Telecommunications Regulatory Authority
Decision
No: 4/2009
Interconnection
Regulation
The TRA, during its meeting held on 18/03/2009
Pursuant to law No 431 dated 22/07/2002
(Telecommunications Law), in particular Article 29,
Pursuant to Decree No 14264 dated 4/03/2005
(Financial and administrative management of the Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority),
Pursuant to Decree No 1 dated 08/02/2007
(Appointment of the TRA Board),
And upon the advice of the Council of State (Opinion
No. 39/2008-2009 dated 29/01/2009),
Issued the
following regulation:
Chapter 1 Purpose and Scope of the Regulation
Article 1 Background
1.
This Interconnection Regulation (the Regulation) is issued by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Authority)
under the Telecommunications Law - Law No. 431 of 2002 (Telecommunications Law).
2.
This Regulation is a binding
regulation that states the official policies and procedures of the Authority. It may
be subject to review and amendment following consultation and promulgation processes required by the law. Such review and amendment may be undertaken
periodically as deemed necessary by the Authority in light of the development of the Lebanese telecommunications markets, changes to
Lebanese national laws
affecting the
telecommunications sector, or other factors.
Article 2 Legal
Basis
1. Telecommunication Policy
Having determined to
transform the telecommunications sector in Lebanon from a state-owned monopoly to a competitive market, open
to private participation, the Government of Lebanon promulgated the
Telecommunications Law to achieve this purpose.
2. The Authority’s Mandate
and the Telecommunications Law
a. The Telecommunications Law grants the Authority the power to issue regulations pertaining to competition, interconnection, dispute resolution, pricing, quality of service, consumer affairs, spectrum and any matter which the Authority deems necessary to implement the Telecommunications Law.
b. The Authority has issued the present Regulation in order to ensure that newly established or potential entrants to the telecommunication market are able to interconnect and enter the Lebanese telecommunications market on terms and conditions enabling them to compete with other service providers.
c.
To that end, Article 29 of the Telecommunications Law provides:
1) All Service Providers with Significant Market Power shall establish Interconnection with other Service Providers for the transmission and receipt of data, provide the necessary facilities and arrangements for that purpose, and establish and apportion the charges thereof, pursuant to the conditions set by the Authority.
2) Interconnection among Service Providers shall be established by agreement within a maximum period specified by the Authority. In the event that Public Telecommunications Services Providers fail to agree on terms of Interconnection within the maximum period specified by the Authority, the Authority may, at its own initiative, impose Interconnection terms pursuant to its own rules and requirements.
The Authority shall publish, at the expense of the concerned parties, a summary of the basic terms of the Interconnection agreements in the Official Gazette and in two local newspapers.
3) The Authority may approve or impose amendment to the provisions relating to Interconnection between Public Telecommunications Services Providers authorized by foreign countries in accordance with the international accounting rate framework, including the accounting rates and settlement arrangements agreed upon by the concerned parties before the agreement becomes effective.
4) Public Telecommunications Services Providers shall comply with all international treaties and bilateral agreements relating to international accounting arrangements, as well as with any rules adopted by the Authority concerning such arrangements where international services are provided pursuant to an international accounting rate framework.
5) Disputes arising between Public Telecommunications
Services Providers over Interconnection terms and practices shall be resolved by arbitration in
equity unless otherwise specified by the Interconnection agreement.
The Authority shall set the rules and procedures for the arbitration of disputes resulting from Interconnection agreements.
3. The Authority has based this Regulation on the provisions of the Telecommunications Law which is a lex specialis, taking precedence over other generally applicable laws that may apply when determining the appropriate standards and practices promulgated in this Regulation.
Article 3 Interpretation
Individual regulations containing the word
‘shall’ are mandatory requirements and are binding on service providers.
Individual regulations containing the word
‘should’ are recommendations to service
providers but are not mandatory.
Individual regulations
containing the word ‘may’ are permissions to service
providers.
Article 4 Purpose of
the Regulation
1.
The principal purpose of this Regulation is to clarify the arrangements
for interconnection and provision of services between service providers. This Regulation is
also intended to guide service
providers with Significant Market Power (SMP) , including Liban Telecom - once designated as having
SMP in the relevant market and, until such time as Liban Telecom is
established, the Republic of Lebanon acting through the Ministry of
Telecommunications (MoT) and Ogero - in the preparation of a Reference Interconnection Offer (RIO). The
2.
This Regulation aims to ensure that all
service providers are treated fairly
and in a non-discriminatory manner.
This Regulation has been drafted with the vision
of introducing full competition in the fixed and mobile telecommunications
sectors in Lebanon.
This Regulation aims to encourage good practice
by service providers and to promote the
provision of high quality of service to users,
through technical and economic efficiency.
A further aim of this Regulation is to express clearly the
policy of the Authority with
respect to the interconnection of public telecommunications
networks in Lebanon.
This Regulation is expected to reduce the scope
and occurrence of interconnection disputes.
3.
The publication of a
a.
ensure transparency by
defining the interconnection services offered by the publisher of the
b.
limit the scope of negotiations between service
providers thus ensuring that interconnection is offered on non-discriminatory terms; and
c.
advise new entrants what services are offered by
certain service providers with SMP
and the costs and lead-times for the provision of such services, thus
facilitating further investment in the Lebanese market for telecommunications services.
Article 5 Scope of
the Regulation
1.
This Regulation applies to all service
providers who are entitled to or obliged to provide interconnection in Lebanon. The attached Annexes are
deemed to be an integral part of this Regulation.
2.
This Regulation does not apply to operators of private telecommunications networks or to users.
Such operators shall be entitled to ‘connection’ services but not
‘interconnection’. Connection services involve the physical
linking of private telecommunications
networks to public telecommunications networks in order to allow users of the
former to communicate with users of the latter or with users of the same or
another private telecommunications network or to access services provided on a
public telecommunications network. Connection services are outside the scope of this Regulation.
Chapter
2 Definitions
Article 6 Definitions’ Basis
In the event of conflict or ambiguity between
the terms defined herein and the terms defined in a license or in the Telecommunications Law
then the following order of precedence shall apply:
a.
Telecommunications Law.
b.
Interconnection Regulation.
c.
Service provider license.
Article 7 Definitions
In this Regulation, the following terms shall have the corresponding meanings:
Cost accounting - the preparation by service providers
with SMP of accounting information according to the costing
methodology and regulation regarding cost accounting
prescribed by the Authority in order to
identify the cost of providing a service.
Interconnect billing
reconciliation process - the process of two interconnected service providers analyzing the differences
between their respective calculations of an interconnect bill from one party to
the other and attempting to reach a settlement.
Interconnection
- The
physical and logical link between telecommunications Networks used by one or
more Service Providers in order to enable their Users or Subscribers to communicate with each other or to
communicate with Users or Subscribers of another Service Provider, and to
connect any one service to any other service via domestic or international
Networks.
Local loop unbundling - a process that allows multiple
service providers access to local loops.
Number portability – a service which allows a
customer to change service
providers while maintaining his
access number.
Reference Interconnect Offer (or RIO) - a
published reference document that sets out the full list of basic interconnect
services and the terms and conditions, including charges, on which the licensee
offers to interconnect with other licensees. The offer forms the basis of
commercial negotiations between licensees to establish interconnection.
SMP - Significant Market Power as defined
in the Telecommunications Law and which is further addressed in the SMP
Regulation.
User choice call - a call originated by a user that
chooses a different service provider from the one the user is directly
connected to, to convey the traffic to its destination.
Chapter 3 Rights and Obligations
Regarding Interconnection
Article
8 All Service Providers
1.
Regardless of market power, all service providers
have the right and obligation when asked by another service provider,
to negotiate and sign interconnection with each other within ninety (90) days
of receipt of a written request. In the event that service providers
fail to agree on the terms of interconnection the Authority may impose terms of
interconnection following this period in accordance with Art 29 (2) of the
Telecommunications Law.
2.
Service Providers negotiating their interconnection agreements should
abide by Confidentiality of Information passed between themselves
as part of this negotiation.
Service providers are
obliged according to Art 28 of the Telecommunications
Law to notify the Authority of all information relating to tariffs, including
prices and terms and conditions.
Article
9 Service Providers with Significant Market Power
1.
Service Providers with SMP are subject to the following obligations with
respect to interconnection:
a.
Obligation to establish interconnection following reasonable requests for access to facilities and interconnection services from
service providers under conditions prescribed in this Regulation.
b.
Obligation to provide timely interconnection services –service providers with SMP sign
interconnection agreements (based on their RIO’s as approved by the Authority)
within sixty (60) days from the date a request for interconnection is presented
by another provider.
c.
Obligation of Transparency –service providers with SMP make public specified
information such as a RIO with terms and conditions for interconnection,
technical specifications, and cost based prices for interconnection services.
d. Obligation to publish –service providers
with SMP publish their RIOs on their website within fifteen (15) days
of the approval date by the Authority. The
e.
Obligation of non-discrimination –service providers with SMP should
provide interconnection services to other service providers
under the same terms and conditions (including without limitation prices and
quality of service) as they provide to their own services, including those of
subsidiaries.
f.
Obligation of accounting
separation – this involves the preparation of separate accounts for different
businesses and parts of businesses run by the same service provider, so that the costs and revenues associated with each
business and part of a business (and transfers between them) can be separately
identified and properly allocated. This obligation requires a service provider with SMP to make transparent its internal transfer prices for
services it provides to itself. Such an
obligation ensures compliance with obligations of non discrimination and
prevents unfair cross subsidy.
g.
Obligation of price control and cost accounting – in accordance with Art
28 of the Telecommunications
Law, prices for
interconnection shall be compatible with the cost of providing that
service. Service providers with SMP shall develop cost based interconnection rates according
to the costing methodology or any regulation on cost accounting prescribed by the Authority. Any cost inefficiencies of service providers with SMP shall not be passed on through interconnection charges to
other service providers. Charges related to
universal service obligations shall be identified and treated separately and
not bundled with interconnection charges.
h.
Obligation to provide unbundled services – service providers with SMP should offer unbundled interconnection services in such a
way so as not to force another service provider to
purchase a service that it does not require.
