PDF of this tutorialCopper and New Network Use
Despite technical difficulties in accessing the newly unbundled local loop, testing the loop remains a necessity. For one thing, the amount of new network use, or nonvoice use of copper, is increasing dramatically. In some parts of the country, more than 50 percent of telco traffic now consists of data. Some industry analysts estimate that by 2005 data will comprise 75 percent of telco traffic. These nonvoice applications, which send data at ever higher speeds, will run only on copper that is well maintained.
Low Tolerance of Service Problems
Testing is also important because there is far less tolerance of service problems. As noted above, subscribers expect the high standards of service to continue. Testing of cable, switches, etc. is necessary to make certain those standards are maintained.
For ILECs now, and for CLECs in the near future, the consequences of poor service could be quite severe. In the past, subscribers with complaints about service simply reported these complaints to the Public Utility Commission (PUC). Now, subscribers can actually change carriers. Mass defections could have a profound effect on a carrier's revenues.
Asset Management
Testing is important for other reasons, in addition to maintaining a high level of service. It also serves as a form of asset management for telcos. Testing allows telcos to control capital expenditures for new cable and to make more efficient use of cable they already have. It also provides tools to deal with cost control issues.
Cost Control
Adequate testing methods can help control costs in several ways. Testing makes it easier to establish the proper level of staffing and easier to dispatch accurately and efficiently for a particular problem. Telcos need to meet mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) standards and also do it in a cost-effective way. To accomplish this, they need control over issues of overtime; they also must be able to give technicians in the field the freedom and tools to carry out necessary tests and do line conditioning to speed up the repair process.
Building Cooperation between Competitive ILECs and CLECs
Testing is also important in establishing a level of cooperation between telcos that are suddenly sharing facilities. Since locating a problem is the first step toward solving it, both ILECs and CLECs will need to do testing that will determine in whose equipment a problem resides. For example, CLECs will need to determine if a problem is on their switch, their digital loop carrier (DLC) systems or facilities, or if it is in ILEC territory.
Neither ILEC nor CLEC wants a disgruntled subscriber trying to determine which provider to blame for a problem. That is why anything an ILEC does to improve its service helps a CLEC as well, and vice versa; in certain respects, therefore, an ILEC and CLEC have a symbiotic relationship.
ILECs and CLECs are still competitors, of course, and will continue to have conflicts. To avoid costly litigation, ILECs and CLECs need to be able to sort out a number of issues. One of the most crucial of these is how much and what kind of testing data about premises and equipment ILECs and CLECs must share with each other.
There are a number of standard tests that CLECs as well as ILECs need to do in the local loop. First, they must identify phone numbers and make certain a number is working on the correct pair. To accomplish this, automatic number announcement circuits (ANAC) must function properly. Second, telcos will need to do loop conditioning to support the field force; for this they need to use the Direct Access Test Unit (DATU™) Loop Conditioning System. Third, telcos need to perform proactive scanning to reduce trouble reports, and for cable maintenance. Finally, unbundled loops must be listed in the ILEC database, and record verification must be used to periodically purify these records.
