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Archived System CR SCR020510-1 Detail

The ALT IMPCON and the ALT IMPCON TN fields are currently “Not Required” on Unbundled Loop/Loop with Number Port/EEL requests. Integra’s service manager communicated that since the theses fields are “Not Required” Qwest does not include the ALT IMPCON information on the Qwest service order when Integra populates the ALT IMPCON fields on the LSR. Therefore, the ALT IMPCON information is not available to the Qwest tester which leads to unnecessary delays in service delivery and Customer Not Ready jeopardies.

To improve service delivery for the end user customers, Integra requests that Qwest include the ALT IMPCON information on the Qwest service order if it is provided on the LSR. It is Integra’s expectation that the if the ALT IMPCON information is provided on the LSR, this information will be included on the Qwest service order and that the Qwest testers will attempt to reach the ALT IMPCON if they are unable to reach the IMPCON.

Expected DeliverablesQwest will include the ALT IMPCON and ALT IMPCON TN on the Qwest service order if this information is provided on the LSR. Qwest testers will attempt to reach the ALT IMPCON if they are unable to reach the primary IMPCON.

Status History

Project Meetings

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said she would look at it and let Qwest know of any comments.

04/9/10 CLEC Response Received from Bonnie Johnson - Integra in regard to Meeting Minutes Kim and I discussed this internally and decided we would prefer that Qwest deny the systems CR. Thanks to Jill for looking for alternate process solutions but since it would only include a limited number of orders Integra decided there would not be enough of a benefit, and it would be difficult to manage understanding which orders had the information and which did not.

04/1/10 CMP Ad HocMeeting Held

Attendees: Kim Isaacs – Integra, Bonnie Johnson – Integra, Brenda Bloemke – Comcast, Shellie Pederson – TW Telecom, Mindy Chapman – Neustar, Bennett Pang – Comcast; Denise Martinez – Qwest, Rachel Ruiz – Qwest, Susan Lorence - Qwest

Susan Lorence – Qwest provided some background on the System CR submitted in February. Integra realized that Qwest did not use the ALT IMPCON when the Implementation Contact could not be reached. The CR is to start populating ALT IMPCON on the service order if it exists on the LSR. A Clarification call was held on February 15 to discuss the request further and at that point, Denise Martinez relayed that there is no ALT IMPCON field on the Service Order today and that such a change to add ALT IMPCON would be costly. Susan relayed there were several actions items that came out of the February meeting. Kim Isaacs was going to double check volumes. Bonnie Johnson said she could socialize the idea with other CLECs. Denise Martinez identified that Qwest would need to be creative about other alternatives to resolve this issue.

Kim Isaacs – Integra said given the option, Integra would like to use ALT IMPCON. Many from Integra are using today on most orders. If Integra knew for certain Qwest was populating it, most would place it on all orders.

Susan Lorence – Qwest said the issue is more of how many times this has occurred.

Kim Isaacs – Integra indicated that there were not many, she was aware of two incidences.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra indicated that she had brought this up on the March Community call but unfortunately, those carriers on that call were not impacted. Bonnie identified that she probably should have brought it up on the next CMP call.

Denise Martinez – Qwest relayed that the first thing she did was to try to be creative by using fields that already exist. She said there are character limitations in SOPS and WFA and it would take quite a bit of work to undertake making changes. Denise said it was unfortunate if we had to add new fields or expand limits on existing fields. Another option was to put the data in the Remark area but Denise said lots of requests fall into flow through so we could only take care of some. Denise said another option was to use a common IMPCON on the CLEC side. Denise said another option was to have the CLEC go through requests when someone has left their company and SUPP to correct the IMPCON at that time. If the IMPCON is out of the office, the CLEC could have their person put a message on their phone number that provides an alternate contact.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said these were all the conversations they have had internally. Bonnie said she has received feedback that the tester doesn’t listen to the voicemail message in its entirety to get the alternative contact. Bonnie identified that some testers just look for any excuse not to deliver a circuit which borders on poor customer service. Bonnie said they will continue to research but they do not ever want to consider dropping to a manual process. She said the volume is not a high number, but it is painful when it happens. Kim and Bonnie will look at this internally and discuss options.

Kim Issaacs – Integra said she was not part of the OBF Industry Standard meeting but questioned how something becomes part of LSOG when the info does not go anywhere?

Denise Martinez – Qwest said since ALT IMPCON was in the LSOG, it implies it is allowed but that is not the case. Denise said she can update the Qwest documentation to show it should not be allowed. Denise indicated that the only thing she could think of is that it would be handled on a manual basis but because Qwest has invested so much money in flow through, that is not a good idea.

