other comments on this Public Notice. Comments should address:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy
of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
10. Comment Filing Procedures. Interested parties may file comments
no later than April 29, 1998. Reply comments may be filed no later than
May 15, 1998. All pleadings should reference AAD File No. 98-22. The
original and six copies should be submitted to the Secretary of the
Commission; one copy should be submitted to Anthony Dale, Accounting
and Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau, FCC, 2000 L Street, Suite
201, Washington, DC 20554. In addition, one copy of each pleading must
be filed with International Transcription Services (ITS), the
Commission's duplicating contractor, at its office at 1231 20th Street,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 857-3800. All pleadings will be
made available for public inspection and copying in the
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Accounting and Audits public reference room.
Action by the Chief, Common Carrier Bureau, FCC.
Federal Communications Commission.
Kenneth P. Moran,
Chief, Accounting and Audits Division, Common Carrier Bureau.
[FR Doc. 98-7988 Filed 3-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P