Article
10 Approval and Publication of RIOs and Interconnection Agreements
1.
Service providers with SMP should prepare the initial RIO and
submit it to the Authority for review
and approval within ninety (90) days from the date of
being designated by the Authority as having SMP.
2.
RIOs shall be subject to approval by the Authority prior to
publication. The Authority review shall be completed within ninety (90) days
from the submission to the Authority of the draft
3.
The publication of a new or updated
4.
Changes to be made to an approved RIO resulting from new service
offerings can be submitted quarterly. The Authority will issue its decision
accepting or rejecting the changes within thirty (30) days from the date of
filing the change request with the Authority. The approved changes shall be published
in the same form and manner of a full RIO or as annexes to the RIO and shall
come into effect on the date of publication of the Authority approval decision
in the Official Gazette or such other day as the Authority’s decision may
specify. Annual review of the
5.
Service providers with SMP shall annually update their RIO’s within sixty (60) days
from the annual anniversary date of their approved RIO’s to reflect
changes in the telecommunications sector, including the introduction of new
services, the use of new technology, and changes in market conditions. All updates prior to publication are subject
to determination and approval by the Authority within sixty (60) days from the
date of their submission to the Authority.
The service
provider with SMP shall include
in its RIO an amendment procedure that describes how changes will be made to
the
o
specify how other service
providers will be informed about
proposed changes and the timeframe for such changes; and
o
provide for submission and approval by the Authority the details of the
proposed amendments.
Chapter 4 Management of Interconnection
Article 11 Account Management
1.
Service providers offering interconnection services should provide a technical account manager and a
commercial account manager to deal
with other service
providers using or seeking to use their services, to coordinate interconnection
matters.
2.
Service providers with SMP shall agree to meetings with an interconnected service provider (with SMP or otherwise) within five (5) days of meetings being
formally requested by that service
provider.
Article 12 Joint Technical Committee
1.
Each pair of interconnected service providers
should establish a joint technical committee. The joint technical committee
should be a forum for discussion and agreement on technical, operational,
planning, billing and service aspects.
The decisions taken by this committee should be binding
to both parties. The composition of the joint
technical committee should be agreed between the service providers
and may be amended as deemed appropriate.
However, it should consist of an equal number of representatives from both service providers,
and should include technical and commercial staff.
2.
The joint technical committee should meet on a regular basis with meetings planned in advance. There should be an agreed agenda which should include at least the
following items:
·
discussion of needs for
new points of interconnect;
·
analysis of
traffic levels;
·
analysis of
service quality;
·
discussion of
capacity requirements;
·
discussion and
analysis of faults during the period since the previous meeting;
·
discussion of
billing processes;
·
provision of relevant information;
and
·
discussion of changes either to the network or service.
3.
The Authority may attend the meetings of such
committees if needed (e.g., to help resolve a dispute).
Article 13 Provision of Information between
Service Providers
1. General network
information
a.
Service providers with SMP offering interconnection services shall provide
information about their network and services to service providers
entitled to use these services. Unless agreed otherwise between service
providers, information provided shall be limited to that which is relevant and
sufficient for the
service provider using the services to
conduct network planning, financial planning and subsequently operate their
network. All information provided between service providers shall be subject to the confidentiality rules defined in
the RIO and interconnect
agreements, and shall only be used for
the purposes for which it is provided.
b.
A service
provider shall provide the same level
of information to all other service
providers entitled to similar
interconnection services according to non discriminatory principle.
c. Service providers with SMP shall
publish a standard set of information within annexes to their RIOs, rather than
supply this specific information on demand. Service providers with SMP shall define the rules for routing traffic in normal and
abnormal situations in a non-discriminatory manner including dealing with
overflow, congestion and network management.
d.
In the event of a fault or major service failure, service providers
shall share as much information as is appropriate to resolve the problem and
restore service. Service providers shall share as much information as is necessary to enable
interconnecting service
providers to provide information and
services to their customers on an equal and non-discriminatory basis with
respect to their own directly connected customers.
2. Planned changes to
networks
a.
Interconnected service
providers shall inform each other
about all plans and changes which may have an effect on their
arrangements. Sufficient time shall be
given to allow for service
providers to make necessary
adjustments to their systems and networks and ensure continuous service. Unless otherwise agreed this information shall be provided at least thirty (30) days in advance of any changes. Such changes may include:
·
changes to physical network, e.g. exchange closure or re-location;
·
upgrade of electrical/signaling specification; and
b. Service providers shall
notify interconnected
service providers of any significant
changes made in the network that may affect the conveyance of calls and /or the quality of the calls. The service provider implementing the change should pay the costs incurred by the
other service provider where their alterations cause the other service provider
to change its system to continue to convey calls unless where the change is
agreed upon or where the alteration is part of a planned upgrade
program.
3.
Records of interconnect links
a.
Service providers with SMP shall maintain a database of the interconnect links
between their networks and those of other service providers. This database should contain all relevant
information including:
·
A-end exchange – name, location, manufacturer, software release, signaling point code;
·
B-end exchange – name, location, manufacturer, software release, signaling point code;
·
transmission path – direction designation, type;
·
capacity (and overflow mechanism if available);
·
associated signaling link(s);
·
type of use of link (outgoing only, incoming only, both way); and
·
any priorities (e.g.
for links to emergency
services).
b.
Service Providers with SMP shall provide the authority with information
contained therein on a periodic basis and upon the Authority’s request.
Chapter
5 Interconnection Services
Article 14 Overview
Ø This chapter provides examples
of interconnection service and gives guidelines
for the provision of the services. Interconnection
services are provided by service providers to
other service providers.
Ø Interconnection services are
described within this chapter.
|
1 |
Call conveyance services |
Services which involve the carriage of voice
band calls over an interconnect route between telecommunications systems: ·
- call
termination; ·
- call transit; ·
- intelligent network call origination (including short
code dialing and calls to premium rate services). |
|
2 |
Transmission
link services |
The
provision by a service
provider with SMP to other service providers of network capacity links within the telecommunications system of the service provider with
SMP. |
|
3 |
Interconnection
link services |
The
provision of an interconnect link capacity between the telecommunications systems of service providers. |
|
4 |
Data
interconnection services |
Interconnection
services which involve the carriage of packet-switched data between data
networks. |
|
5 |
Collocation
and facilities sharing |
The
provision by a service
provider with SMP of space in
its premises or the use of part of its physical infrastructure, such as masts
or towers or power or air
conditioning, to other service providers. |
|
6 |
Operator
services |
The
provision of operator services, for example directory enquiries and emergency services, by a service
provider with SMP to other service providers. |
|
7 |
Supplementary
call services |
Services associated with call conveyance services but with
value-added, advanced features such as calling line identification (CLI), ring back when free, divert on busy
and conference calls. |
Ø
Service providers with SMP shall update the RIO before the introduction of a new
interconnection service. Where a new service available
to users requires either changes to the RIO or the introduction of
a new interconnect service, such changes to the RIO shall accompany the launch of the
new user service by the service provider with SMP.
Reasonable time shall be given
to allow for service
providers to make necessary
adjustments to their systems and networks and ensure access to the new service.
Unless otherwise agreed such time shall be at least thirty (30) days in advance before the launch of the new user
service.
Ø
Service providers with SMP shall obtain the approval of the Authority before
withdrawing an interconnection service. Service providers with SMP shall fully define their interconnection services and
charges, including technical and commercial conditions, within their RIOs (see chapters 6 and 8). Other interconnection services which may be
required in the future of service
providers with SMP include, but are not limited to, Internet Protocol (IP) based interconnection, number portability and local loop unbundling.
Article
15 Call Conveyance Services
1. Overview
a.
Call conveyance services shall be defined as those services that involve
a service provider conveying (carrying) basic voice band calls on its network
(fixed or mobile) originating from, or terminating in, the telecommunications system of another service provider
or foreign (international) service
provider.
b.
Call conveyance services are used by service providers
(in accordance with their licenses) with any of the following license types or
services:
a. public
switched telephone network (PSTN);
d. telephone
pre-paid calling service;
f. data
communications;
h. global
mobile satellite services and VSAT.
c.
There are a number of different call conveyance services applicable to
the current telecommunications sector in Lebanon:
i. call
termination;
j. call
transit;
l. intelligent
network call origination (non-geographic
calls using number
translation services).
2. Call termination service
a. Service definition
A call termination service shall be defined as
a service where a service
provider receives voice band calls
from an interconnected service
provider, and then terminates (or
completes) the calls within its own public telecommunications network. An example is
shown below.
|
|
b. Requirement to provide service
Service providers with SMP shall be required to offer a call termination service to
all other service
providers.
c. Categories of call termination
Ø There are typically three categories of the call termination service
provided on fixed voice networks:
a.
Local call termination:
where the calls are delivered on an interconnect link to the local exchange or
parented remote
concentrator to which the end-user is directly connected.
b.
Single tandem call termination:
where the calls are delivered on an interconnect link to a tandem (or transit) exchange which has a direct link to the local exchange to
which the end-user is directly connected.
c. Double tandem call termination:
where the calls are delivered on an interconnect link to a tandem (or transit)
exchange which does not have a link to the local exchange to which the end-user
is directly connected. The call must be
routed over (at least) two tandem
exchanges before being sent to the local exchange.
|
|
Ø
The Authority notes that the network architectures of fixed and mobile
networks are fundamentally different.
When routing a call to a fixed network, it can be known where the end-user is located, i.e. on which
local exchange. When routing a
call to a mobile network, it is not known where the end-user
is located at any point in time, i.e. on which main switching centre
(MSC). There is no concept of a local
exchange within mobile networks, although there may be exchanges used as tandems.
Ø
The service provider with SMP operating the national
PSTN shall initially offer a single tandem
call termination service and a double tandem
call termination service.
3. Call transit service
a.
Service
definition
Ø
A call transit service is defined as a service where a service provider
receives voice band calls from one service provider
and routes them to the network of a different service provider. The service provider
providing the call transit service does not originate or terminate the call
within its own network.
Ø
This service may be separated into two categories:
a.
National call transit: a call transit service between service providers
within
b.
