PSC 165.06
PSC 165.06
Construction. Construction of telecommunications plant shall be subject to the provisions of the current Wisconsin state electrical code and
ch. PSC 162. The equipment, materials and supplies used for the construction of telecommunications plant will be those designed for the purpose.
PSC 165.06 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am.
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.061
PSC 165.061
Maintenance of plant and equipment. PSC 165.061(1)(1) Each telecommunications utility shall adopt and pursue a maintenance program aimed at achieving efficient operation of its system so as to permit the rendering of safe, adequate, and continuous service at all times.
PSC 165.061(2)
(2) Maintenance shall include keeping all plant and equipment in a good state of repair consistent with safety and adequate service performance. Broken, damaged, or deteriorated parts which are no longer serviceable shall be repaired or replaced. Adjustable apparatus and equipment shall be readjusted as necessary when found by preventive routines or fault location tests to be in unsatisfactory operating condition. Electrical faults, such as leakage or poor insulation, noise induction, crosstalk, or poor transmission characteristics, shall be corrected to the extent practicable within the design capability of the plant affected.
PSC 165.061(3)
(3) The maintenance program shall also include definite procedures designed to keep the central office equipment rooms clean, and the humidity at a satisfactory level. These rooms should not ordinarily be used for storage of general supplies nor for a general workshop.
PSC 165.061 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am.
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.062(1)(1) No utility shall connect more customers on any line than are contemplated under the grade of service charged the customer on such line.
PSC 165.062(2)
(2) On lines where multi-party service is provided no more than 4 customers shall be connected to any one circuit, unless approved by the commission.
PSC 165.062 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am. (1) and (2) (intro.), r. (2) (a) to (d),
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.063
PSC 165.063
Central office equipment. Telecommunications utilities providing new dial central offices shall provide as a minimum:
PSC 165.063(1)
(1) Full selective ringing on all 2-party and 4-party lines.
PSC 165.063(2)
(2) Adequate intercept to cover changed numbers, vacant numbers and vacant levels.
PSC 165.063(3)
(3) Subscriber line busy verification limited to operator and maintenance personnel access in order to insure secrecy of communications.
PSC 165.063(4)
(4) Metering or recording of trunk group data to measure peg count (PC) and overflow (OF) or peg count (PC) and all trunks busy (ATB), or to measure usage.
PSC 165.063 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am. (intro.), (1) (intro.) and (4), r. (1) (a) and (b) and (5) to (7),
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.064
PSC 165.064
Interconnection service standards. Effective with the adoption of these rules, telecommunications utilities shall not provide interconnection service which does not meet the technical criteria of these rules or orders of the commission.
PSC 165.064 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am.
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.065(1)(1) Each telecommunications utility shall make reasonable provision to meet emergencies resulting from national security requirements, failures of lighting or power service, sudden and prolonged increases in traffic, illness of personnel, or from fire, storm, or similar emergencies, and each telecommunications utility shall inform employees as to procedures to be followed in the event of emergency in order to prevent or mitigate interruption or impairment of telecommunications service.
PSC 165.065(2)
(2) It is essential that all central offices and remote switching units have reasonably adequate provision for emergency power. For offices or remote switching units without installed emergency power facilities, there shall be a mobile power unit available which can be delivered on reasonably short notice, and which can be readily connected.
PSC 165.065 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am.
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.066
PSC 165.066
Protection of utility facilities. A public utility upon receipt of written notice as required by s.
66.0831, Stats., from the property owner or from a contractor of work which may affect its facilities used for serving the public:
PSC 165.066(1)
(1) Shall investigate and decide what action, if any, must reasonably be taken to protect or alter utility facilities, in order to protect service to the public and to avoid unnecessary damage, such as identifying in a suitable manner the location of any underground utility facilities which may be affected by the work.
PSC 165.066(2)
(2) The utility shall take such action as is reasonably and legally necessary to protect, remove, alter, or reconstruct its facilities, and shall perform such work with reasonable dispatch taking into account the conditions to be met, provided that nothing in this rule shall be deemed to affect any right which the utility may have to require advance payment or adequate assurance of payment of the reasonable cost thereof to the utility by the property owner or contractor.
PSC 165.066(3)
(3) The utility may, in order to protect its interest, require that the owner or contractor perform certain work upon that part of the service piping or wiring on or being removed from the property on which the excavating, building, or wrecking operations are being performed.
PSC 165.066(4)
(4) This rule is not intended to affect the responsibility of the contractor or owner, or the liability or legal rights of any party.
PSC 165.066 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; correction in (intro.) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats.,
Register April 2007 No. 616.
