Federal Communications Commission Record 5 FCC Red No
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FCC 90-220 Federal Communications Commission Record 5 FCC Red No. 15 VII. Ordering Clauses 84 ·Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 I. INTRODUCTION 1. In Review of Sections 68.104 and 68.213 of the Com mission's Rules Concerning Connection of Simple Inside Wiring to the Telephone Network (Notice of Proposed Rule CC Docket No. 88-57 Making), CC Docket No. 88-57, 3 FCC Red 1120 (1988) (Notice), the Commission undertook a review of the rules In the Matter of setting forth the terms and conditions under which cus tomers may install and connect to the network simple Review of Sections 68.104 and inside telephone wiring. In this Report and Order and 68.213 of the Commission's Rules Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making we (1) modify Section 68.104 to allow customers to connect simple in Concerning Connection of side wiring to the telephone network by direct access to Simple Inside Wiring carrier-installed wiring at points up to and including the to the Telephone Network demarcation point. (2) revise the definition of the de marcation point in Section 68.3 so that in most cases it and will be at or near where wiring enters the customer's premises, (3) modify Section 68.108 to authorize the car Petition for Modification of RM-5643 rier to discontinue service when harm occurs originating from customer-installed wiring, or when the carrier rea Section 68.213 of the Commission's sonably believes such harm is imminent, (4) delete Sec Rules filed by the Electronic tions 68.213 (e), (f) and (g) concerning notification, Industries Association acceptance testing and extraordinary procedures. (5) deter mine that jacks and plugs used in inside wiring must conform to Subpart F, and (6) encourage local exchange REPORT AND ORDER AND FURTHER carriers to develop and submit to subscribers an informa NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING tional brochure on the rights of subscribers to perform inside wiring operations. We additionally issue a further Adopted: June 8, 1990; Released: June 14, 1990 notice of proposed Rule Making to expand the scope of Section 68.213 to encompass wiring installations of up to By the Commission: four lines. TABLE OF CONTENTS II. BACKGROUND 2. Part 68 of the Commission's rules governs the terms Paragraph and conditions for connection of customer provided ter minal equipment and wiring to the telephone network. I. Introduction Part 68 is designed to assure consumers, manufacturers and carriers that terminal equipment and wiring may be connected to the telephone network without causing II. Background 2 harm. See 47 C.F.R. § 68.1. Section 68.104 of the rules, 47 C.F.R. § 68.104, provides that all connections to the III. Comments and Discussion 7 network shall be made through the standard plugs and standard telephone company-provided jacks described in A. Customer Access to Carrier-Installed Subpart F of Part 68. 1 The technical specifications in Wiring 7 Subpart F concern dimensions, gauging, materials, wiring, B. Demarcation Point 26 manufacturing processes, and spring tensions. Among the C. Responsibility 32 requirements is that in 6 and 8 pin jacks the contact interface should be hard gold to hard gold and should D. Access to the Protector 36 have a minimum gold thickness of 0.000050 inch on each E. Extraordinary Procedures 47 side of the interface or the equivalent. F. Manufacturer's Attestations 52 3. The Commission has found that customers should be G. Acceptance Testing 57 permitted to install their own simple inside wiring.2 In H. Notification 60 Petitions Seeking Amendment of Part 68 of the Commis I. Gold Equivalency, Plug, Jack Requirements 63 sion's Rules Concerning Connection of Telephone Equip ment, Systems and Protective Apparatus to the Telephone J. Accounting Requirements 72 Network (Report and Order), CC Docket 81-216, 97 FCC K. Network Disclosure 75 2d 527 (1984) (First Report and Order), stay denied, Order, FCC 84-546, released November 20, 1984, recon. granted IV. Notice of Proposed Rule Making 77 in part, Section 68.213 Reconsideration Order, 50 Fed. Reg. 29384 (1985), the Commission concluded, inter alia, that V. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 79 "the likelihood that one and two-line wiring will be im properly installed, causing network harm, is not substan tial," 97 FCC 2d at 554, and adopted Section 68.213 of VI. Ex Parte Presentations 80 4686 5 FCC Red No. 15 Federal Communications Commission Record FCC 90-220 the rules. Customers were permitted to connect one and from the registration program .... We therefore do two-line business and residential wiring to the network, not believe it appropriate to act upon AT &T's pro subject to certain restrictions and responsibilities. The posal at this time. Commission also established a definition for the network interface or demarcation point, 3 to serve generally as the Id. n. 29. In Third Report and Order, CC Docket 