Section 63.302. Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

Abandon—To cease providing local service to existing customers. The term does not include discontinuance as a result of a customer’s request or a temporary change in the provision of service that may arise from maintenance, repair or failure of a LSP’s equipment or facilities.

Abandoning LSP—A LSP that seeks to abandon providing local service to existing customers.

Acquiring LSP—A LSP that voluntarily undertakes to provide local service to customers of the abandoning LSP after the abandoning LSP is permitted to alter or abandon providing local service.

CSR—Customer service record—Documentation indicating the customer’s name, address, contact telephone number, quantity of lines, services, features and other information associated with a customer account.

Customer—The end-user recipient of telephone service provided by a LSP.

Exit date—The date upon which an abandoning LSP intends to cease providing telecommunications service.

Full facilities—The term used when the LSP has all the services and equipment (that is, central office switches, local loops, trunk lines, and the like) necessary to provide telephonic communications between telephones connected to it or to other central offices.

Interconnection agreement—An agreement to interconnect directly or indirectly with the facilities and equipment of other telecommunications carriers.

LSP—Local service provider—A company, such as a local exchange carrier (LEC), that provides local service by resale, by unbundled network elements (with or without platform) or through its own facilities, or by a combination of these methods of providing local service to a customer.

Local service—Telecommunications service within a customer’s local calling area.

(i) The term includes the customer’s local calling plan, dial tone line, touch-tone and directory assistance calls allowed without additional charge.

(ii) The term also includes services covered by the Federal Line Cost Charge, Pennsylvania Relay Surcharge, Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge, Local Number Portability Surcharge, Public Safety Emergency Telephone Act (9-1-1) Fee and applicable Federal and State taxes.

Local service reseller—A LSP that resells another company’s wholesale telephone services to provide local service to customers.

NANPA—North American Numbering Plan Administration—The organization that holds overall responsibility for the neutral administration of North American telephone numbering resources, subject to directives from regulatory authorities in the countries that share the North American telephone numbering resources. NANPA’s responsibilities include assignment of telephone numbering resources, and, in the United States and its territories, coordination of area code relief planning and collection of utilization and forecast data.

NSP—Network service provider—A telecommunications provider that interacts with LSPs and provides the facilities and equipment components needed to make up a customer’s telecommunications service. A NSP may be referred to as an underlying carrier, and may also be a LSP.

Preferred carrier freeze—A designation elected by a customer that restricts a third party’s ability to change a customer’s choice of preferred telecommunication service provider.

Resale—The term used when a LSP does not have its own facilities, but purchases telecommunications services at wholesale rates to sell to the public. Typically, the telecommunications services are purchased from a NSP.

UNE—Unbundled network element—Various physical and functional parts of a NSP’s infrastructure that may be leased to another LSP. These components include things such as local switching, local loops, interoffice transmission facilities, signaling and call-related databases, operator services, directory assistance, and the like.

UNE-L—Local Loop—The telephone line (copper or fiber), that runs from the local telephone company to a customer’s premise. A LSP may own a local switch and lease the local loop from the NSP.

UNE-P—UNE-Platform—A combination of unbundled network elements that facilitates end-to-end service delivery. A typical arrangement includes at least a local loop and switching.

Wholesale customer—A LSP that provides local service by resale or by unbundled network elements (with or without platform).