Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan

Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan

Version Control

Version / Date / Author / Change Description
1.0 Draft / 09/19/2008 / John Berard / Document created
2.0 Draft / 09/22/2008 / John Berard / Revised all Sections based on feedback.
Added Drafted Escalation List
Added Appendix Section
Added Timeline
3.0 Draft / 09/25/2008 / John Berard / Revised all sections based on feedback
4.0 Draft / 09/26/2008 / John Berard / Revised all sections based on Legal & Liberty feedback
5.0 Draft / 11/13/2008 / John Berard / Revised all sections based on feedback
  1. Introduction

The purpose of the FairPoint Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan (the Plan) is to define and communicate the processes and procedures that FairPoint has developed for interaction between FairPoint and members of the Wholesale Community before, during and immediately following Cutover. Some processes and procedures are still under development and those will be shared with the Wholesale Customers as promptly as possible.

The processes and procedures described in this Plan will be utilized during three periods (defined below): Pre-Cutover, Cutover and Post-Cutover. The Plan describes the processes that will be in effect during each of these periods. FairPoint is committed to parity, business continuity, and ongoing communications to ensure as smooth a transition as possible with minimal disruption to our Wholesale Customers and their end-users.

Wholesale Customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are familiar with the current Verizon Systems for ordering, provisioning, installation, testing/turn up, maintenance, repair and other assorted systems. FairPoint will be transitioning from those existing Verizon Systems to our customized solution that will be turned up during Cutover. The Plan will define system processes and transition timelines so the Wholesale Community will know what to expect and can become familiar with all aspects of the coming transition. The Plan will also continue to be updated as additional information becomes available and as dates are finalized.

The transition timelines presented in this manual are divided into three phases. Those phases are:

i.Pre-Cutover. Pre-Cutover is the period we are in right now. FairPoint is making numerous preparations in anticipation of The Systems transition, including but not limited to system integration, system testing and system documentation. Our Wholesale Customers have been active participants and valued stakeholders in many of these preparations already. Pre-Cutover is tentatively scheduled to end on January 30th, 2009 at 6:00 pm. This date assumes the 60 day Irrevocable Notice of Cutover has been issued by November 30, 2008.

ii.Cutover. Cutover is that time when the current systems will be unavailable and the transition to the new systems will be taking place. Cutover is tentatively scheduled to begin at 6:01 pmJanuary 30, 2009 pending Verizon approval. The Cutover period is anticipated to last five (5) business days and end on February 6, 2009 at 6:00 pm. At the conclusion of Cutover, the Post-Cutover period will begin. This schedule assumes the 60 day Irrevocable Notice of Cutover has been issued by November 30, 2008.

iii.Post-Cutover. Post-Cutover is that time when the new systems are up and operating. It is our intention that Post-Cutover will continue until systems are operating normally and within defined, guidelines. It is not intended to describe normal operations. Post-Cutover is currently scheduled to begin at 6:01 pm on February 6, 2009. This date assumes the 60 day Irrevocable Notice of Cutover has been agreed to and issued by November 30, 2008 and that Cutover has begun on January 30th, 2009 at 6:01 pm.

All days specified within the Plan are calendar days unless specifically noted otherwise. The Plan, its three unique phases and the processes associated with those phases are applicable to ALL FairPoint customers, including both Retail and Wholesale Customers. Parity is our guide for all customer impacting changes and processes.

Cutover is subject to approval and authorization of regulatory authorities. All dates and timeframes contained in this Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan are subject to change.

If you have questions with regard to the information contained in the Plan, please feel free to contact John Berard at (207) 648-3085 or contact your FairPoint Account Team.

This Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan is provided for informational purposes only and FairPoint reserves the right to make changes to the processes described in this Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan in its sole discretion. While FairPoint believes the information contained herein is true and accurate, FairPoint makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan. This Wholesale Cutover Communication Plan does not constitute a contract, and issuance of this Plan does not create any contractual obligations or any other obligation whatsoever on the part of FairPoint or Verizon or any FairPoint or Verizon affiliate.
Critical Terms

