COM/CRC/sid Date of Issuance 7/16/2009
Decision 09-07-019 July 9, 2009
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion into the Service Quality Standards for All Telecommunications Carriers and Revisions to General Order 133-B. |
Rulemaking 02-12-004 (Filed December 5, 2002) |
DECISION ADOPTING GENERAL ORDER 133-C
AND ADDRESSING OTHER TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE QUALITY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
DECISION ADOPTING GENERAL ORDER 133-C
AND ADDRESSING OTHER TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE QUALITY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 2
1. Summary 2
2. Background 6
3. Issues Before the Commission 10
4. Discussion and Analysis 12
4.1. Customer Satisfaction Surveys 14
4.1.1. Existing Surveys 14
4.1.2. Parties' Positions on Commission-Required Surveys 16
4.1.3. Discussion 19
4.2. Service Quality Measures 21
4.2.1. Consumer Groups and Businesses Support Minimum Service Quality Measures 24
4.2.2. Carriers' Positions on Service Quality Measures 28
4.2.3. Discussion 31
4.2.3.1. Current Installation Standards 34
4.2.3.2. Installation Interval 35
4.2.3.3. Installation Commitments 40
4.2.3.4. Customer Trouble Reports 41
4.2.3.5. Out of Service Repair Intervals 44
4.2.3.6. Answer Time 48
4.2.3.7. Miscellaneous Issues Regarding Installation
and Maintenance Measure Reporting 54
4.3. Reporting Exemptions for Wireless Carriers, Resellers and IP-Enabled Services 56
4.4. Commission Publishing of Carrier Data 59
4.5. Major Service Interruption Reporting 60
4.6. Service Quality Monitoring 66
4.6.1. ARMIS and MCOT Reports 67
4.6.2. Parties' Positions on ARMIS and MCOT Reports 68
4.6.3. Discussion 69
4.6.4. Commission Monitoring Reports 71
4.7. Wireless Coverage Maps 72
4.8. AT&T's Out of Service Repair Interval Reporting 77
4.9. Parties' Additional Proposals 79
5. Confidentiality Motions 81
6. Comments on Proposed Decision 82
7. Assignment of Proceeding 82
Findings of Fact 83
Conclusions of Law 89
ORDER.. 92
ATTACHMENT 1 - General Order 133-C
ATTACHMENT 2 - Parties that Filed Comments in 2003
ATTACHMENT 3 - OIR Proposed Service Quality Measures
ATTACHMENT 4 - Current Service Quality Monitoring Reports
DECISION ADOPTING GENERAL ORDER 133-C
AND ADDRESSING OTHER TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE QUALITY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
1. Summary
The Commission opened this rulemaking to review and revise the existing service quality measures and standards (collectively, "measures") 1 under General Order (GO) 133-B applicable to telecommunications carriers.2 Specifically, the Commission undertook to determine the kind of measures that should apply to local exchange and other services in light of changes in regulatory policies and increased market competition as found in this Commission's Uniform Regulatory Framework (URF) decision.3 Consistent with the general agreement of the parties that competitive environments act to apply a natural pressure for carriers to ensure adequate service quality, it is reasonable to simplify the existing reporting requirements. At the same time, we do not believe a complete elimination of service quality reporting is warranted or reasonable because this Commission has a statutory duty to ensure customers receive adequate service quality pursuant to Public Utilities Code §§ 709, 2896 and 2897. Accordingly, today's decision adopts GO 133-C4 containing a minimum set of service quality measures. We believe continued reporting of these measures will ensure that telecommunications carriers provide relevant information to this Commission so that we may adequately protect California consumers and the public interest. The five service quality measures (and the related standards) we adopt are: (1) telephone service installation intervals (five business days); (2) installation commitments (95%); (3) customer trouble reports (six reports per 100 lines for reporting units with 3,000 or more working lines and lower standards for smaller units); (4) out of service (OOS) repair intervals (90% within 24 hours excluding Sundays and federal holidays, catastrophic events and widespread outages); and (5) answer time (80% within 60 seconds related to trouble reports and billing and non-billing issues with the option to speak to a live agent).5 These five reporting measures will apply to General Rate Case (GRC) incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs),6 since they are fully regulated as the monopoly provider in their service territories and are designated carriers of last resort (COLR) in their service territories.7
We will require reporting of fewer measures for Uniform Regulatory Framework (URF) ILECs8 and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs),9 since these carriers operate in more competitive markets. The reporting measures we adopt for URF ILECs and for CLECs with 5,000 or more customers are: (1) customer trouble reports (six reports per 100 lines for reporting units with 3,000 or more working lines and lower standards for smaller reporting units); (2) OOS repair intervals (90% within 24 hours excluding Sundays and federal holidays, catastrophic events and widespread outages); and (3) billing, 6non-billing and trouble report answer time (80% within 60 seconds with the option to speak to a live agent).10
All measures except those related to answer time shall be reported quarterly. Answer time data shall be reported annually. Carriers' performance under the adopted measures shall be evaluated at least annually and may be published on the Commission's website to give consumers information about their carriers' service quality performance.