International call transit: a call transit
service provided to service
providers to transit their
international calls to or from service providers
in other countries.
|
Operator B
is providing a call
transit service to Operator A. The call originates in the network of
Operator A which routes it over an interconnect link to Operator B. Operator B switches the call (in the
example above, they switch it twice) and routes the call to another operator
(in this case Operator C) or vice versa.
Operator C may terminate the call on its network or transit the call
to another network. |
b.
Requirement
to provide service
The service provider with SMP operating the national PSTN shall provide a national and international call transit service to all service providers.
4. Call origination service
a.
Service
definition
1.
A call origination service is defined as a service provided for a user choice call. Thus one service provider provides calls to an interconnected service provider,
and the originating service
provider does not charge the calling user a retail tariff, but instead charges the other service provider at an interconnection rate for originating the call. The call could be for any destination and
will not necessarily terminate on the network of the service provider
who receives the call.
2.
There are typically two categories of the call origination service:
c.
Carrier selection: where the calling user (or the customer terminal equipment) inserts a prefix in front of the number that they are dialing.
d.
Carrier pre-selection (CPS): the originating service provider
has been instructed by the user which service
provider should manage their service
and calls are routed to that service provider
automatically with no requirement for the dialing user to
enter a prefix or non-geographic number.
This is sometimes referred to as ‘equal access’.
b.
Requirement
to provide service
3.
The service provider with SMP operating the national PSTN shall be required to provide a
call origination service to all other service providers.
5. Intelligent network call origination
a.
Service
definition
4.
An intelligent network call origination service is defined as a service
where the user dials a non-geographic number to a fixed terminating point
on another service
provider’s network and is charged a
fixed fee irrespective of the distance between the originating and terminating user. In some instances
this charge to the originating user might be
zero. These services include calls with short
code dialed calls to levels 1, 8 and 9.
5.
The intelligent network call origination service (sometimes called number translation services) typically covers:
e.
Auto Freefone services where the caller pays
nothing for the call but the terminating user pays;
f.
Local Fee Call services where the originating user pays a local
retail call tariff. The terminating user often pays a retail tariff for the service;
g.
National Fee Call services where the originating user pays a
national retail tariff; and
h.
Premium Rate Services where the originating user pays a
retail rate above the standard retail call tariff and receives some additional
content. The terminating service
provider may pay a portion of the
revenue to the content provider.
b.
Requirement
to provide service
Service providers with SMP shall provide an
intelligent network call origination service to all other service providers.
Article 16 Transmission Link Services
1. Service definition
a.
Transmission link services are defined as services where a service provider with SMP provides fixed capacity for the transmission of data
between two fixed points over its network to other service providers.
b.
This shall include leased line circuits used by service providers
between their own premises and international circuits but shall not include
leased lines between a service
provider and its users. Transmission link services may be provided using any
appropriate technology including both fixed and wireless systems.
2. Requirement to provide
service
6. Service providers with SMP offering
PSTN services shall be required to provide transmission link
services to all service
providers.
Article 17 Interconnect Link Services
1. Service definition
7.
Interconnect link services are defined as services where a service provider provides one or more links over which traffic between its
network and the network of another service provider
flows. Each end of an interconnect link
is terminated on the network of a different service provider.
8.
Interconnect link services may be provided using any appropriate
technology including both fixed and wireless systems.
2. Requirement to provide service
9.
The service
provider with SMP offering PSTN services
shall provide interconnect link services to all service providers.
Article 18 Data Interconnection Services
1. Service definition
a.
Data interconnection services are defined as services which involve the
carriage of data between data networks.
The termination of dial-up internet calls within the voice band is not a data interconnection service
but a call conveyance service.
b.
These services may include:
i. Packet Switching, Frame Relay and ATM services including those using IP Protocols; and
j. international
internet capacity.
2. Requirement to provide
service
10. Service providers with SMP shall provide data interconnection services to other service providers if they have a suitable data network.
Article 19 Collocation and Facilities Sharing Services
1. Service definition
11. Collocation and facilities
sharing services shall be defined as services where one service provider
provides space in their premises and facilities to another service provider
in order for them to install their own network equipment. The facilities provided may include, without
limitation, electrical power, air-conditioning and security, cable ducts and
space on antenna masts or towers.
2.
Requirement to provide
service
12. Service providers with SMP shall offer
collocation and facilities sharing services.
Other service
providers may offer collocation and
facilities sharing services.
Article 20 Operator Services
1. Operator assistance
a.
Service providers with SMP shall offer operator assistance
services to other service
providers.
b.
All service
providers may establish their own
operator assistance services but service providers with SMP shall enable other service providers
to offer relevant operator
assistance services via their network.
2.
Emergency Services
a.
Service providers with SMP shall provide connection to emergency services
to other service
providers. The provision of emergency service calling to other
service providers may be subject to tariffs, and such tariffs may be changed,
in accordance with the license of the provider with SMP and subject to the approval of the Authority.
b. Service providers shall
cooperate to achieve a technical solution that provides prioritized
capacity to connect to public emergency services.
3. Directory enquiry Services
13. Service providers with SMP shall provide directory enquiry services to other service providers.
14. Directory
enquiry services to other service providers may be subject to tariffs, and such tariffs may be changed, in accordance with the license of the service provider
with SMP and subject to the approval
of the Authority.
Article
21 Supplementary Call Services
1.
Service definition
15. Advanced call services
shall be defined as value-added services associated with call conveyance
services. Examples of such services are:
a.
calling line identification presentation (CLIP);
b.
calling line identification restriction (CLIR);
c.
connected line identification presentation (COLP);
d.
connected line identification restriction (COLR);
e.
call transfer;
g.
call notification (or call waiting);
h.
ring-back on busy;
j.
conference calls.
2.
Requirement to provide
service
Where it is
technically feasible, to introduce the mentioned services, then transparency for the benefit of users should be ensured.
Service providers shall cooperate to achieve feature transparency between
interconnected networks of advanced services.
Chapter
6 Technical aspects
Article 22 Introduction
1.
This chapter deals primarily with the interconnection of switched
networks designed for the conveyance of voice calls and data calls within the
voice bandwidth (dial-up internet access for example).
2.
Other forms of interconnection including interconnection to data services
and public payphone operators will require supplementary technical aspects which should
be included in the RIOs of service
providers with SMP.
Article 23 Interconnection of Public Exchanges
1.
Provisions in this Regulation dealing with the
interconnection of public exchanges are applicable only to service providers
using public exchanges, including MSCs, to offer call conveyance services.
2.
Service providers with SMP offering switched interconnection shall provide other service providers with details of their exchanges that are available for
interconnection. Service providers with SMP shall provide this information within their RIOs. The information should include, but not be
limited to:
b.
location (geographic address);
c.
function (international/tandem/local);
f.
traffic routing plan ;
g.
signaling plan; and
h.
supported signaling protocols.
3.
To reduce the requirement to update the main body of the RIO in response
to network developments, service
providers with SMP should maintain
details of these exchanges within annexes to their RIOs, which may be made available in an up-to-date electronic form.
Service providers with SMP shall produce a list of supported interfaces (e.g., E1 and STM-1 optical/electrical) that they accept for interconnection to their exchanges and
define this within their RIOs.
Service providers with SMP operating public exchanges (fixed or mobile) shall offer
interconnection capability at all of their exchanges.
4.
The Authority believes that interconnection
to public exchanges may be constrained by technical and economic feasibility and that fulfillment of the requirement to provide interconnection at all
exchanges may require service
providers to make modifications to
their network architecture, routing and billing arrangements and that this
process will take time and may involve additional costs.
5.
Rules for interconnect
links between public exchanges
a.
General
16. Service providers
providing switched interconnection services may specify technical rules to be
followed by other service
providers using these services.
17. Examples of technical
switched interconnection rules include (but are not limited to):
·
minimum number of interconnect links;
·
maximum interconnect link capacity;
·
requirements to interconnect to specific exchanges; and
·
signaling requirements.
18. Service providers with SMP shall define any technical interconnection rules within
their RIOs.
19. Technical interconnection
rules shall not prevent the introduction and development of competition nor
shall they represent a serious obstacle to interconnection.
20. Service providers with SMP may define a set of rules for handling calls routed
incorrectly to one of their exchanges within their RIOs. Service Providers may reject calls routed
erroneously to a local exchange if the called user is not
hosted on that exchange.
b.
Number
of interconnect links
21. In order to protect the
interconnection service resilience (i.e. availability of sufficient capacity to
meet quality of service targets), service providers with SMP may require other service providers
to interconnect to more than one of their public exchanges and to specify
particular exchanges or levels of switching.
Any such minimum requirements shall be justified by reasonable
engineering principles to provide network resilience. Service providers shall
not define a maximum limit on the number of interconnect links to any other service provider.
c.
Link
direction
22. Service providers with SMP providing interconnection at public exchanges shall enable
service providers using their service, to designate interconnect links as
being either uni-directional in either direction, or bi-directional (both-way).
23. Service providers
providing interconnection of public exchanges may offer the use of
uni-directional routes segregated by traffic type. Such an approach can protect certain traffic
streams against congestion caused by others and it is possible to provide
differing grades of service to particular traffic streams.
d.
Link
capacity
24. Service providers with SMP shall offer interconnection, to the voice networks of
other service
providers, using circuits in
multiples of 2 Mbps (2048 kbps) E1 or higher (e.g., STM1) transmission links.
25. Service providers
providing interconnection of public exchanges may define a minimum and maximum
capacity for any interconnect link.
26. Service providers should
not place excessive reliance on any particular interconnect link as this may
endanger interconnection service resilience.
Service providers should endeavor to spread interconnection traffic over a number of diverse
interconnect links.
27. Service providers with SMP providing switched interconnection should enable service providers using their service to designate a uni-directional
outgoing interconnect from the service provider’s
network as being either ‘fully-provisioned’ or ‘high-usage’. This designation may be made either before an
interconnect link is brought into service, or at some point during its
operation. A fully-provisioned link
should be dimensioned such that congestion is rare. A high-usage link may be dimensioned such
that a reasonable degree of congestion (or blocking) is expected.
28. Service providers shall
publish a target grade of service for each outgoing fully-provisioned
interconnect link during the link busy hour.
This takes the form of a blocking probability according to the Erlang B
Table calculations.
