Notification of Common Carriers of Service Disruptions

This Order on Reconsideration (Order) amends the Commission's rules regarding the reporting of telephone network outages in accordance with requests for reconsideration filed in response to the Second Report and Order. Previously the rules required carriers to report, inter alia, fire-related incidents impacting 1000 or more of a carrier's lines and outages affecting major airports and 911 facilities. Under the previous rule, outages affecting 911 were to be reported if they disrupted 25% or more of the lines to a Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) and outages affecting major airports were to be reported if they were ``likely to be of media interest.'' The present Order alters these aspects of the outage reporting rule. For 911 outages, the Order replaces the requirement that carriers report all outages that disrupt more than 25% of the lines to any PSAP. The old requirement was difficult to apply. The new rules simplify the system. Reports will hereafter be required in the following situations: If, for 24 hours or more, one or more PSAPs cannot be reached by 911 callers, and each such isolated PSAP serves fewer than 30,000 access lines, an initial report of the outage is due within 120 minutes of the carrier's first knowledge of such an outage; if, for at least 30 minutes, an E911 Tandem fails to relay 911 calls to one or more PSAPs, an initial report is due within 120 minutes, regardless of the number of access lines served by that tandem; if, for at least 30 minutes, an end office serving 50,000 or more access lines fails to relay 911 calls, or one or more PSAPs serving in the aggregate 50,000 or more access lines cannot be reached by 911 callers, an initial report is due within 120 minutes; or if, for at least 30 minutes, an end office serving from 30,000 to 50,000 access lines is cut off from 911 service, or one or more PSAPs serving in the aggregate 30,000 to 50,000 access lines cannot be reached by 911 callers, an initial report is due within 3 days. Final