81-216, point for bifurcating carrier and non-carrier responsibil 51 Fed. Reg. 929 (January 9, 1986), para. 11, the Com ities. Wiring on the carrier side of the network interface is mission, addressing RM-3227, eliminated all Part 68 reg the responsibility of the carrier, and wiring on the cus istration requirements for cords, passive adapters, adapter tomer side of the network interface is the responsibility of boards and cross-connect panels as unnecessary regulatory its owner. The Commission extended to customer-pro requirements. However, the Commission did not address vided inside wiring the preexisting requirement of Section the issue raised by the American Telephone & Telegraph 68.104 that all connections to the network must be made Co. (AT&T) in connection with the First Report and Order through a carrier-installed jack. Id. 540-542; Section of whether plugs and jacks on the customer side of the 68.213 Reconsideration Order, n. 35. Thus, stated the Com network interface or demarcation point should be re mission, the inside wiring program "contemplates that quired to conform to Subpart F. new premises wiring, as well as additions and modifica 5. In the Notice in this docket the Commission tions to existing premises wiring, will be connected to the undertook a general review of the restrictions imposed by network through an already existing jack or telephone Section 68.213 on the customer's ability to install and company installed demarcation jack." Section 68.213 Re connect to the telephone network simple inside wiring. In consideration Order, para. 14. The Commission interpreted particular, the Commission expressed concern that the this requirement to preclude the customer or his agent requirement that inside wiring be connected to the net from splicing into wiring installed by the carrier and work only through a carrier-installed jack might be installing a jack. Order, supra, para. 5; Section 68.213 causing consumers unnecessary costs as they install, modi Reconsideration Order. para. 21. The Commission stated fy and use wiring and other equipment in ways that may that requiring customer-provided inside wiring to be con be privately beneficial. The Commission proposed to nected to the network through a carrier-installed jack modify Section 68.104 to allow the customer or his agent would enable easy disconnection of inside wiring should to sever carrier-installed inside wiring and install a stan harm occur, 97 FCC 2d at 541, and would also serve to dard jack described in Subpart F. The Commission solic accomplish the objective of limiting access to the protec ited comments on whether in connection with installation tor on the carrier side of the demarcation point to the of a jack the customer should be allowed access to the carrier because a telephone company-installed jack at the protector and whether any of its rule proposals necessi demarcation point would always be interposed between 4 tated a change in definition of the network interface or the protector and customer-provided inside wiring. 97 demarcation point. The Commission proposed to elimi FCC 2d 540-542. With respect to location and relocation nate the authorization for the carrier to take extraordinary of the network interface, the Commission stated that this procedures when harm occurred originating in inside wir should be performed by the carrier in accordance with ing but to modify Section 68.108 to authorize the carrier nondiscriminatory standard operating practices. First Re- to discontinue service when harm has occurred. The port and Order, para. 24. · Commission solicited comment on the continued need 4. In .the First Report and Order the Commission also for, but did not specifically propose to eliminate, the imposed other terms and conditions on customer installa attestation requirement for inside wire of Section tion and connection to the telephone network of inside 68.213(d) and the notification requirement of Section wiring. These included insulation standards for wire,5 a 68.213(e). The Commission offered for comment a peti requirement that manufacturers of wire attest that it meets tion for Rule Making filed by the Electronic Industries those standards,6 a requirement that customers test newly Association (EIA) requesting that the Commission rule installed wiring/ a requirement that customers on request that all plugs and jacks used in inside wiring, not just the provide certain information to the carrier on inside wir jack at the network interface, are required to conform to ing installations,8 and an authorization to the telephone the technical specifications of Subpart F. The Commission company to invoke certain extraordinary procedures stated that EIA's assumption was incorrect that such jacks when network harm was caused by customer-installed are not already required to conform to Subpart F, but inside wiring.9 In the First Report and Order the Commis offered the EIA petition for comment in order to clarify sion deferred consideration of a request by AT&T that the situation.