29. Service providers should
provision capacity on fully-provisioned interconnect links so that the
congestion remains within the agreed grade of service value during normal busy
hour periods.
30. In addition to the grade
of service value, service
providers may agree on a utilization factor for fully-provisioned interconnect links. The utilization
factor is the percentage occupancy of the interconnect link that the parties
aim to keep the traffic below. If the utilization of an interconnect link regularly exceeds the defined utilization factor, such utilization
should trigger a re-routing of traffic (overflow) away from that link as part
of a re-balancing exercise and/or an increase in the capacity on that link.
31. If a service provider
using switching interconnection services has designated an interconnect link as
being high-usage such designation shall be in conjunction with planned overflow
via fully-provisioned interconnect links[1] .
Article
24 Transmission Interconnection
32. This chapter concerns the technical aspects of the transmission
(transport) used to interconnect the networks of service providers
in order to provide interconnection services.
1. Point of interconnection
a.
The point of
interconnection (PoI) of a
transmission interconnect shall be defined as the boundary between the networks
of interconnected service
providers and is located at some point
on the transmission interconnect link.
b.
The PoI may be located at the premises of the service provider
with SMP (collocation) within the premises of the other service provider (customer sited interconnect), or at a point in between
their respective premises (in-span interconnect).
c.
In the case of the PoI at the premises of either service provider,
the exact PoI shall be defined as the line side of the digital (2 Mbps)
distribution frame. The service provider owning the premises shall provide the digital distribution
frame as the physical interconnection point where the other service provider
can terminate its transmission systems.
|
Point of interconnection
at Service Provider with Significant Market Power’s site - collocation |
|
|
|
Point of interconnection
at requesting Service Provider’s site – customer sited interconnect (CSI) |
|
|
d.
Service providers with SMP shall fully define within their RIOs the transmission
options that service
providers interconnecting to them may
use.
e.
Service providers shall be responsible for provisioning, operating and maintaining the transmission
interconnect up to the point of interconnection. They shall be considered responsible for any
transmission equipment and infrastructure up to the PoI. Service providers shall
be responsible for the traffic carried over their own network up to (for
outgoing traffic) or from (for incoming traffic) the PoI. Service providers shall
not be responsible for the traffic carried over the other’s network.
f.
Service providers with SMP shall offer the option of placing the PoI at their own
premises, at the premises of the service providers
using their service(s) or in between as an in-span
interconnect. The commercial
arrangements and provisioning, operations and maintenance processes shall be
dependent on the location of the PoI.
2.
Interconnect extension
circuits
33. Service providers with SMP shall enable service providers
to whom they are providing a service, to lease interconnection transmission
links from the point of interconnection to other points in their network in
order to enable switching interconnection to a greater number of exchanges.
3. Transmission technologies
a.
Service providers shall support the use of any appropriate transmission
technologies for interconnect links.
Technologies could include wireless, fiber-optic cable
and SDH transmission with an appropriate range of ring
capacities.
b. Service providers should
consider the resilience of transmission routes including redundancy, diverse
routing, path protection, separation, diversity and ring architectures. Where appropriate, service providers
should provide diverse cable entry points to buildings where a PoI is located.
Article 25 Interconnection of Signaling
Networks
1.
Service providers shall support the ITU Signaling System Number 7 (SS7), integrated services user part (ISUP) for interconnection signaling.
2.
The service provider with
SMP operating
the national PSTN shall provide leased circuits routed via its international
gateway exchanges to any signaling
transfer point outside of Lebanon to
interconnect with international service providers
to facilitate roaming with their networks. It shall support the ITU SS7, ISUP, signaling
connection control part (SCCP) and transaction capabilities application part (TCAP).
3.
The service provider with
SMP operating
the national PSTN shall provide, to the
public mobile service
providers, leased SS7 signaling links via its international switching centers to
international operators for the transit of incoming and outgoing roaming
messages with foreign mobile operators. It shall Support the ITU SS7, ISUP, SCCP, TCAP, and SCCP User
Adaptation (SCUP) for SS7 over IP adaptation.
4.
Service providers with SMP offering
transit interconnection services shall support the ITU SS7, ISUP, SCCP, TCAP, and
SCUP for SS7 over IP adaptation.
5.
The service provider with
SMP operating
the national PSTN shall provide any other service provider “open access” to any international
connectivity to and from Lebanon that is to be rolled out from the date of
publication of this Regulation.
The utilization of SS7 links shall be maintained within the ITU
guidelines:
·
critical load per SS7 link: (19.2 Kbits/s or 0.36 Erlangs); and
·
maximum load per SS7 link: (28.2 Kbits/s or 0.44 Erlangs).
6.
Service providers with SMP shall specify the signaling
configuration to be used on interconnect links within their RIOs. Service providers
providing interconnection shall notify interconnected service providers
of any modification in the adopted ITU signaling system one hundred and eighty (180) days in advance.
Article 26 Interface Standards and Technical
Requirements
1.
Service providers shall adhere, as far as possible, to the appropriate ITU
and ETSI technical standards related to interconnection interfaces. A non-exhaustive list of ITU-T technical standards is set
forth in ANNEX B: A
non-exhaustive list of ETSI technical standards is set forth in ANNEX B:
2.
Service providers with SMP offering interconnection services shall state, within
their RIOs, the technical standards used for interconnection. Service providers
offering interconnection services shall provide reasonable notice to
interconnected service
providers of any modifications to the
technical standards related to interconnection interfaces.
Service providers offering interconnection services shall collaborate with
interconnected service
providers to overcome any technical
problems.
Article 27 Synchronization
Synchronization is
necessary for interconnected networks.
The RIO shall identify:
a.
The requirement for synchronization with the network of the service providers with SMP.
b.
The interconnection links to be used for synchronization (directly
extracted from the cesium synchronization clock in Lebanon).
c.
Maximum slip rate and other measures based on ITU standards.
Article 28 Interface
Standards and Interoperability
Service providers should use network interfaces based on internationally
accepted technical standards. Service providers with SMP shall specify in their RIOs the
technical standards for interconnection interfaces.
Service providers are obliged to notify any modifications in
interconnection interfaces and cooperate to overcome any technical problems.
Article 29 Numbering
Designated service providers offering PSTN
services shall provide details of the
number ranges which are hosted on each of their local exchanges. Service providers using
the interconnection services shall then route calls to those number ranges on
the interconnect link leading (directly or via a tandem) to the local exchange.
Article 30 Quality of Service
Ø Service providers with SMP providing call conveyance services shall provide the same
Quality of Service (QoS) for calls carried wholly on their own networks.
Ø Service providers shall
work jointly to ensure the overall quality of the calls which are made via an
interconnection point and their own networks.
Service providers shall adopt general principles regarding standards,
techniques and methods in order to guarantee the quality on telecommunication
networks and in services, as stipulated in ITU and ETSI recommendations as
listed in Annex B of this Regulation. Service providers shall have the capability to define a target grade of service for each interconnect link between their network and
other
service providers’ networks.
Ø Service providers with SMP shall be capable of monitoring all interconnect links at
all times and shall, at all times, be able to report on the actual grade of service. Service providers with SMP shall define a number of QoS measures
that they shall provide to and expect from, interconnected service providers
within their RIOs. These QoS measures
shall be included in the interconnect
agreement as service level agreements
(
Ø QoS measures shall include the grade of service during busy hour (blocking probability), either applied to
individual interconnect links, or across all interconnect links, and may
include the following:
·
transmission delay as defined in ITU-T Recommendation
G.114;
·
transmission loss (loudness) as defined in ITU-T
Recommendation P.76;
·
noise and distortion as defined in ITU-T
Recommendations Q.551-554, G.123, G.232, G.712 and P.11;
·
echo and loss of stability as defined in ITU-T
Recommendation G.122;
·
cross-talk as defined in ITU-T Recommendation P. 16; and
Chapter
7 Interconnection Processes
Article 31 Interconnect Provisioning
Processes
1.
Definition
a.
Interconnect provisioning processes are defined as those processes that
are used to enable one service
provider to establish interconnection
to other service
providers and to modify the physical
interconnection. These processes shall
be categorized as either planning, formal request for service or
implementation processes.
b.
The planning processes shall include:
·
planning of new points of interconnection;
·
changes to interconnect link capacity;
·
changes to the transmission capacity;
·
changes to the signaling
network;
·
changes to call routing;
·
all processes for requesting services
c.
The implementation processes shall include:
·
all civil engineering work;
d.
Service providers with SMP providing interconnection services shall fully define within their RIOs the interconnect provisioning processes to be used by service providers receiving interconnection services from them.
2. Lead-times
a.
The provisioning processes of service providers with SMP shall include defined lead-time requirements and
information exchange requirements for
specific provisioning activities. For
example, the lead-time to establish new transmissions interconnect will be
longer than adding capacity to an existing interconnect link.
b.
When defining lead-times, service providers with SMP should aim to be as realistic as possible and
provide sufficient time to overcome unforeseen implementation difficulties. Service providers with SMP shall provide lead-times to other service providers
that are comparable with internal provisioning time-scales.
c.
Lead-times may, for example, be given for the following:
·
connection of a new service
provider exchange or other network
equipment;
·
implementation of a new transmission interconnect;
·
implementation of a new interconnect link;
·
provision of additional capacity on an existing interconnect link;
·
removal of capacity on an existing interconnect link;
·
removal of an interconnect link; and
·
routing
changes within the service
provider’s network to interconnects
to the interconnected service
provider.
d.
Any proposed changes to lead-times of service providers with SMP shall be subject to the approval of the Authority as part
of a RIO update and shall be subject to the same approval process as any other
RIO update.
3. Planning processes
a.
Interconnection of a new public exchange
·
Service providers shall define procedures to be followed by other service providers wishing to interconnect a new public exchange to their
network.
·
Service providers with SMP should define any such processes within their RIOs.
·
The procedures are likely to be more detailed in the event that the new
exchange model, hardware build or software build is not one that has previously
been interconnected to the network of the service providers with SMP.
Service providers should
consider developing an ‘exchange questionnaire’ to be completed by service providers
wishing to interconnect new exchanges to their network.