  1. CDG. CDG or Communications Data Group is a Service Bureau that FairPoint uses, to support both Wholesale Customer access and local billing.
  2. Customer Jeopardy. A Customer Jeopardy is any order that is in a jeopardy status as a result of a Wholesale Customer’s issues, such as. no access or customer not ready. These orders will be cancelled by Verizon on the date of Cutover and will need to be reinitiated by the Wholesale Customer in FairPoint systems.
  3. Cutover Period. Cutover is that time when the current Verizon Systems will be unavailable and the transition to the new FairPoint systems will be taking place. Cutover is tentatively scheduled to begin at 6:01 pmJanuary 30, 2009. The Cutover period is anticipated to last five (5) business days and end on February 6, 20096:00 pm. At the conclusion of Cutover, the Post-Cutover period will begin. This schedule assumes the 60 day Irrevocable Notice of Cutover has been issued by November 30, 2008 and that Cutover begins on January 30, 2009 at 6:01pm.
  4. Embargo. In order to minimize manual handling of orders during Cutover, FairPoint will impose an Embargo on orders that might not complete before Cutover. The Embargo will apply to all retail and wholesale orders with due dates five (5) days prior to the scheduled Cutover date or later. For the anticipated Cutover date of January 30, 2009 at 6:00 pm, orders with due dates of 6:00 pm on January 23, 2009 or later would be subject to the Embargo. Emergency orders (see below) are not subject to the Embargo. Wholesale Customers with orders subject to the Embargo will not be allowed to submit the orders in the Verizon Systems; however, the Wholesale Customers may either submit the orders in Wisor, where they will be queued for execution in the Post-Cutover period, or may delay submitting the orders until the Post-Cutover period.
  5. Emergency Orders. Emergency orders are those orders that qualify under the Telecommunications System Priority (TSP) Guidelines, as defined by the Federal Office of Priority Telecommunications. TSP orders are available to Business and Government End Users only and not to residential customers. TSP codes are assigned by the Federal Office of Priority Telecommunications. In addition we will, on a case by case basis, provision orders for such issues as New Service for “Medical” expedites, ChangeTN for legal demand situations, Change Directory Listing for legal demand situations and other extreme or emergency scenarios. These orders will require approval at Director Level during Cutover.
  6. FairPoint Jeopardy. A FairPoint jeopardy is any order that is in a jeopardy status as a result of a FairPoint issue, such as scheduling work load. These orders will be treated as in-flight orders and will be re-keyed into the FairPoint systems by FairPoint personnel.
  7. Flow Through: FairPoint will measure Flow Through as the ability for qualifying orders to obtain a Firm Order Commitment (FOC) without manual intervention.
  8. Implementation Manager. Implementation Managers are individuals with the Business and Wholesale Services Organization who will be responsible for Emergency Orders during Cutover. They will coordinate conference calls that will include all necessary departments in order to have services turned up.
  9. In-Flight Orders. In-flight, or pending orders are those orders (ASRs and LSRs) received by FairPoint from Verizon with a due date extending beyond the Embargo Date. These orders will be manually re-keyed into the FairPoint systems once they become operational. These will include any orders submitted into the Verizon systems once the Embargo Period begins.
  10. New Orders. New Orders are orders which are queued in the FairPoint Wisor system or held until the completion of Cutover as the due dates extend beyond the Embargo period. These orders will be processed as soon as the FairPoint systems become operational.
  11. Pending Orders. Pending Orders are the orders that will remain open in the Verizon system and will have to be re-keyed into the FairPoint systems by FairPoint personnel. This will be inclusive of all in-flight orders.
  12. Post-Cutover Period. Post-Cutover is that time when the new FairPoint Systems are operating. The Post-Cutover period will continue until the new FairPoint Systems are operating normally and within defined guidelines. It is not intended to describe normal operations. Post-Cutover is currently scheduled to begin at 6:01 pm on February 6, 2009. This date assumes the 60 day Irrevocable Notice of Cutover has been agreed to and issued on November 30, 2008 and that cutover has begun on January 30th, 2009 at 6:01 pm.
  13. Pre-Cutover Period. Pre-Cutover is the period we are in right now. FairPoint is making numerous preparations in anticipation of the systems transition, including but not limited to system development, system testing and system documentation. Our Wholesale Customers have been active participants and valued stakeholders in many of these preparations already. Pre-Cutover is tentatively scheduled to end on January 30, 2009 at 6:00 pm. This date assumes the 60 day Irrevocable Notice of Cutover has been issued on November 30, 2008 and that Cutover begins on January 30, 2009 at 6:01pm.
  14. Siebel. Siebel is a FairPoint internal application that houses the Wholesale Customer hierarchy of account information and certain associated assets (such as loops, features, Uniform Service Order Codes, etc.).
  15. Systems. The systems used by members of the Wholesale Community and FairPoint for pre-ordering, ordering, provisioning, installation, testing, maintenance, repair and billing of FairPoint Wholesale Services.
  16. Wisor. Wisor isa FairPoint provided external application that allows Wholesale Customers to send and receive Pre-Order, Order, Order Status and Trouble Administration transactions using a Web browser or EDI. It is used in the FairPoint states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1STAFFING

