Accounting and Audits Division

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]

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