Telecom For Dummies

The simplest order you can place for a dedicated circuit is one where your carrier orders the local loop. After you fill out all the technical paperwork and submit it, on average, the circuit is available for use about 30 to 45 days later. Allow the order to chug through the system for three days before you call your carrier to get an order number for the circuits. If, after three days, the local carrier hasn’t generated an order number, the order might have gone astray. You should correct this problem now instead of starting the process over on day 25.

Getting realistic when your order becomes a project

Set realistic expectations, and the second you hear someone say the word project, take a deep breath. All local and long-distance carriers have categories for their orders. As an order becomes more complex — see the side-bar, earlier in this chapter, “Understanding the complexities of type 2 (and type 3) circuits” — it can be classified as a project. When an order becomes a project, this is a Bad Thing, because the new title places the order under greater scrutiny. More scrutiny means more layers, and more layers mean more processes. More processes mean more time. If your order ends up being handled as project, add 15 days to your expected due date.

Receiving a Firm Order Commitment

After you receive your order number, you should check on the order about once a week to make sure that it’s on track. At this point, you are waiting for the Firm Order Commitment (FOC) document; it tells you when your local loop will be installed at your office and tested between your carrier and the local loop provider. There is no industry standard for the design of the FOC (pronounced either eff-oh-see or fawk) document, but it should list most of the following information:

• The long-distance carrier circuit ID: This is the circuit ID written on the circuit after the cables for it are installed at your building. This number is the one piece of information that will be logged in at your carrier’s customer care center. If your circuit has a problem, you need this number so that you can identify your circuit and troubleshoot it. Keep this information readily available.

• The order number used by your long-distance carrier: After the wiring installed at your office is connected and you activate the circuit, you should mention this order number to cross-reference the circuit ID and make sure everyone is working on the right T-1s.

• The trunk group name(s) for your dedicated circuit: You need to know this information if you ever add toll-free numbers to your circuit. Many toll-free features are commonly installed in the trunk group, so your carrier won’t care about the circuit ID when you are adding toll-free numbers. This info is also good backup to help your carrier find your circuit if no one can find the circuit ID.

• The billing ID code for your dedicated circuit (this may be your trunk group name, or referred to as an Auth Code, CLLI CDR, or DL value): Keep a list of these codes; if one appears on your bill that you don’t recognize, call the carrier to check on it.

• The name of the local carrier: Because your local carrier was contracted by your long-distance carrier to help out, you should determine who did the work in case you have a problem with your circuit. If your long-distance carrier says it has isolated the issue to your local carrier and has opened a trouble ticket with Bell South, but your FOC document says the local carrier is Time-Warner, you can correct this issue quickly. It’s better to validate this information five minutes into a trouble ticket rather than after you have lost five hours.

• The local carrier circuit ID: Match up every local carrier circuit ID with every circuit ID from your long-distance carrier. If the local carrier has to be dispatched to work on your T-1s, the technician can instantly know whether he or she is looking at the right one.

• The plant test date (PTD): The plant test date, or PTD, represents the date on which the local carrier plans to test the continuity of the circuit with your long-distance carrier. This is generally about 24 hours before the committed due date.

• The committed due date: This is the date on which the local carrier agrees to have the circuit released to you for testing.

 Remember  The date you receive the FOC document can be anywhere from two to ten days before the wiring for the local loop is actually installed at your office and tested for continuity. The term FOC is used so casually in the world of telecom that people have blurred its meaning. Don’t expect to get your circuit on the date you expect the FOC document to be delivered. It can happen, but it isn’t the industry standard.