Kim Isaacs – Integra said the LSOG lists ALT IMPCON as an optional field. Kim thought it would be wise to update it and make it clear it is not used.

Denise Martinez – Qwest said there was one of two options: update LSOG or only process in Remark if in the case of manual handling.

Mindy Chapman – Neustar asked if there is a reason why you can’t map the ALT IMPCON if it is present.

Denise Martinez – Qwest said there are lots of system impacts, and that it is not just Qwest systems. Various CLECs also use Telcordia systems. There would be lots of system impacts -- changes would be in the millions of dollars. Denise said it would not be a problem doing the mapping but fields are prohibiting this. Denise said we can only do this on manual requests not on flow through.

Mindy Chapman – Neustar said in a Business case, this would be shot down. Denise Martinez – Qwest thought that character lengths could accommodate the data but the fields do not allow it. It would make it a sizeable release to make the change. She said it could be put in the REMARK section but would be used only in a manual process request.

Susan Lorence – Qwest said another option suggested in the clarification call was to maintain a list of IMPCON contacts by company which would be a challenge to update.

Denise Martinez – Qwest said this would be a logistical nightmare to maintain such a list. Denise said there are other alternatives that would be more suitable. Denise said if an employee has left the company, it is most appropriate to supp the order to update it. Denise also said she will pass on the concerns of a problem on the network side. She requested that if Integra was seeing problems with our Network techs to please pass on those situations so Qwest can act on this.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said since there is no system alternative, they would have internal discussions.

Susan Lorence – Qwest said we have a couple of options: Can leave as a system CR or can cross over to a Product/Process CR and put out a notice on what the alternatives are.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said Integra will most likely have Qwest deny the system CR but will let Qwest know at the April CMP meeting.

Susan Lorence – Qwest asked if there were any other questions. No questions were asked.

3/17/10 System CMP Meeting Susan Lorence- Qwest said we would be sending out an ad hoc meeting notice soon to discuss options associated with the SCR.

2/17/10 System CMP Meeting Kim Isaacs - Integra presented a new CR associated with requesting that if ALT IMPCOM is populated (2/26/10 Comments to minutes received from Integra in CAPS) BY THE CLEC on the LSR that Qwest WILL POPULATE ON ALT IMPCON INFORMATION ON THE QWEST SERVICE ORDER AND use that contact information if the IMPCON cannot be reached. AS A RESULT OF AN CUSTOMER NOT READY JEOPARDY, INTEGRA LEARNED THAT CURRENTLY IF THE CLEC POPULATES THE ALT IMPCON INFORMATION ON THE LSR THIS INFORMATION IS NOT PROVIDED ON THE QWEST SERVICE ORDER FOR THE QWEST TESTER. Bonnie Johnson – Integra identified that Denise Martinez-Qwest had indicated during the CR Clarification call that there was no current field for ALT IMPCON (2/26/10 Comments to minutes received from Integra in CAPS) ON THE QWEST SERVICE ORDER and that it would require A Telcordia CHANGEa to add the field. Bonnie indicated that if that route is infeasible, we talked about looking at other field options. Bonnie also relayed that Integra would be amenable to another process. Denise Martinez – Qwest said that we are looking into some creative solutions. Mark Coyne – Qwest said the clarification call was held on 2/15.

02/15/10 Clarification meeting

In Attendance: Kim Isaacs – Integra, Bonnie Johnson – Integra, Denise Martinez – Qwest, Nicole James – Qwest, Deni Toye – Qwest, Susan Lorence – Qwest

Kim Isaacs – Integra reviewed the CR and the products impacted. Kim will present the CR in the February CMP Systems monthly meeting. Kim relayed that today if ALT IMPCON is populated on the LSR, it does not flow thru to the Qwest service order. The CR is requesting that if ALT IMPCOM is populated on the LSR, that the information flows through to the service order and be made available to the tester. Denise Martinez – Qwest questioned whether Integra had any PONs as examples. She questioned how often the alternate number is provided to get an idea on volumes.

Kim Isaacs – Integra said she would double check on volumes. She thinks it is populated quite frequently. Integra includes it as another number for Qwest to try if they cannot get a hold of the IMPCOM. In the instance that caused the CR to be issued, the IMPCON was no longer working at Integra.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said she thinks in some Integra Provisioning offices it is populated 100% of the time.

