Proof Of Authorization / Letter Of Agency / Agency Partner Agreement V13.0
Description
Proof of Authorization (POA) and Letter of Agency (LOA) are used for obtaining permission from end-users to act on their behalf in matters pertaining to their communications services or to perform activities on behalf of another Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) when trunk facilities are owned by another CLEC. You must be authorized to act on behalf of the other CLEC. As the service provider of choice, you are responsible for obtaining POA, either via a LOA or via another method as described below. The terms POA and Letter of Authorization/Agency (LOA) are used interchangeably, except with Access Services and Access Service Requests (ASRs), where a LOA (Letter of Agency) is specifically required.
For Access Service Requests (ASRs)
Below are two different scenarios when CenturyLink requires a LOA:
- CenturyLink requests a LOA from you when you are acting on behalf of another entity. For example: when the Customer Carrier Name Abbreviation (CCNA) (ordering customer) on the Access Service Request (ASR) is different from the Access Customer Name Abbreviation (ACNA) (billed customer). LOA is required. This is indicated on the ASR form in the Agency Authorization (AGAUTH) field. The LOA must be received prior to the initiation of the work requested. An unsigned LOA can be provided and is considered confirmation that you have the actual signed and legal LOA in your possession.
- CenturyLink requires you obtain a LOA when a Lease Arrangement is in effect. For example: when the Access Customer Terminal Location (ACTL) or Connecting Facility Assignment (CFA) provided on the Customer Service Record (CSR) is a different customer of record than the ordering customer (CCNA). However, the LOA does not need to be transmitted to CenturyLink prior to the initiation of the work requested. In this case the Lease Arrangement (LA) and Date of Lease Arrangement (LADATED) fields must be populated on the ASR. These fields certify to CenturyLink that you have obtained the LOA for the lease arrangement associated with the ACTL and CFA entries.
For additional information on LOA for ASR's, contact your CenturyLink Service Manager.
An LOA must identify:
- The name(s) of the company involved
- The name(s) of the authorizing representative
- The name of a contact and telephone number for the owner
- Complete details explaining the requested action(s) such as addresses, facility information, Purchase Order Number and order numbers.
- The range of effective dates for which the LOA is in force or that the LOA is open ended (no pre-determined end date).
- Scope of authorization must include a complete and detailed description of what is being requested.
- A LOA would need to be transmitted to CenturyLink prior to the initiation of your request:
- When a carrier is ordering for another carrier and the ordering customer is not responsible for the CenturyLink charges incurred (monthly or nonrecurring) as a result of the request.
- When a carrier is connecting to a Collocation site
Confirmation of LOA
A LOA is a designation by the owner (Customer of Record) that authorizes you to act on behalf of the owner.
Whenever a change, modification, inquiry or other activity is requested by you and you do not appear as the Customer of Record on the CenturyLink records for the service being affected, you must have and provide confirmation of the legal authorization from the owner.
LOA cannot be passed or transferred to a 3rd party.
Failure to Provide LOA
If you are unable or refuse to provide the required documentation requested by CenturyLink, then the ASR and action(s) will be rejected. If it is found that you do not have a valid LOA the following could occur:
- You will be held responsible for all charges incurred
- The completed action(s) will be removed
- Additional penalties and liabilities may apply
For Local Service Requests (LSRs)
Authorization for ordering may be obtained in the following ways:- Electronic or written Letter of Authorization
- Electronic authorization by use of an 8XX number
- Oral authorization verified by an independent third party
POA must identify:
- Scope of authorization and include a complete and detailed description of what is being requested (e.g., local service, telephone number, account number, circuit ID, associated CIC including billing responsibility, authorized to initiate trouble reports, etc.)
- Name of end-user or representative authorizing the agreement
- Effective date(s) of agreement (open ended or definite begin and end dates)
POA Available on Request
While the POA need not accompany your requests for records or services, the indication of authorization is a required field entry when you request Customer Service Records (CSR) or submit Local Service Request (LSR) forms. However, in accordance with applicable laws and rules, if a dispute or discrepancy arises regarding your authority to act on behalf of the end-user or CLEC, you are responsible for providing CenturyLink evidence of the authorization within three business days.