We grant an exemption from the requirement to report service quality measures under GO 133-C for certain carriers as described herein. Specifically, URF ILECs and CLECs with fewer than 5,000 customers are exempt unless the provider is a COLR.11 Resellers, wireless and Internet protocol (IP)-enabled carriers (including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and cable) are also exempt.12 We also narrow reporting for certain measures to residential and small business customers.
In addition, today's Decision formalizes major service interruption (MSI) reporting by adopting the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) communication disruption and Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) reporting requirements and requiring a simultaneous written report to the Commission for communication disruptions and outages that affect California service. These requirements will apply to all facilities-based certificated and registered carriers. We discontinue reporting of the FCC's Merger Compliance Oversight Team (MCOT) data as outdated. However, we will continue to require carriers who file FCC Automated Reporting Management Information System (ARMIS) service quality and customer satisfaction data to file California-specific ARMIS data with this Commission as specified herein.
We require wireless carriers to provide coverage maps on their websites and at retail locations and to make these maps available during a sales transaction consistent with voluntary compliance agreements many wireless carriers have entered into with Attorneys General in other states. We discontinue the requirement that Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California (AT&T) submit OOS repair interval data pursuant to the standard we established in D.01-12-021. AT&T is instead directed to report the OOS repair interval data that is required under GO 133-C and ARMIS.
Finally, we defer a decision on whether to require an independent Commission customer satisfaction survey pending the outcome of a federal determination of what customer satisfaction data should be obtained for all service platforms.
1 Measures are the aspects or features of service subject to evaluation and reporting. Standards are the minimum acceptable values that measures must meet to be in compliance with the Commission's requirements. Existing measures include held primary service orders, installation-line energizing commitments, trouble reports, dial tone speed, dial service, toll operator answering time, directory assistance operator answering time, trouble report service answering time, and business office answering time.
2 By telecommunications carriers, this decision is referring to telephone corporations that are public utilities.
3 URF carriers have full pricing flexibility over substantially all of their rates and charges. URF carriers include ILECs regulated through the Commission's uniform regulatory framework established in Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion to Assess and Revise the Regulation of Telecommunications Utilities ("URF Phase 1 Decision") [D.06-08-030] (2006) __ Cal. P.U.C.3d __, CLECs and interexchange carriers.
4 GO 133-C is attached as Attachment 1.
5 Traffic offices with fewer than 10,000 lines shall be exempt from answer time reporting.
6 An ILEC is a local telephone corporation that was the exclusive certificated local telephone service provider in a franchise territory established before the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 and is now regulated under URF, as established in Decision (D.) 06-08-030. (See Public Utilities (Pub. Util.) Code §§ 234 and 1001.) The Commission regulates GRC ILECs through cost-of-service reviews as required by GO 96-B. These carriers are designated carriers of last resort per Re Universal Service and Compliance with the Mandates of Assembly Bill 3643 [D.96-10-066] (1996) 68 Cal. P.U.C.2d 524, 625, which defined what is meant by basic telephone service for Universal Service funding.
7 COLRs are required to serve upon request all customers within their designated service area. Pursuant to D.96-10-066, a carrier seeking to be a COLR needs to file a notice of intent with the Commission in order to have access to high cost fund subsidies. Once a carrier is designated as a COLR, it must obtain the Commission's approval to opt out of its obligation to serve.
8 See ante, fn. 3.
9 CLECs must obtain a CPCN to provide local telephone services in competition with ILECs in the service territories where ILECs formerly were the sole certificated provider. (See Pub. Util. Code §§ 234 and 1001 and Re Competition for Local Exchange Service [D.95-07-054] (1995) 60 Cal. P.U.C.2d 611.)
10 Traffic offices with fewer than 10,000 lines shall be exempt from answer time reporting.
11 Currently, there are no URF ILECs with fewer than 5,000 customers.
12 A wireless carrier (a Commercial Mobile Radio Service provider at the federal level) is a carrier or licensee whose wireless network is connected to the public switched telephone network. Wireless carriers are required to register with the Commission, and state level regulation is limited by federal law.