Denise Martinez – Qwest said she was questioning volumes to see if this had just recently become an issue or whether it has historically been a problem.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said Integra found out about it by accident and she was not sure how often the information is needed. When the problem occurred, Integra took it to their Service Manager and found the field optional for Unbundled Loop. Bonnie said it is a moot point anyway since the information does not carry to the Qwest service order.

Kim Isaacs – Integra said she assumed the information is always provided.

Denise Martinez – Qwest said we would definitely look into it but that unfortunately the ALT IMPCON is not on the service order today. She said the information could always be put in REMARKS but would also look at other alternatives. Denise said the SOPs do not allow for ALT IMPCON and that it would require Telcordia changes. She questioned whether Integra knew of other CLECs that were having the problem.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said she had not socialized the idea but could.

Denise Martinez – Qwest questioned whether there was a particular PON with the problem.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said they had taken it to their service manager and placed it on their Issues Log. She said she would send the information to Susan to forward to Denise. Bonnie said adding the field to the SOP would not likely be financially feasible and they would be interested in other alternatives.

Denise Martinez – Qwest said we would be creative with solutions. The information needs to be carried to downstream systems.

Bonnie Johnson – Integra said they would be amenable to a process solution vs. a system solution that requires a change to the service order. Bonnie suggested that if a tester gets a ring with no answer, that maybe a general number for each office might be compiled for the testers to call. Bonnie indicated that the majority of Qwest testers probably would call someone else in that office anyway.

Denise Martinez – Qwest said it was good to know that Integra was open to other alternatives and would be doing some checking with other contacts.

Susan Lorence – Qwest said the CR would be presented as a walkon in the CMP Systems monthly meeting on February 17.

CenturyLink Response

This letter is in response to CLEC Change Request Number SCR020510-1, submitted February 5, 2010, titled “Populate ALT IMPCON Information on Qwest Service Order when CLEC Provides the Information on the LSR”.

CR Description: Integra recently experienced a missed due date/Customer Not Ready jeopardy because Qwest couldn’t reach the Implementation Contact (IMPCON). Integra populated the Alternate Implementation Contact (ALT IMPCON) and TN on our LSR but the Qwest tester did not call the ALT IMPCON to accept the service.

The ALT IMPCON and the ALT IMPCON TN fields are currently “Not Required” on Unbundled Loop/Loop with Number Port/EEL requests. Integra’s service manager communicated that since the theses fields are “Not Required” Qwest does not include the ALT IMPCON information on the Qwest service order when Integra populates the ALT IMPCON fields on the LSR. Therefore, the ALT IMPCON information is not available to the Qwest tester which leads to unnecessary delays in service delivery and Customer Not Ready jeopardies.

To improve service delivery for the end user customers, Integra requests that Qwest include the ALT IMPCON information on the Qwest service order if it is provided on the LSR. It is Integra’s expectation that the if the ALT IMPCON information is provided on the LSR, this information will be included on the Qwest service order and that the Qwest testers will attempt to reach the ALT IMPCON if they are unable to reach the IMPCON.

Expected Deliverable: Qwest will include the ALT IMPCON and ALT IMPCON TN on the Qwest service order if this information is provided on the LSR. Qwest testers will attempt to reach the ALT IMPCON if they are unable to reach the primary IMPCON.

History: The CR was submitted on February 5, 2010 with acknowledgement sent on February 8, 2010. A clarification meeting was held on February 15, 2010.

Qwest Response: An evaluation was performed on several options in regard to population of the ALT IMPCON field in an attempt to make an alternate contact available to the Qwest tester.

Though the ALT IMPCON field shows it is available today in the LSOG, the field is truly not available on the service order and would require a change in the Qwest SOPs and various network systems supported by Telcordia. This would be a very costly and lengthy process and would also be costly to CLECs to make the related system changes.

Qwest also reviewed the use of other fields on the service order to provide the data needed for ALT IMPCON, e.g., Remark. Existing fields had character limitations or other constraints. Qwest also considered several manual process solutions however, in the interest of continuing to process orders via flow-through, these solutions were also not viable. Due to the relatively low volume of this problem occurring and other internal solutions available within each company to address the source of the problem, Qwest has determined that this change does not provide a reasonable demonstrable business benefit and is thus denying the change request. To clarify current documentation, Qwest will send a level 1 notification effective with the IMA Release 28 on August 2, 2010, to include an update to the LSOG for the ALT IMPCON and associated TEL NO fields. The update will clarify the Business Rules that if the ALT IMPCON is populated on the LSR, it will only be entered and/or utilized on a service order that is to be manually processed.

Sincerely, Qwest Corporation