If Proof of Authorization is not supplied within the three business days, or the authority of the POA is disputed, by the end of the third business day you must:
- Notify CenturyLink to change the end-user back to the previous service provider,
- Provide previous service provider any information and billing records relating to the end-user,
- Notify end-user and CenturyLink that the change was made to the previous service provider
- Unless prohibited by applicable laws or regulations, remit a charge equal to the amount of the Customer Transfer Charges, as reflected in Exhibit A of your CenturyLink Interconnection Agreement (slamming charge), to CenturyLink as compensation for the change back to the previous service provider.
Switching Back to CenturyLink
If an end-user is switched from you back to CenturyLink, or to another CLEC, and there is a dispute or discrepancy with respect to such a change, you may request a copy of the end-user's POA obtained by CenturyLink. If CenturyLink is unable to produce a POA within three business days, CenturyLink shall change the end-user back to the previous service provider without imposition of any Customer Transfer Charge.
Agency Partner Agreement (APA)
CenturyLink will allow Agency Partner Agreements. The systems administrator for the owner CLEC must establish the partnership within the EASE system. You can add or remove agents who process LSRs or trouble reports on your behalf. When you add an agent, you authorize them to use EASE, CEMR-MTG, or MTG. When you remove an agent, you can redirect the LSRs that were originally submitted by that agent. CLECs may add or delete agency partners with an eight day waiting period before the change is effective. *******PROCESSING WITH EASE IS IDENTICAL TO OUR FORMER PROCESS********
For additional information see the EASE GUI documents page for downloadable CLEC System Administrator's Guide and the User's Guide.
Availability
Proof of Authorization / Letter of Agency is a requirement throughout CenturyLink QC.
Tariffs, Regulations and Policies
Tariffs, regulations and policies are located in the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Pre Ordering
General pre-ordering activities are described in the Pre-Ordering Overview.
The Agency Authorization (AGAUTH) field on the LSR and ASR must show "Y".
Training
Local CenturyLink 101 "Doing Business with CenturyLink"
- This introductory web-based training course is designed to teach the Local CLEC and Local Reseller how to do business with CenturyLink. It will provide a general overview of products and services, CenturyLink billing and support systems, processes for submitting service requests, reports, and web resource access information. Click here to learn more about this course and to register.
View additional CenturyLink courses by clicking on Course Catalog.
Contacts
CenturyLink contact information is available in Wholesale Customer Contacts.
Contact your CenturyLink Service Manager for additional information or to discuss the importance of authorization for all parties involved.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are some examples of LOA?
For Access Service Requests (ASR):ABC TELECOMMUNICATIONS
LETTER OF AGENCY
Local Exchange Carrier:
ABC Telecom appoints Vectra, the limited purpose of ordering and implementing service to the ABC Telecom facility described below. Agent orders are limited not to exceed quantity indicated below. Engineering information and LEC due dates are to be provided to ABC Telecom in accordance with standard interval practices.
End User Name/Location: ABC
220 Ash Leaf St
Tucson AZ 85705
RELATED COMS ORDER: IJ807465
CIRCUIT: MGC090724876
TELCO CFA USED:
3211/T3/25/TCSNAZMAHJ4/TCSNAZMAK03
The agency relationship shall remain in effect for the facilities indicated until modified or revoked by ABC Telecom. Neither Vectra nor ABC Telecom shall be precluded by this appointment from dealing with any LEC in arranging for other telecommunication services.
ABC Telecom Operations Approval: Shelley Roosevelt
ABC Telecom Western Region Service Provisioning
(816) 670-6047/Fax (816) 670-6991
(Must have FOC/DLR back in order to continue processing this order in timely manner)
EASE Owner/Agent Letter Agreement (Grants authorization to third party agent to submit ASRs in EASE under your ACNA)
Name of Customer Issuing Authorization (Principal Customer)
Representative's Name and Title
Representative's Address and Contact Number Date:
Name of Customer Authorized as Agent (Agent Customer)
Representative's Name and Title
Representative's Address and Contact Number
By (Principal Customer) submitting this form to CenturyLink, (Principal Customer) hereby authorizes (Agent Customer) to act as its agent for the purposes of submitting Access Service Requests (ASR) through the EASE GUI, for all activity types.