·
The Authority shall have the responsibility of assigning the SS7 point code(s) to new exchanges of service providers.
b. Transmission interconnection
·
Service providers with SMP offering transmission interconnection services shall
define a planning process for new transmission interconnects within their
RIOs. This shall describe the processes
to be followed by service
providers when planning new
transmission interconnects.
·
Service providers may share,
on a lease basis with terms and
conditions agreed between both parties, the use of existing cable ducts owned
by any other service
provider.
·
Service Provider providing the transmission is responsible for the planning
of the transmission interconnection, including civil engineering works.
Both service providers should collaborate in such planning exercises. In the case of in-span interconnection, the
planning shall be considered to be a joint responsibility.
c. Planning of interconnect links
Ø
Planning
of new links
Service providers with SMP offering interconnection should define a formal process
for the establishment of a new interconnect link within their RIOs. This process may then be supported by
electronic forms attached to the RIO.
New interconnect links should normally be provided
by the service
provider that plans to use the
interconnection services provided by the other service provider.
The information that a service provider
providing interconnection requires from a service provider
requesting a new link may include the following:
·
service provider A
exchange;
·
service provider B
exchange;
·
transmission
path(s);
·
initial
capacity;
·
link
direction (incoming/outgoing/both-way);
·
link
configuration (fully-provisioned/ high-usage);
·
purpose of
link.
Ø
Removal
of interconnect links
Service providers with SMP offering interconnection should define a formal process
for the removal of an existing interconnect link within their RIOs. Such processes may then be supported by
electronic forms attached to the RIOs.
Such a process should include agreement on how
to migrate traffic off the link which is to be removed.
Service providers
offering interconnection may define a minimum period for which an interconnect
link will be operational, especially if they have had to incur costs in
establishing an interconnection link.
d.
Capacity planning on interconnect links
1. Interconnect traffic forecasts
Service providers
offering interconnection may require service providers
using these interconnection services to provide forecasts of traffic over each
interconnect link between their networks. The service provider
requesting interconnection shall comply with such requests to provide traffic
forecasts.
Traffic forecasts should be given in terms of
Erlangs during the peak and off-peak ‘busy hours’ for
a period of not more than two (2) years in advance. The forecast may then, for
example, be updated every quarter.
Service providers with SMP which choose to require traffic forecasts shall explicitly define the exact requirements in the
RIOs. The process may be managed by
electronic forms to be used by the service provider
providing the traffic forecasts.
Service providers
providing traffic forecasts shall make such forecasts as accurate as
possible. Service providers shall
not be penalized for any inaccuracy in their traffic forecasts.
Service providers
providing interconnection services shall have the right to refer service providers using the service to the Authority if traffic forecasts
are either not provided or are believed not to have been provided in good
faith.
2.
Interconnect capacity forecasts
Service providers
offering interconnection may require interconnected service providers
using their interconnection services to provide forecasts of capacity
requirements over each interconnect link between their networks.
These forecasts should be given in terms of E1s
for a period of not more than two (2)
years in advance. This forecast may
then, for example, be updated every quarter.
Service providers may
require capacity forecasts without requiring traffic forecasts as described
above. However, if both capacity
forecasts and traffic forecasts are required, the capacity forecasts should be
based on the traffic forecasts and the design grade of service.
On interconnect links designated as being
fully-provisioned; both service
providers shall provision, in
advance, sufficient capacity to achieve the target grade of service.
Service providers may
define a set of rules linking forecasts of required capacity to the capacity
orders. For example, service providers
may require interconnected service
providers to order capacity within a
certain percentage of their forecast capacity within one
hundred and eighty (180) days.
3. Reactive capacity planning
The
process should be applied even if the pro-active planning processes outlined
are being used, in case the
capacity requirements have been under-forecasted.
Both interconnected service providers
shall measure traffic regularly on all interconnect links and they shall identify
congestion and act to prevent it.
A period of the specified utilization factor or grade of service being breached on a particular interconnect link shall
not automatically trigger an increase of capacity on that interconnect link but
should trigger a review of the network routing and interconnection capacity by
both service providers.
Service providers shall
take all reasonable steps to prevent congestion through the ‘re-balancing’ of
interconnection traffic. This means that
either or both service
providers shall adapt the exchange
routing in order to re-direct traffic away from a congested interconnect link
onto an interconnect link(s) with adequate spare capacity. Such a re-balancing process should be
coordinated in advance between
both service providers.
If one or both service providers
considers that it is necessary to increase the capacity on one or more
interconnect links in order to avoid or remove congestion, they shall have the
right to call a meeting between them.
A meeting shall be held within three (3) days
of it being called by either service provider. The service provider
calling the meeting shall inform the Authority and may invite a representative
of the Authority to attend the meeting.
At such meetings, both interconnected service providers shall present their traffic measurements to each other.
The traffic measurements provided shall be as
comprehensive as possible and should cover at least a seven (7) day period with
the traffic profile over each day, in fifteen (15) minute intervals.
Both service providers
should be able to reach agreement on the requirement for an increase in
interconnection capacity and on the details of the number of E1 links and the
type of interconnect links.
If agreement cannot be reached during this
meeting, either service
provider shall have the right to ask
the Authority to intervene and make a determination on the requirement for
additional capacity.
4. Transmission link services planning
Service providers with SMP offering transmission link services shall define a formal
process for the planning of such services, within their RIOs. This process may be supported by electronic
forms attached to the RIO.
The definition shall include the charges,
provisioning, operations and maintenance processes and an SLA for the quality
of the service. The SLA shall include
delivery and repair performance criteria and penalty payments for failure to
meet the service levels.
Service providers with SMP offering transmission link services shall use identical
processes to provide such services to all service providers.
4. Collocation and facilities
sharing processes
a.
Service providers with SMP shall cooperate in all aspects of providing collocation
and facilities sharing services.
Adoption of such practices brings about
economic, environmental and social benefits.
b.
Service providers with SMP shall maintain a list of their sites where collocation
space is available and should include an indication of how much space is
available on a long-term basis. This
list shall be made available to other service providers
and the Authority.
c.
Service providers with SMP shall publish their space allocation policies within
their RIOs. The priority will be given
to the first request but should take into account the following factors:
·
urgency of requirement; and
·
alternative options available to the requesting service provider
and the cost of these options.
Service providers should
maintain a list of facilities that they are prepared to share and the prices
that they will charge others for doing so.
d.
In circumstances where a service provider
with SMP rejects a service provider’s
request for collocation space on the grounds of insufficient space, the service provider with SMP should propose an alternative solution. In case of dispute, the Authority shall make
a determination.
5. Request for service
processes
a. RIO shall contain a
template of the ‘request for service process’ that should be submitted by SMP
when requesting an interconnection service. The defined request for service
process shall include lead-times. When
requesting an interconnection service, the service provider
shall have a clear understanding of the maximum time that they could reasonably
expect to wait before the service is delivered.
b.
Service providers with SMP offering an interconnection service may stipulate that
all, or some, types of request for service are binding on the service provider placing the request for service. Any such stipulations shall be fully defined
within their RIOs. Any such stipulations
shall be reasonable and should reflect the costs that the service provider
has incurred in responding to a request for service. Reasonable flexibility should be permitted,
especially in the early stages of a request for service.
c.
Service providers with SMP offering an interconnection service shall define within their
RIO and within individual interconnect
agreements as appropriate, the formats upon which requests for
service will be accepted.
d.
The request for service should contain the date when the capacity is
required. In some cases, this may simply
be stated as ‘as soon as possible’. Service providers with SMP shall respond to any request for service within five (5) days. Service providers with SMP rejecting a request for service, in whole or in part
shall respond, in writing to the service provider,
giving them the reasons for this rejection.
This letter shall also be copied to the Authority.
In the event of a service
provider with SMP rejecting a
request for service, in whole or in part, the requesting service provider
shall have the right to refer the matter to the Authority. The Authority shall then investigate with the
cooperation of both service
providers and may make a
determination on the matter.
Service providers with SMP accepting a request for service shall provide, within fifteen (15) days of the request for service being received, a date by
which the request for service will be implemented, within their published
lead-times.
Service providers should consider the urgency of the requirement in
deciding the capacity provision date. If
the request for service is for interconnection capacity and is required to
overcome congestion, service
providers should make every effort to
expedite the provision of this capacity.
e.
Service providers with SMP providing interconnection services shall implement a
documented process for tracking the progress of capacity orders. The requesting service provider
and the Authority shall have the right to request a progress report within three (3) days following the notification of the delivery date.
6.
Implementation
a.
Service providers offering interconnection services should have detailed
internal implementation procedures to ensure that the services are provided in
a timely manner and that the resulting services fulfill quality
requirements.
b.
In the case where both service providers
are involved in the implementation process, they should work constructively and
in a cooperative manner. In such
situations, there should be a pre-agreed schedule of testing which is defined
in the RIO of the service
provider with SMP offering the
service.
c. The service providers should develop and agree to the testing plans and schedule, the testing procedure, and the acceptance and handover of service. Where appropriate, the service providers should use the following testing procedures for interconnection:
·
interoperability test of the interconnected systems;
·
test of whether the networks deliver the same
charging / billing data; and
·
any other tests as may be required.
d.
There shall be a formal sign-off procedure for both the offering service provider and the requesting service provider
to agree that the service has been provided.
Article 32 Interconnection Operations Processes
1.
General principles
a.
Interconnection operations processes are defined as those processes that
are used to enable interconnected service providers
to operate interconnection services.
b.
The operations processes shall include, but are not limited to:
·
routing management; and
·
fault reporting and resolution.
c.
Service providers with SMP offering interconnection services shall define the
procedures used between themselves and service providers
using their services, to operate the interconnection services. Service providers with SMP shall define the interconnection operations processes within
their RIOs.
2.
Network traffic management
a. General
Ø Network traffic management
(NTM) is defined as the real-time surveillance and control of traffic flow on a
telecommunications network. Its aims are
to maximize the effective use of available capacity for call
completion and to maintain an acceptable grade and quality of service for users of all service providers.
Ø Service providers with SMP should establish network management centers (NMCs) to monitor and control the flow and routing of
traffic to maximize the effective use of available capacity. Service providers with SMP should provide 24-hour contacts for dealing with NTM
queries and problems and should recognize the
necessity for co-operation to achieve efficient NTM relating to the traffic
routes linking their respective networks.