PSC 165.067
PSC 165.067
Interference with public service structures. PSC 165.067(1)(1) No utility having any work upon, over, along, or under any public street or highway or upon, over, along, or under any private property shall interfere with, destroy, or disturb the structures of any other public service corporation or railroad encountered in the performance of such work so as to interrupt, impair, or affect the public service for which such structures may be used, without first reaching an agreement concerning the location and the nature of the proposed work.
PSC 165.067(2)
(2) A utility shall exercise care when working in close proximity of existing facilities. When the facilities are underground and are to be exposed or possibly may be exposed, hand-digging shall be employed. In these cases, such support as may be reasonably necessary for protection of the facilities shall be provided in and near the construction area. When backfilling an excavation such procedures and materials will be employed to provide reliable support for existing underground facilities in and near the construction area.
PSC 165.067(3)
(3) A utility shall, in the absence of working arrangements, give at least 3 days' written notice (not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) to all utilities or railroads and to those who may have facilities in and near the construction area which may be affected by the proposed work. The utility proposing to work shall obtain from the affected party the location of the existing facilities determined to be affected or to be in and near the construction area
PSC 165.067(4)
(4) A utility upon receiving a notice of proposed construction shall furnish in 3 days detailed information relative to location and type of facilities that are present in the proposed construction area. In those cases where the facilities are underground, they shall be marked physically in the field relative to location.
PSC 165.067(5)
(5) Nothing in the above shall prevent a utility from proceeding as quickly as possible with any emergency construction work which might interfere with existing facilities. However, all reasonable precautions shall be taken to avoid or minimize damage or interference to the other facilities and notification shall be given as soon as possible to the utilities which have facilities in the construction area.
PSC 165.067 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68.
PSC 165.07
PSC 165.07
Provision for testing. Each telecommunications utility shall provide or have access to test facilities which will enable it to determine the operating and transmission capabilities of circuit and switching equipment, either for routine maintenance or for fault location.
PSC 165.07 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am.
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.071
PSC 165.071
Meter and recording equipment test facilities. PSC 165.071(1)(1) Each utility furnishing telecommunications service, where local exchange billing is based on the number and/or duration of messages, shall provide the necessary facilities, instruments, and equipment for testing its metering and recording equipment. Any utility may be exempted from this requirement by the commission, provided that satisfactory arrangements are made for test of its meters and recording equipment by another utility or approved organization.
PSC 165.071(2)
(2) The over-all accuracy of the test equipment and test procedure shall be sufficient to enable test of meters and recording equipment within the requirements of these rules.
PSC 165.071 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am. (1),
Register, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.072
PSC 165.072
Accuracy requirements. All meters and/or recording devices used to record data and prepare customer's bills shall be in good mechanical and electrical condition, shall be accurately read and shall not involve approximations. All meters and/or recording devices shall accurately perform the following:
PSC 165.072(1)
(1) For message rate service, where timing of length of message is not involved, the meter and/or recording device shall show accurately the number of completed messages sent by the access line which it is measuring.
PSC 165.072(2)
(2) For message rate and/or toll service when in addition to recording the number of messages it is necessary to time the messages, the meter and/or recording device shall show accurately the number of messages and the connected time (for person-to-person messages, conversation time) involved in each message made on the access line being measured.
PSC 165.072(3)
(3) Where the recording equipment provides coded information that is used to automatically prepare customer bills, accurate interpretation of such coded information is required.
PSC 165.072 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am. (1) and (2),
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.073
PSC 165.073
Initial test. Every telecommunications meter and/or recording device shall be tested prior to its installation, either by the utility or an approved organization equipped for such testing.
PSC 165.073 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; am.
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.074
PSC 165.074
As-found tests. All meters and/or recording devices tested in accordance with these rules for routine or complaint tests shall be tested in the condition "as found" in connection with the customer's service prior to removal or adjustment in any respect.
PSC 165.074 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68.
PSC 165.075
PSC 165.075
Routine tests. Each utility shall adopt appropriate practices for the test and maintenance of its meters and/or recording devices to assure the integrity of their operation.
PSC 165.075 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68.
PSC 165.076
PSC 165.076
Request tests. Each utility shall make a test of any meter and/or recording device upon request of any customer, provided such request is not made more frequently than once each 12 months.
PSC 165.076 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68.
PSC 165.077
PSC 165.077
Referee tests. Any customer, by written application to the commission may have a test conducted by the utility in the presence of a representative of the commission.
PSC 165.077 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68.
PSC 165.078
PSC 165.078
Test records. A record of malfunctions associated with incorrect ticketing information shall be maintained for 2 years. Such record shall include date and time of outage, number of messages lost, estimated dollar value lost, and explanation of problem including an identification of the piece of equipment that failed.
PSC 165.078 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; r. and recr.
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.08(1)(1) Each utility shall employ recognized engineering and administrative procedures to determine the adequacy of service being provided to the customer.