(Principal Customer) understands that with this agreement the following conditions apply:
- Both (Principal Customer) and (Agent Customer) understand and agree that both parties are able to see all ASRs submitted and all statuses for ASRs submitted for the designated Access Carrier Name Abbreviation (ACNA)/Customer Carrier Name Abbreviation (CCNA) regardless of who submitted the ASR.
- Upon termination of the agreement, (Principal Customer) is solely responsible to manually check for statuses and notices via the EASE GUI; EASE cannot redirect statuses on orders submitted by (Agent Customer) to the (Principal Customer).
- Both (Principal Customer) and (Agent Customer) understand that CenturyLink shall continue to process ASR requests submitted by (Agent Customer) and agree that CenturyLink is not liable for any ASRs submitted by (Agent Customer) between the time that CenturyLink is notified to terminate the agreement and the time the relationship is terminated in the EASE GUI. However, note that (Principal Customer) may have the ability to internally remove access through internal administration.
- (Agent Customer) is authorized to submit ASRs for all CenturyLink LATAs on (Principal Customer)'s behalf.
- (Agent Customer) is responsible for adding/removing (Agent Customer) user's access to the EASE GUI. If (Principal Customer) wishes to have an (Agent CLEC) user removed, (Principal Customer) must contact the (Agent Customer) directly and require (Agent Customer) to make any needed modifications and/or requests.
The following (Principal Customer) ACNAs/CCNAs should be included in this agreement:___________________
The following (Agent Customer) ACNAs/CCNAs should be granted access to submit orders using the
(Principal Customer) ACNAs/CCNAs:_____________________________
(Agent Customer) is authorized to make the above referenced ordering and billing changes on behalf of (Principal Customer) company. (Principal Customer) agrees and remains responsible for all services ordered on their behalf by their Agent. This authorization is in effect until canceled by (Principal Customer) in writing.
| (Principal Customer)_________________ | (Agent Customer)_____________________ |
| (Signed)_________________________ | (Signed)_________________________ |
| (Title)___________________________ | (Title)___________________________ |
| (Date)_____________________________ | (Date)_____________________________ |
For Local Service Requests (LSR)
Proof of Authorization (End-user Example)
End-user's Name
Phone Number
Address
Date:
Service Provider's Company Name
Name of Service Provider's Sales Associate
Address
Dear Sales Associate:
This letter authorizes Service Provider's Company Name to act as our communications representative agent when dealing with CenturyLink. We authorize Service Provider's Company Name to obtain information and/or copies of all our network services and to order and manage all negotiations for the installation of telecommunications services for the above listed address and with respect to the following numbers: 303-555-1000 303-555-1001 303-555-1002
This authorization shall remain in effect until canceled by us in writing. This letter of agency rescinds any other letter of agency previously entered into by End-user's Name.
Sincerely,
End-user's Name
Proof of Authorization (CLEC to CLEC Example)
Name of CLEC Issuing Authorization (Principal CLEC)
Representative's Name and Title
Representative's Address and Contact Number
Date:
Name of CLEC Authorized as Agent (Agent CLEC)
Representative's Name and Title
Representative's Address and Contact Number
Dear CenturyLink Service Manager:
(Principal CLEC) hereby authorizes (Agent CLEC) to act as our agent. This authorization includes (possible authorizations, for illustration purposes only):
___ Agent may order inward, change, and disconnect activity
___ Agent has authority to deal directly with CenturyLink to initiate report troubles and receive resolution status
___ Agent receives and pays the bill associated with CIC(s)
Associated CICs_________ Associated LATAs_________ Associated Circuit IDs ____________
(Agent CLEC) is authorized to make the above referenced ordering and billing changes on behalf of my company. We agree and remain responsible for all services ordered on our behalf by our Agent. This authorization is in effect until canceled by us in writing.
| (Principal CLEC)_________________ | (Agent CLEC)_____________________ |
| (Signed)_________________________ | (Signed)_________________________ |
| (Title)___________________________ | (Title)___________________________ |
| (Date)_____________________________ | (Date)_____________________________ |
Last Update: October 7, 2023
Last Reviewed: October 10, 2023