Ø Service providers shall
notify other service
providers in a timely manner when
major problems occur which are likely to affect interconnected traffic. Service providers should
communicate as necessary to achieve a coordinated NTM
effort.
Ø The Authority recognizes that congestion created in one
network can have an impact on a competitor's network due to network
interconnection. If steps are taken in the affected network to reduce the impact
of excessive traffic, typically by call-gapping, it is conceivable that another
network operator may have cause to complain that its ability to carry
revenue-earning traffic is restricted. If no action is taken the affected
network could fail. Effective network
traffic management actually maximizes the effective (i.e. revenue-generating) call capacity of
the network. The Authority therefore
expects that:
·
Service providers with SMP shall document what congestion protection measures will
be used (e.g., call gapping, alternative call routing and priority
techniques) and in what circumstances. Any such documentation should be made
available to other service
providers with a legitimate interest;
·
Service providers with SMP shall also document what measures will be used to ensure
the priority of emergency
services traffic, particularly during
congestion periods; and
·
signaling links
shall be dimensioned to avoid congestion and will in general have much lower
occupancy than traffic links. The lower occupancy is important to minimize the risk of losing signaling
messages and the need to reduce signaling
latency. The number of signaling links should be established for normal and failure
conditions.
b.
Traffic and Quality of Service measurement
Ø Interconnected service providers shall both be responsible for measuring and monitoring
the traffic and QoS on the interconnect links between their networks, and
shall be able to do so at all times in ‘real-time’ or as close to it as
possible. Service providers with SMP shall be responsible for measuring and monitoring the
traffic and QoS within their networks and shall be able to do so at all
times in ‘real-time’ or as close to it as possible. Service
providers with SMP shall ensure that they have adequate traffic and QoS measurement systems, trained staff, procedures and any
required resources in order to fulfill these
two requirements. Service providers with SMP shall provide traffic and QoS measurements
to the Authority upon request.
Ø Service providers should
provide NTM information relevant to an existing or perceived problem to other service providers on request. Under
no circumstances shall service
providers be required to provide
commercially sensitive information, nor shall the information supplied be used
for any other purpose than NTM.
c. Traffic controls
Ø There are two main types
of traffic control; 'expansive', typically re-routes, and 'protective',
typically call-gapping:
·
A re-route control may mean that the traffic affected will be carried
over a service
provider’s network for a greater
distance than normally expected before being offered to the interconnected service provider’s network. Providing contractual agreement has been
reached, re-routes may be 'set-up' in data at all interconnect units. The NMC will activate and remove the re-route
option for each incident.
·
Overflow from the primary route(s) should only be to pre-designated
interconnect alternative routes. These
calls would normally be given a lower priority than primary routed calls but
the same priority as calls alternatively routed within the original network.
Ø Protective controls
prevent switching units being put in jeopardy due to excessive call attempts,
problems and overloads in the other service provider’s
network. The protective call-gapping control
should mean that traffic destined for the interconnected service provider’s
network may be restricted by the application of the control which would
normally be applied on the receipt of a formal request.
Ø Service providers may
request controls from service
providers with SMP in instances where
it is necessary to reduce the traffic offered to the service provider’s
network. Service providers with SMP shall define the availability of such controls and
degrees of selectivity and possible speed of implementation within their RIOs.
Service providers may implement controls within their own networks in
response to perceived problems detected in another service provider’s
networks. When such action is taken they
should advise the other service
providers of the scope, cause, impact
and likely duration of the problem.
Advice of removal of the controls should
also be given.
If a service provider considers that the use of NTM controls by another service provider is acting to the detriment of its own network's
performance, both service
providers should consult on the
matter.
d. Routing management
Ø Service providers shall
manage the routing of outgoing calls up to the Point of Interconnection and
incoming calls from the Point of Interconnection to their destination. Service providers shall
make every effort to ensure that calls are routed to the other service providers’ networks, using overflows to alternative routing paths
if necessary.
Ø Service providers shall
be able to require interconnected service providers
to deliver incoming traffic to their networks on specific interconnect links
and to request the use of proportional routing and other routing techniques. When an interconnect link has been defined as being ‘high usage’, the interconnect link(s) where calls will overflow
should be defined. Service providers should
consider the formal agreement of routing plans between themselves and other
interconnected service
providers. This could also include an agreed change process.
Ø Service providers shall
pass onto other service
providers, the full CLI and CLIR for
all calls, to the extent that the CLI and CLIR are available. Service providers should
agree advanced contingency routing plans to be used to alleviate different levels
of NTM problems.
e. Mass call events
Ø A ‘mass call event’
is defined as a planned period of high call volumes to a specific set of
destinations, e.g. a ‘phone-in’ to a ‘telethon’ type of event.
Ø Service providers should
establish procedures to coordinate mass call events
with their large Users who may host them. Service providers with a user planning a mass call event shall provide interconnected service providers
with reasonable advance notice. Such
procedures shall be described in the RIO or Interconnect Agreement and may be
accompanied by a form containing the relevant details. Service
providers should cooperate to ensure that, either additional
capacity is provided on a temporary basis or that
routing controls are applied in order to maintain the service.
3.
Fault management
a. Contact points
Service providers with SMP shall be required to provide 24-hour contact points for
fault reporting (24-hours a day, seven (7) days a week and all days a
year). All initial contacts on faults
affecting the other service provider shall be between each service provider’s
nominated contact points.
Arrangements should
be made for direct person-to-person connection between fault resolution
functions of all interconnected service providers.
b. Fault detection
Ø Service providers detecting
a possible fault which may affect interconnection services shall inform
interconnected service
providers immediately (within 15
minutes). This shall be done whether or
not it is believed that the fault is within the detecting service provider’s
network. The service provider
that detects a possible fault shall process the fault report internally before
requesting the assistance of interconnected service providers
in providing diagnostic support. Service
providers shall make every effort to determine whether the fault is
genuine and to identify the location of the fault.
Ø Service providers should
request an interconnected service
provider to process a fault, only
when they are sure that the fault does not lie within their own network and is
not their responsibility. Following a fault report,
interconnected service
providers shall agree ownership of
the fault. The fault owner shall then assume responsibility for restoration
including possible roll back to initial configuration when fault comes from a
change and the eventual report back of service restoration.
c. Fault processing
Ø A service provider
shall provide sufficient information to the other service providers
to enable both to carry out diagnostics and then progress the fault to
restoration. It is recommended that service providers
implement a fault management system as part of their operational support systems. Service providers should
number fault reports in order to facilitate the management of individual
faults, especially across two (or more) service providers. When either service provider
believes that a fault has been cleared, it shall give positive confirmation to
the other service
provider immediately. Service providers should
prioritize the clearance of faults affecting service over the
clearance of faults not affecting service.
Ø A fault shall be
considered to be cleared when the service provider
that reported the fault, has accepted the fault clearance information or
confirms a successful test (e.g., traffic has
been restored).
Ø Service providers with SMP shall include indicative response times, restoration
times and procedures for different fault conditions within their RIOs. These shall be subject to the approval of the
Authority. The
Article 33 Interconnection Maintenance
Processes
1.
General principles
a.
Interconnection maintenance processes are defined as those processes
that are used to enable interconnected service providers
to maintain the interconnection and interconnection services.
b.
The maintenance processes shall include:
·
planned engineering works; and
·
system protection and safety.
Ø All service providers
offering interconnection services shall define the procedures used between
themselves and the service
provider who uses their services, to
maintain the interconnection services. Service providers with SMP shall define these processes within their RIOs.
2.
Operational testing
Any testing which
might affect traffic flows should be scheduled after midnight or during the low
traffic period during the weekends and holidays with the prior approval of the
joint technical committee of both service providers.
3.
Planned engineering works
a.
‘Planned engineering work’
is defined as any foreseen work, necessary to be carried out within either service provider’s network, which may affect the interconnect arrangements
or standards of performance between the networks, as perceived by the service providers or their users.
b.
Service providers should provide interconnected service providers
with sufficient advance notice of any planned engineering works. This notice
should be at least thirty (30) days in advance.
c.
It is further recommended that the notification should contain the
following information:
·
the service
provider’s name, address, telephone
and fax numbers, and email address;
·
planned work reference number;
·
date, time and duration of the planned work;
·
type of planned work;
·
type of disturbance the planned work will cause;
·
date and time when the planned work will be completed; and
·
any other information which will add value to the advice of
interruption.
d.
Service providers should endeavor to minimize disruption when making tests, expansion or maintenance
works. Any activity which might affect
the service should be performed after midnight or during weekends and holidays
supported with prior approval from the other service providers.
4. Site access procedures
a.
Site access procedures are defined as the procedures used to arrange and
control access by one service
provider to their network equipment
collocated in the premises of a different service provider.
b.
Service providers with SMP providing collocation space and shared facilities shall
define the site access procedures within their RIOs.
c.
Service providers with SMP providing collocation space should be able to provide
access, by prior notice, on a 24 hour, seven (7) days a week, all days a year
basis for planned work, and with no prior notice in the case of unplanned work
for service restoration, resulting from network failure.
The procedures for
planned access may be different according to the purpose of the planned access
including:
·
delivery and installation of equipment;
·
software or hardware upgrades; and
·
planned maintenance.
Site access
procedures may include escort arrangements whereby staff of the service provider owning a site escorts the staff
of the service
provider collocating their equipment
at the site. Such procedures should be
reasonable and not excessively onerous.
The service
provider owning the site shall bear
all costs of escort. Where separate
entrance and secure areas are provided, site escort may not be required.
d.
Service providers using collocation space shall ensure that their
technicians (or sub-contractors) have adequate training for working on
equipment collocated at a site belonging to another service provider,
and that these staff comply with all reasonable safety and security
requirements of the service
provider owning the site.
It is the
responsibility of each service
providers’ member of staff to ensure
that they work in a safe environment.
The service
provider owning the site shall be
prepared to accept any questions or comments regarding safety from service providers using the site, and to take the appropriate action.
Service providers providing collocation space should offer the
representative of the service
provider using the site, access to on
site facilities such as facilities, power, lighting, water and toilets.