PSC 165.08(2)
(2) Traffic studies shall be made and records maintained to the extent and frequency necessary to determine that sufficient equipment and an adequate operating force are provided during the busy hour, busy season.
PSC 165.08(3)
(3) Each telecommunications utility shall insure access to operator services for all exchanges operated during the 24 hours of the day.
PSC 165.08(4)
(4) Each utility shall employ adequate procedures for assignment of facilities. The assignment record shall be kept up to date and checked periodically to determine if adjustments are necessary to maintain proper balance in all trunk and equipment groups.
PSC 165.08(5)
(5) Local service furnished by means of line concentrator, remote switching unit, or subscriber carrier equipment at a given central office shall be substantially equivalent to that furnished other subscribers at that central office served by means of normal physical loops.
PSC 165.08 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; emerg; am. (3), eff. 1-1-84; am. (3),
Register, August, 1984, No. 344, eff. 9-1-84; am. (3) and (5),
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.081(1)
(1) Each telecommunications utility shall provide telecommunications service to the public in its service area in accordance with its rules and tariffs on file with the commission. Such service shall meet or exceed the standards set forth in these "Standards for Telecommunications Service."
PSC 165.081(2)
(2) Each telecommunications utility has the obligation of continually reviewing its operations to assure the furnishing of adequate service.
PSC 165.081(3)
(3) Each telecommunications utility shall maintain records of its operations in sufficient detail as is necessary to permit such review and such records shall be made available for inspection by the commission upon request at any time within the period prescribed for retention of such records.
PSC 165.081(4)
(4) Each telecommunications utility shall have at its principal office or offices in the state of Wisconsin adequate records or maps showing all equipment components and location, type, use and ownership of all rural and connecting lines as well as records or maps showing location and ownership of local exchange lines, cables, and conduits.
PSC 165.081(5)
(5) Where a telecommunications utility is generally operated in conjunction with any other enterprise, suitable records shall be maintained so that the results of the telecommunications operation may be determined upon reasonable notice and request by the commission.
PSC 165.081(6)(a)(a) Each local exchange telecommunications utility shall provide single-party revertive calling capability without a monthly subscription charge for all basic local exchange service customers in all exchanges.
PSC 165.081(6)(b)
(b) A local exchange telecommunications utility may apply per-call charges for single-party revertive calls if so authorized by the commission.
PSC 165.081 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; cr. (6),
Register, February, 1990, No. 410, eff. 3-1-90; am. (1) to (5),
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92;
CR 06-046: r. (6) (c)
Register April 2007 No. 616, eff. 5-1-07.
PSC 165.082(1)
(1) Suitable practices shall be adopted by each telecommunications utility concerning the operating methods to be employed by operators with the objective of providing efficient and pleasing service to the customers.
PSC 165.082(2)
(2) Telecommunications employees shall be instructed to be courteous, considerate and efficient in the handling of all matters, and to comply with the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, in maintaining the secrecy of communications. Under no circumstances shall any telecommunications utility employee repeat, divulge, or use the nature or content of any local or long distance call.
PSC 165.082(3)
(3) All operator-handled calls shall be carefully supervised and disconnects made promptly.
PSC 165.082(4)
(4) If a customer reaches a wrong number on a direct dialed call and notifies the operator, the telecommunications utility shall take reasonable action which may include referring the customer to the carrier to make certain that the charge for the call does not appear on the customer's bill.
PSC 165.082 History
History: Cr.
Register, October, 1968, No. 154, eff. 11-1-68; emerg. am. (4), eff. 1-1-84; am. (4),
Register, August, 1984, No. 344, eff. 9-1-84; am. (1), (2) and (4),
Register, December, 1991, No. 432, eff. 1-1-92.
PSC 165.083
PSC 165.083
Answering time objectives. Sufficient forces and equipment shall be maintained to attain the following average daily answer performance objectives:
PSC 165.083(1)
(1) Operator handled traffic — 90% of the calls answered within 10 seconds.
PSC 165.083(2)
(2) Operator identified DDD calls — 95% of the calls answered within 5 seconds.
PSC 165.083(3)
(3) Combined operator assisted traffic and operator identified DDD calls — 2.7 seconds average answer time.
PSC 165.083(4)
(4) Directory assistance and intercept calls — 85% of the calls answered within 10 seconds or 92% within 20 seconds or with automatic call distribution systems or equivalent, it will be 6.3 seconds average answer time.
PSC 165.083(5)
(5) Repair calls — 92% answered within 20 seconds or with automatic call distribution systems or equivalent, it will be 6.3 seconds average answer time.
PSC 165.083(6)
(6) Appropriate equipment from which adequate service measurement can be compiled shall be installed in all toll centers.