1.1Wholesale Service Center (WSC) – Ordering

1.1.1Pre-Cutover:

1.1.2Cutover

1.2Regional Operations Center (ROC): Provisioning/Installation Trouble Administration/Repair

1.2.1Pre-Cutover

1.2.3Post-Cutover

2Wholesale Customer Training

2.1Wisor Training

2.1.1Pre-Cutover

2.1.2Cutover

2.1.3Post-Cutover

3PRE-ORDER

3.1Process

3.1.1Pre-Cutover

3.1.2Cutover

3.1.3Post-Cutover

4ORDERING

4.1Escalation Lists

4.2Pending (In-Flight) Orders

4.2.1Pre-Cutover

4.2.2Cutover

4.2.3Post-Cutover

4.3Orders in Jeopardy Status

4.3.1Pre-Cutover

4.3.2Cutover

4.3.3Post-Cutover

4.4New Orders

4.4.1Pre-Cutover

4.4.2Cutover

4.4.3Post-Cutover

4.5Emergency Orders

4.5.1Pre-Cutover

4.5.2Cutover

4.5.3Post Cutover

4.6Regulatory Relief

4.6.1Metric Relief

4.7System Release Management

5Directory Listings

5.1Directory Listings Overview

5.1.1Pre-Cutover

5.1.2Cutover

5.1.3Post-Cutover

6Provisioning & Installation

6.1Escalation Lists / Process

6.2Order Processing

6.2.1Pre-Cutover

6.2.2Cutover

6.2.3Post-Cutover

6.3Emergency Orders

6.3.1Pre-Cutover

6.3.2Cutover

6.3.3Post-Cutover

7billing

7.1Escalation List

7.2Billing Disputes

7.2.1Pre-Cutover

7.2.2Cutover

7.2.3Post-Cutover

7.3Media / Format

7.3.1Pre-Cutover

7.3.2Cutover

7.3.3Post-Cutover

7.4DUF

7.4.1Pre-Cutover

7.4.2Cutover

7.4.3Post-Cutover

7.5Payments

7.5.1Pre-Cutover

7.5.2Cutover

7.5.3Post-Cutover

7.6Billing Cycles

7.6.1Pre-Cutover

7.6.2Cutover

7.6.3Post Cutover

7.7CARE / NeuStar

7.7.1Pre-Cutover

7.7.2Cutover

7.7.3Post-Cutover

7.8Billing and Collection Services (B&C)

7.8.1Pre-Cutover

7.8.2Cutover

7.8.3Post-Cutover

8E9-1-1

8.1Escalation Lists

8.2E9-1-1 Process

8.2.1Pre-Cutover

8.2.2Cutover

8.2.3Post-Cutover

9Trouble administration / repair

9.1Escalation Lists

9.2Ticket Submission

9.2.1Pre-Cutover

9.2.2Cutover

9.2.3Post-Cutover

9.3Remote Testing

9.3.1Pre-Cutover

9.3.2Cutover

9.3.3Post-Cutover

9.4Dispatch Request

9.4.1Pre-Cutover

9.4.2Cutover

9.4.3Post-Cutover

9.5System Release Management

9.5.1Under Development

10Operator Services / Directory Assistance (OS/DA)

10.1OS/DA Process

10.1.1Pre-Cutover

10.1.2Cutover

11Metrics

11.1PAP Delivery Process

11.1.1Pre-Cutover

11.1.2Cutover

11.1.3Post-Cutover

12Interval Guides

12.1Summary

13Escalation Lists

13.1FairPoint Wholesale Account Team Contacts

13.2Provisioning, Installation, Repair and Maintenance Contact Lists

13.3Escalation Lists

14Wholesale customer Check List

15Appendices

15.1Appendix A - FairPoint Wholesale Customer Facing Systems Migration Table

15.2Appendix B – Company Codes

16Glossary

1STAFFING

1.1WholesaleServiceCenter (WSC) – Ordering

Summary

The following is an outline of key staffing plans to address production levels and contingency staffing for Post-Cutover. These are the current staffing numbers to ensure the FairPoint Wholesale Service Center (WSC) has sufficient resources in place to address historically normal work volume, Pre-Cutover activities and contingency staffing for Post-Cutover.