5.
System protection and
safety
a.
Service providers should define their respective obligations to protect
each others’ networks and define measures to protect the safety of all personnel
and users.
b.
Network integrity is a question of network management and the ability of
the network to maintain certain characteristics with regard to performance and
reliability. In order to maintain
network integrity:
·
The interfaces between the networks shall conform to recommendations
from international standards bodies and/or international standards. Those
standards should be open and monitored by the Authority.
·
Compatibility measures should ensure that networks or
systems with different levels of performance work together correctly.
·
Testing procedures should be carried out before interconnection and
possibly after interconnection but before bringing equipment into service. Documentation of validity/conformity and
interoperability should be submitted before the system is brought into
operation;
·
Special national and/or international technical solutions might be
introduced for the interconnection of networks.
For instance, the signaling networks could be separated by a signaling
inter-network between the respective gateways.
These solutions may be made available to all potential interconnecting service providers in a non-discriminatory manner;
·
All testing should be carried out within a reasonable period of time and
subject to mutually-agreed principles, so as not to delay interconnection.
Service providers shall be responsible for the safety and operation of
their own systems.
Chapter
8 Commercial Aspects
Article 34 Charges and Payments
1.
Principles of charging
a.
Interconnection charges levied by a service provider with SMP should be
determined with reference to the costs of providing that service. This chapter
of the regulation contains the policies of
the Authority in respect to the derivation of cost based charges for
interconnection services. Interconnection services include all services as
defined in chapter 5 of this Regulation.
b.
The Authority directs service providers with SMP
to present to the Authority for review interconnection charges which reflect
the costs incurred in providing the interconnection services. This could
initially be based on a Fully Allocated Costing (FAC) methodology which
recovers direct costs for the services provided with applicable overheads and a
reasonable return on capital employed. In the longer term the Authority would
expect that interconnection charges be based on a Long Run Incremental Cost
(LRIC) methodology with a reasonable rate of return on capital employed. The assessment and calculation of cost based
interconnection charges shall be based on “Cost Causation” principles. Cost causation principle means costs are recognized
as being caused by a service if the costs are brought into existence as a
direct result of providing the service; or the costs are avoided if the service
is not provided. The implementation of costing methodologies to
establish cost based pricing shall be subject to a detailed consultation. Cost based charging shall apply equally to all
interconnection services.
c.
Service providers with SMP shall undertake to fully analyze their costs of providing
interconnection services with the initial results presented to the Authority
within one hundred and eighty (180)
days of the publication of the relevant costing regulation. The Authority
reserves the right to undertake its own exercise so as to determine reasonable
cost of interconnection services provided by service providers with SMP who
shall cooperate with the Authority in any service costing exercise that the
Authority may decide to undertake.
d.
In advance of the submission determination and approval of any cost
based interconnection rates in accordance with this Regulation, the Authority
reserves the right to set interconnection charges based on benchmarking of
interconnection services. The Authority also
reserves the right to employ a ‘retail minus’ pricing methodology for
interconnection services should the circumstances warrant it. The Authority
recognizes that the preparation of separated accounts and a regulatory
accounting framework can provide a valuable source of information in any
determination and assessment of cost-oriented charges and non-discriminatory
behavior. The Authority will publish separately a regulation
concerning accounting separation.
e.
Service providers with SMP may publish charges on their website but
shall also publish the charges as a separate Schedule in any published
hardcopies of their RIOs. Service providers
with SMP shall define any penalties for
cancellations of requests for service within their RIOs.
2.
Call conveyance
a.
Charges shall only be made for successful calls –
calls receiving an answer signal in the backward direction. The
(wholesale) charging unit for all successful calls shall be one second of
conversation time.
b.
Service providers with SMP shall charge all interconnected service providers
the same per-second rates for the same call conveyance services. There shall be no minimum charge for successful calls.
c.
Call conveyance charges shall reflect the amount of network
infrastructure used in the conveyance of each call. Designated service providers offering PSTN services are therefore expected to
offer different interconnection charges for local, single tandem, double tandem
and transit (including international) calls.
d.
Public mobile telecommunication
service providers shall
offer a single charge for call termination based on the average utilization of network infrastructure by incoming calls in mobile
networks. Service providers with SMP may offer peak and off peak interconnection rates,
providing the overall cost recovery does not exceeded the total average cost of
providing the service.
3.
Transmission link costs
and charges
a.
The costs of transmission links shall be met by the service provider
requesting the service.
b.
Charges shall be the same for all requesting service providers.
c.
Minimum contract periods shall not exceed one (1) year but discounts should be offered if longer
commitments are made provided that these are cost justified and are offered on
a transparent, fair and non discriminatory basis.
4.
Interconnection link costs
and charges
a.
The costs of the interconnection links shall be shared between the service providers on the basis of the proportion of traffic which each
originates on each link. This shall be
shared on the basis of traffic volumes measured in call minutes over the
preceding ninety (90) days. Bills should be
retrospectively adjusted.
b.
The costs for the interconnection links shall include the ports on the trunk side of exchanges on which they are terminated. This may include the cost of establishing and
testing the link and associated equipment.
c.
Minimum contract periods shall not exceed one (1) year but discounts should be offered if longer
commitments are made provided that these are cost justified and are offered on
a transparent, fair and non discriminatory basis.
d.
Costs shall be separated into circuit set-up costs and ongoing leasing costs.
These charges shall be cost based but geographically averaged.
5.
Data interconnection
services
Data interconnection
services, when provided, shall be charged through a combination of call conveyance
and transmission link charges.
6.
Collocation and facilities
sharing services
The prices charged
by service providers with SMP for the running costs of collocation and facilities
sharing services shall be, as far as is practicable, cost based. Leases for the space within buildings should
reflect local market values.
7. Operator services
Service providers with SMP shall offer operator assistance services at cost based
charges.
Article 35 Billing
1.
Call conveyance billing
a. General
Ø Service providers with SMP shall fully define their billing processes within their
RIOs. These shall include timescales
for:
·
billing period (start and end dates);
·
delivery of invoice from billing party;
·
queries related to invoices from billed party; and
·
time to reach a reconciliation agreement.
Ø Interconnect billing shall
be based on call recording in the interconnected exchanges using call detail records (CDR) and processed through the CDR mediation system as
inputs to the billing
system.
Ø Service providers on
each side of an interconnect link shall have
the capability to measure the call seconds.
If only one of the service
providers has the capability to
measure such calls, then their measurements shall be considered to be
definitive. If both service providers
have the ability to measure such calls, then the reconciliation process should
be contained in the interconnect
agreement and defined in the
Ø For charging and
accounting purposes, calls shall be considered in principle to fall entirely
within the charge period in which they start, regardless of the fact that they
may end in another charge period. The traffic unit used
by service providers with SMP for charging and settlement of call conveyance bills
shall be one second of conversation
time.
Conversation time shall be measured according to the relevant ITU standards
for R2 and SS7 signaling.
Ø Service providers with SMP shall define the format of the invoice and the method of
transmitting the invoice within their RIOs.
Ø Except for disputed
amounts being processed in accordance with the billing disputes process, if a
party fails to pay five (5) days after the due date (specified
in the RIO) any amount due under the interconnect agreement, the party shall
pay interest at the default interest rate (specified in
the RIO) on the amount due as from the due date.
Ø The billing party shall
store billing data (raw CDRs) in such format as shall be sufficient to
recalculate the amounts due from one party to the other. The billing party shall archive such data for
at least ten (10) years.
b. Interconnect billing reconciliation
Ø Service providers with SMP shall define their interconnect billing reconciliation
process within their RIOs.
Ø Some discrepancy in
billing values should be expected.
Service providers with SMP providing the interconnection service should define a
specific percentage difference in both parties calculation of a bill, below
which there shall be no interconnect
billing reconciliation process.
Ø During an interconnect billing reconciliation
process, service providers should
work together in good faith, taking more frequent measurements and exchanging
detailed information if necessary. In the case of
unresolved disputes, service
providers should work together in
order to improve the accuracy of the bills and a comparison of
records shall be made more frequently until the fault is identified and
resolved.
If the specific
reason(s) for billing discrepancies cannot be found, the service providers
should agree on an estimate for the correct value based on either historical
data or an average of calculated bills of both parties.
Ø Interconnected service providers should arrange audits of billing records and processes on
a quarterly or biannual basis.
c.
Payment
The
Chapter
9 Dispute Resolution Procedure
Article 36 Procedures
RIOs of service providers with SMP must include dispute resolution procedures. Dispute resolution procedures must be in line
with international best practice and shall provide for
timely resolution of disputes between service providers.
Before requesting the Authority to intervene to
resolve a dispute, parties to the dispute must show that they have made a good
faith effort to resolve the dispute.
In the event of any dispute or difference
arising between or among the service providers
relating to or arising out of an issue concerning interconnection, the matter
shall be dealt with by the Authority using the procedures set forth in the relevant regulation relating
to dispute resolution.
Chapter 10 General Contract Provisions
Article 39 General
There are a number
of legal contractual issues that should be considered by each service provider and shall be included within the RIOs of service providers with SMP. These should be
adapted from international best practice in line with Lebanese law.
Article 40 Specific
Clauses
1. Provision of information
Service providers with SMP should include a clause in their RIOs
stating that certain network information will be supplied to interconnected service providers in order to enable them to plan their networks and
interconnection. However, the clause may also state that this information is not to be divulged to
third parties.
2.
Services management
Service Providers
with SMP offering or providing interconnection services shall
designate a services
manager to deal with other service providers requiring interconnection and other services. The role of
the services manager is to facilitate communication between service providers
on commercial and technical aspects of interconnection and the provision of
other services to service
providers. Service Providers with SMP should agree
to meetings with other service
providers within five (5) days of the
meetings being formally requested.
3.
Joint technical and operational committee
Interconnected service providers should establish a joint technical and operational committee. The joint technical and operational committee should facilitate discussion to reach mutually acceptable agreements on technical, operational, planning, billing and other service aspects of interconnection. The composition of the joint technical and operational committee should be agreed upon by the service providers and could be reconstituted as and when required. The joint technical and operational committee should meet at regular intervals with an agenda agreed in advance and which may cover one or more of the following areas:
·
new PoIs;
·
analysis of traffic levels;
· capacity requirements;
·
network and/or service changes; and
·
any other technical and operational issues
associated with interconnection.
