CG-STUG-001 Issue 1.28-August 4, 2006

The Maintenance and Repair process involves the procedures in place to receive and resolve service trouble issues. Typically, this will involve a CLEC (i.e., Facility-Based or Reseller) reporting a problem with its customer's local service. BellSouth will follow a set of standard procedures to locate the trouble, identify the correct course of action, and resolve the problem in the minimal amount of time possible. CLECs are responsible for the retention and administration of records and end-user communications related to all repair and maintenance activities.

The process begins when a CLEC customer calls his/her local service provider to report a service problem. Facility-based carriers are required to first check their own facilities to see if the problem resides within their own or customer provided equipment. If the trouble is related to BellSouth's equipment, the CLEC will then call either the BellSouth Resale Maintenance Center (BRMC) or the Unbundled Network Element Center (UNEC). The BRMC provides a single point of contact and accountability for all Resale CLECs, for the maintenance of Non-Complex Resale Services, and for the provisioning and maintenance of Complex Resale Services. The UNEC provides provisioning and maintenance support for all Facility-Based CLEC products.

Depending upon the type of service, a BRMC or UNE center agent will enter the trouble ticket into one of BellSouth's two trouble management systems. After the trouble ticket is entered, the equipment and facilities are tested to locate the source of the trouble. Based on the type of service, a center agent tests the circuit and interfaces by utilizing mechanized and non-mechanized testing systems to locate the trouble.

Upon locating the trouble, the trouble ticket is electronically dispatched to a technician to make the repair. The technician makes the repair and restores service to the customer.

Once the technician/agent has restored the service, the CLEC is notified that service has been restored and the technician/agent closes the trouble ticket in the Trouble Management System.

Note:
Electronic interfaces (i.e., TAFI and ECTA) are available to CLECs to perform trouble maintenance functions. More detail about these options can be found in the Electronic Interfaces section of this guide.

As described above, the Maintenance and Repair process can be divided into four distinct sub-processes:

Term	Definition
Trouble Ticket Reporting:	This sub-process includes the collection and entry of all relevant trouble information into BellSouth's Trouble Management Systems.
Testing and Analyzing the Trouble:	This sub-process involves testing to determine the location of the trouble (Facilities, Equipment, Customer Provided Equipment, and Software).
Correcting the Trouble:	This sub-process involves the procedures followed to restore service. This may or may not involve dispatching a trouble ticket to a technician; however, in either case, the service provider's (i.e., BellSouth) agent is assigned a trouble ticket and is responsible for restoring service to the customer.
Closing the Trouble Ticket:	This sub-process includes closing of the trouble ticket in BellSouth's Trouble Management System and notification that service has been restored.

for more detailed information on the Maintenance and Repair process, please contact the Local Support Manager.