INTERCONNECTION GUIDELINES MAMOUN BALQAR TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION TRC JORDAN NOV 03

INTERCONNECTION GUIDELINES A regulatory agency needs to have a means by which to regulate interconnection in a competitive environment. Interconnection is best regulated in a pro-active (ex-ante) style. Rules, terms and conditions of interconnection are so complex that they need to be generally outlined in the provisions of the law and in the license agreements. It is, therefore, necessary for a NRA to produce specific detailed guidelines for interconnection based on the powers that the law gives to the NRA NOV 03

SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES (1) The guidelines should be applicable equally to all Licensees . The NRA determines which Licensees are Designated and are required to produce Reference Interconnection Offers (RIO). The Guidelines should not apply to operators of private telecom networks and users. The guidelines should not set rates for interconnection services. However, they must set out the methodology by which the rates shall be determined. NOV 03

SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES (2) The guidelines should address the development and publication of a RIO by Designated Licensees. A RIO is a publicly available document published by a Designated Licensee defining a standard set of technical and commercial terms by which the Designated Licensee offers interconnection services to other licensees. It forms the basis of a transparent offer by the Designated Licensees to contract with another party through a standard interconnection agreement NOV 03

PURPOSE OF THE GUIDELINES To clearly express the policy of NRA with respect to the interconnection of public telecom networks. To clarify the arrangements for interconnection and provision of service between Licensees. To assist in ensuring that all licensees are treated fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner. To help encourage good practice by licensees and to promote the provision of high quality services to users through technical and economic efficiency. To provide a formal process for dealing with interconnection disputes. NOV 03

TYPICAL STRUCTURE OF THE GUIDELINES Definitions Management of Interconnection Interconnection Services Technical Aspects Interconnection Processes Commercial Aspects Legal terms and conditions NOV 03

DEFINITIONS It is vitally important that a clear understanding of the meaning of the key terms used in the guidelines be established. It is also important that the definitions in the guidelines are consistent with those in the Law and the license agreements. An order of precedence should be established for application in case of ambiguity or conflict between the terms defined in the Guidelines and the terms defined in the Law or the license agreements NOV 03

MANAGEMENT OF INTERCONNECTION (1/3) Account Management: It is important that the Designated Licensees offering interconnection services provide a technical and commercial “Account Manager “ to deal with other Licensees seeking to use or are using their services. NOV 03

MANAGEMENT OF INTERCONNECTION (2/3) Joint Technical Committee Interconnected Licensees should establish a joint technical committee for discussion and agreement on technical, operational, planning, billing and service aspects. The committee should be authorized to take decisions. NOV 03

MANAGEMENT OF INTERCONNECTION (3/3) Provision of Information Designated Licensees should provide relevant and sufficient information about their networks and services to licensees entitled to use these services in order that they can conduct network planning, financial planning and subsequently operate their networks. All such information should be subject to confidentiality rules. NOV 03

INTERCONNECTION SERVICES (Categories) The categories of interconnection services include: - Call conveyance services. - Transmission link services. - Interconnection link services - Co-location services. - Operator services - Advanced call services. - Number portability services. Interconnection services will be discussed in detail in a separate presentation NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPECTS (1/8) There should be a section in the guidelines to deal with the technical aspects of interconnection of telecommunications systems. The technical aspects include: - Interconnection of public exchanges. - Transmission Interconnection. - Interconnection of signalling networks. - Interface standards and technical requirements. - Numbering requirements. - Quality of service measures. We shall take these aspects in more detail…. NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPECTS (2/8) (Interconnection of Public Exchanges) Designated Licensees must provide information in their RIOs about their exchanges that are available for interconnection. Designated Licensees must provide a list of exchange hardware and software configuration that they accept for interconnection. And…. NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPECTS (3/8) (Interconnection of Public Exchanges) Licensees providing switched interconnection services should specify technical rules to be followed by other licensees using their services. Examples of technical switched interconnection rules include: - Number of interconnection links - Interconnection link capacities - Requirements to interconnect to specific exchanges - Signalling requirements NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPECTS (4/8) (Transmission Interconnection) This section of the Guidelines concerns the technical aspects of the transmission used to interconnect the networks of licensees in order to provide interconnection services. The main parts of these technical aspects are: - Points of Interconnection - Interconnection extension circuits -Transmission technologies NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPECTS (5/8) (Interconnection of Signalling Networks) The Guidelines should oblige Designated Licensees to specify the signalling configuration to be used on interconnection links within their RIOs. Designated Licensees must notify interconnected licensees of any modification in the adopted signalling system sufficiently in advance. NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPECTS (6/8) (Interface Standards & Requirements) The Guidelines should contain clauses to oblige the Designated Licensees to state the interface standards used for interconnection within their RIOs. Licensees offering interconnection services must provide reasonable notice to interconnected licensees of any modifications to he technical interface standards. NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPESTS (7/8) (Numbering) The guidelines should contain clauses to oblige Designated Licensees to provide details of the number ranges which are hosted on each of their local exchanges. Designated Mobile Licensees must also be obliged to provide, upon request, details of active number ranges to other licensees and to the NRA. NOV 03

TECHNICAL ASPECTS (8/8) (Quality of Service) The Guidelines should stipulate that Designated Licensees providing call conveyance services must do so with the same quality of service for calls carried wholly on their own networks. Designated Licensees must define within their RIOs a number of QoS measures that they provide to, and expect from, interconnected licensees. NOV 03

INTERCONNECTION PROCESSES Interconnection provisioning processes. Interconnection operations processes. Interconnection maintenance processes. Planned engineering works. System protection and safety. NOV 03

COMMERCIAL ASPECTS (1/2) Charges and payments - Principles of charging. - Call conveyance. - Transmission link costs and charges. - Interconnection link costs and charges. - Data interconnection costs and charges. - Co-location and facilities sharing costs and charges. - Operator services costs and charges. NOV 03

COMMERCIAL ASPECTS (2/2) Billing * Call conveyance billing. - Billing period - Delivery of invoices - Queries related to invoices - Time to reach a reconciliation agreement * Interconnect billing reconciliation. - Discrepancy percentage margin. - Good faith reconciliation. - Audit of billing records. NOV 03

DISPUTE RESOLUTION A clear and concise dispute resolution mechanism should be incorporated in the guidelines. It is important that during a dispute resolution process the parties should keep their networks interconnected. No party should disconnect the other party’s network without the prior approval of the NRA. NOV 03

ARBITRATION The guidelines should contain a section on the provisions of arbitration. Any of the disputants may request that the dispute be referred to arbitration at any stage of the dispute resolution process. NOV 03

LEGAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS The Guidelines should identify the legal contractual issues that need to be considered by each licensee and that should be included within the RIOs of Designated Licensees. These should be adapted from international ‘best practice’ in line with the local Law. Some specific clauses are….. NOV 03

SPECIFIC LEGAL CLAUSES Provision of information Service Level Agreement Duration Review Confidentiality Intellectual Property Rights Liability Force Majeure, Assignment, Termination, etc…. NOV 03

CONCLUSION The production of Interconnection Guidelines by NRA is a complex and lengthy process. It should be handled with care and attention to detail. Consultation with all stakeholders is vital for the production of a fair and balanced guidelines. Implementation of the Guidelines requires the existence of sufficient legal authority of NRA. NOV 03

THANK YOU NOV 03