FairPoint’s staffing plan was constructed based on the understanding of a level of flow through (to obtain a FOC response) that would be provided by our systems. FairPoint has identified the volumes of orders by product type based on historical information and aggregated the numbers to a volume of flow through based on the products that will be eligible for flow through. Staffing was then based on the needs for standing up the systems and working the complex orders in a manual process and also being staffed for the anticipated volume of manual fallout. The numbers for FairPoint’s flow through orders are inline with those of Verizon.

1.1.1Pre-Cutover:

1.1.1.1Normal Production Staffing Level: FairPoint maintains its production staffing level based on expected flow-thru intervals on the new FairPoint systems.

1.1.1.1.1FairPoint has 90% of the required personnel resources on board. The staff is processing orders currently in the Verizon system and going through training in preparation for Cutover. The additional 10% of staff needed have been selected and will begin training at the end of October. The training will run continuously through Cutover and beyond. FairPoint maintains a continual recruitment, hiring and training program to ensure that we have sufficiently trained personnel to manage order activity.

1.1.1.2Temporary Support Staffing:FairPoint WSC will increase its staffing level above the historically normal production level by 17%. The staff will be used to support the Cutover and beyond. This is in addition to the current staffing levels and additional 10% identified. The staff is being put in place to support ancillary tasks, and to provide the WSC management team the opportunity to test and train on the new systems while current production levels are maintained.

1.1.1.2.1Temporary support staff is planned to be in place 60 days prior to Cutover and will be maintained after Cutover until this force is no longer required.

1.1.1.3.Contingency Staffing Level:FairPoint WSC will increase staffing by an additional 57% for staffing of a disaster recovery plan if flow-through as expected is not realized. This staff is over and above the temporary support staff that will be in place within the WSC. We plan to outsource approximately 85% of this staffing increase to an experienced provider who has previously contracted with Verizon to support LSR and ASR activities. .

1.1.1.3.1Contingency Support Staff is expected to be in place 45 days prior to Cutover. This team has already been working ASR and LSR projects for a Bell Operating Company and will be receiving FairPoint system training beginning December 1, 2008.

1.1.2Cutover

1.1.2.1The WholesaleServiceCenter will have system subject matter experts in place on the floor to coach the WSC Representatives on potential knowledge gaps and system functionality. These SMEs will have overall Wholesale Customer knowledge and skills and will be maintained until FairPoint is able to return to the normal production staffing levels.

1.1.3Post-Cutover

1.1.3.1Return to Normal Production Staffing Levels: FairPoint will resume normal production staffing levels when the backlog of orders has been eliminated, flow-through has resumed to expected levels and new employee skill levels have reached acceptable levels to provide and meet the service demands of our customers.

1.2RegionalOperationsCenter (ROC): Provisioning/Installation Trouble Administration/Repair

Summary

The following is an outline of key staffing to address normal production levels, Pre-Cutover staffing and contingency staffing for Post-Cutover. These staffing levels will ensure that the Regional Operations Center (ROC) will have the necessary resources in place to address normal work volumes, Pre-Cutover activities and contingency staffing for Post-Cutover.

FairPoint’s ROC assumes the functions and responsibilities of the following Verizon centers: Overall Control Office (OCO), Maintenance Control Office (MCO), Regional CLEC Coordination Center (RCCC), Regional CLEC Maintenance Center (RCMC) and the Data Services Assurance Center (DSAC). In addition the FairPoint Emergency Response Center (FERC) will also be managed from the ROC. Due to consolidation of the aforementioned Verizon centers into the ROC, the staffing plan for Provisioning and Installation is the same as the plan for Trouble Administration and Repair.

1.2.1Pre-Cutover

1.2.1.1Normal Production Staffing Level: FairPoint has planned for production staffing levels based on expected flow through intervals on the new FairPoint Systems. FairPoint flow-through levels are expected to be the same as the current Verizon flow-through levels.

1.2.1.1.1FairPoint currently has 90% of the required staff on board; the staff is processing orders and trouble tickets currently in the Verizon system or going through training in preparation for Cutover. FairPoint’s plan calls for 100% of the staff needed to be on board in time for Cutover.

1.2.1.2Temporary Support Staff: FairPoint has increased its staffing level by 14% to support Pre-Cutover activities. This staff supports ancillary tasks and affords the management team the opportunity to test and train on the new systems while current production levels are maintained.

1.2.1.3Contingency Staffing Level: FairPoint will increase staffing by an additional 14% (in addition to the temporary staffing) to support any unanticipated lower level of flow-through. These resources will be utilized until the provisioning and trouble administration volumes return to normal levels.

1.2.1.3.1Contingency Support Staff will be in place 45 days prior to Cutover.

1.2.2Cutover

1.2.2.1Same as Above