Service Providers
should establish working groups of project managers, operational staff and
technical personnel where required to address specific issues as they arise.
4.
Service level agreement
a.
Service providers with SMP shall include within their RIOs a statement of the service level agreement (SLA) which they offer describing the characteristics of the
interconnection services, the service level obligations and compensation details for
failure to meet these obligations. The
SLA shall include, at least, timings for the provision of new services, availability and repair. The RIO shall contain the details of
financial penalties that will be paid to other service providers
if the service
provider with SMP fails to
meet the commitments defined within the SLA.
b.
The SLA should include:
·
service definition and description;
·
service configuration and technical characteristics such as points
of interconnection, routing and signaling; and
·
operational and maintenance conditions and associated performance measures
such as order lead time, network availability and service restoration time.
5.
Duration
The interconnect agreement shall not have a defined fixed duration. The agreement should be ongoing with periodic
reviews and opportunities for renegotiation.
6. Review
There shall be a
process for re-negotiation of defined issues such as in the case of
changes in law or regulation. This
process shall have defined timescales, such as minimum
times for negotiation and review notices. There shall also be an option to use
arbitration to resolve disputes.
7. Confidentiality
Service providers should require other service providers
to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect their
information from being divulged to any other party, subsidiary, partner or
other parts of their business, including but not limited to their retail
section, save on a need to know basis so that they may be able to provide the
interconnection services agreed upon. In particular there will be a need for data
protection in respect of user details. However, such measures shall not hinder the provision of information to the Authority if required.
8.
Intellectual Property
Rights
Service providers should ensure that they safeguard their intellectual property rights (IPR). This will
include controlled use of trademarks.
9. Liability
Service providers should define events of liability and limits of liability
(direct loss), together with any threshold below which claims will not be made.
10. Additional Provisions
There are a number
of other contractual issues that should be
considered:
·
termination; and
Article 41
This Regulation will be published and entered into force upon its
publication in the Official Gazette.
Beirut
on the 18th of March 2009
Dr. Kamal Shehadi
Chairman of the
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority
Annex
A: Contents of a RIO
Provision of
information between service
providers
Intelligent Network
call origination
Collocation and
facilities sharing services
Interconnection of
public exchanges
Rules for
interconnect links between public exchanges
Interconnect
extension circuits
Interconnection of signaling networks
Interface standards
and technical requirements
Interconnect
provisioning processes
Interconnection of a
new public exchange
Planning of
interconnect links
Capacity planning on
interconnects links
Interconnect traffic
forecasts
Interconnect capacity
forecasts
Transmission link
services planning
Collocation and
facilities sharing processes
Interconnection
operations processes
Traffic and Quality
of Service measurement
Interconnection
maintenance processes
Transmission link
costs and charges
Interconnection link
costs and charges
Collocation and
facilities sharing services
Interconnect billing
reconciliation
Annex B: Facilities
available for collocation and sharing
Annex C: Network
documentation
Annex D: Service
Level Agreement
ANNEX
B: Interface Standards and Technical Requirements
1.
Appropriate ITU-T technical standards may include but are not limited
to:
a.
G.111 Loudness Ratings in an International Connection;
b.
G.113 Transmission Impairments;
c.
G.121 Loudness Ratings of National Systems;
d.
G.122 Influence of National Systems of Stability, Talker Echo and
Listener Echo In International Connections;
e.
G.123 Circuit Noise in National Circuits;
f.
G.131 Stability and Echo;
g.
G.151 General Performance Objectives Applicable to all Modern
International and National Extension Circuits;
h.
G.165 Echo Cancellers;
i.
G.473 Interconnect of a Maritime
j.
G.703 Physical/ Electrical Characteristics of Hierarchical Digital
Exchanges;
k.
G.704 Synchronous Frame Structures used at Primary and Secondary
Hierarchical Levels;
l.
G.706 Frame Alignment and Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) Procedures
Relating to Basic Frame Structures Defined in Rec. G704;
m.
G.711 Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) of Voice Frequencies;
n.
G.712 Performance Characteristics of PCM Channels between 4-wire
Interfaces at Voice Frequencies;
o.
G.726 Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation
p.
G.811 International Connections Terminating on Synchronous Network
Nodes;
q.
G.812 Section 2.2.3 (Holdover Operation);
r.
G821 Error Performance of an International Digital Connection forming
part of an Integrated Services Digital Network;
s.
G.823 The Control of Jitter and Wander within Digital Networks which are
based on the 2048 kbit/s Hierarchy;
t.
G.826 Error Performance Parameters and Objectives for International
Constant Bit Rate Digital Paths At or Above the Primary Rate;
u.
G.921 Digital Sections Based on the 2048kbit/s Hierarchy;
v.
O.151 Error Performance Measuring Equipment for Digital Systems at the
Primary Bit Rate and above;
w.
O.152 Timing Jitter Measuring Equipment for Digital Systems;
x.
P.11 Effect of Transmission Impairments
y.
P.16 Subjective effects of Direct Crosstalk; Thresholds of Audibility
and Intelligibility;
z.
P.76 Determination of Loudness rating; Fundamental principles;
aa. Q.522 Section 2.12 Bit
Patterns Generated by the Exchange in Idle Channel Time Slots;
bb. Q.551 Transmission
Characteristics of Digital Exchanges;
cc. Q.554 Transmission
Characteristics at Digital Interfaces of a Digital Exchange;
dd. Q.700 Introduction to
ITU-T Signalling System No.7;
ee. Q.701 Functional
Description of the Message Transfer Part (MTP) of Signalling System No.7;
ff.
Q.702 Signalling Data Link
gg. Q.703 Signalling System
No.7 - Signalling Link;
hh. Q.704 Signalling System
No.7 - Signalling Network Functions and Messages;
ii.
Q.705 Signalling System No.7 - Signalling Network Structure;
jj.
Q.706 Signalling System No.7 - Message Transfer Part Signalling
Performance;
kk. Q.707 Testing and
Maintenance;
ll.
Q.767 Application of the ISDN User Part of ITU-T Signalling System No.7
for International ISDN Interconnections;
mm.
Q.780 Signalling System No.7 Test Specification General Description;
nn. Q.781 Signalling System
No.7 - MTP Level 2 Test Specification;
oo. Q.782 Signalling System
No.7 - MTP Level 3 Test Specification;
pp. Q.784 ISUP Basic Call Test
Specification; and
qq. Q.785 ISUP Protocol Test
Specification for Supplementary Services.
2.
Appropriate ETSI technical standards may include but are not limited to:
a.
ETS 300 008 Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN); ITU-T Signalling
System No.7; Message Transfer Part (MTP) to Support International
Interconnection;
b.
ETS 300 121 Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN); Application of
the ISDN User Part (ISUP) of ITU-T Signalling System No.7 for International
Interconnection (ISUP Version 1);
c.
ETS 300 132 Power Supply Interface at the Input to Telecommunications
Equipment;
d.
ETS 300 019 1-3 Environmental Conditions & Environmental Tests for
Telecommunications Equipment, Part I-3: Classification of Environmental
Conditions - Stationary Use at Weather-Protected Locations;
e.
ETS 300 246 ONP Technical Requirements: 2048kbit/s Digital Unstructured
Leased Line (D2048U) Interface Presentation;
f.
ETS 300 247 ONP Technical Requirements: 2048kbit/s Digital Unstructured
Leased Line (D2048U) Connection Characteristics;
g.
ETS 300 248 ONP Technical Requirements: 2048kbit/s Digital Unstructured
Leased Line (D2048U) Terminal Equipment Interface;
h.
ETS 300 303 Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Global Systems
for Mobile Communications (GSM),
i.
ETS 300 386-1 Public Telecommunications Network Equipment EMC
Requirements Part 1: Product Family
Overview, Compliance Criteria and Test Levels; and
j.
ETS 300 009 Integrated Services Digital Network
(ISDN); Signalling System N0 7 (SS7); Signalling Connection Control Part (SCCP)
(Connectionless, and Connection-Oriented class2) to support international
interconnection.
- End of Interconnection Regulation -
Contents
Chapter 1 Purpose and Scope of the Regulation
2. The Authority’s Mandate and the Telecommunications Law
Article 4
Purpose of the Regulation
Article 5 Scope
of the Regulation
Chapter 3 Rights and Obligations Regarding Interconnection
Article 8 All
Service Providers
Article 9
Service Providers with Significant Market Power
Article 10
Approval and Publication of RIOs and Interconnection Agreements
Chapter 4 Management of Interconnection
Article 12 Joint
Technical Committee
Article 13
Provision of Information between Service Providers
1. General network information
2. Planned changes to networks
3. Records of interconnect links
Chapter 5 Interconnection Services
Article 15 Call
Conveyance Services
5. Intelligent network call origination
Article 16
Transmission Link Services
2. Requirement to provide service
Article 17
Interconnect Link Services
Article 18 Data
Interconnection Services
2. Requirement to provide service
Article 19
Collocation and Facilities Sharing Services
2. Requirement to provide service
Article 21
Supplementary Call Services
2. Requirement to provide service
Article 23
Interconnection of Public Exchanges
5. Rules for interconnect links between public exchanges
Article 24
Transmission Interconnection
2. Interconnect extension circuits
Article 25
Interconnection of Signaling Networks
Article 26
Interface Standards and Technical Requirements
Article 28
Interface Standards and Interoperability
Chapter 7 Interconnection Processes
Article 31
Interconnect Provisioning Processes
4. Collocation and facilities sharing processes
5. Request for service processes
Article 32
Interconnection Operations Processes
Article 33
Interconnection Maintenance Processes
5. System protection and safety
Article 34
Charges and Payments
3. Transmission link costs and charges
4. Interconnection link costs and charges
5. Data interconnection services
6. Collocation and facilities sharing services
Chapter 9 Dispute Resolution Procedure
Chapter 10 General Contract Provisions
3. Joint technical and operational committee
8. Intellectual Property Rights
ANNEX B: Interface Standards and Technical Requirements