Important Notice: These General Definitions apply to all the regulated interstate and international products and services , and to all of the Internet, enhanced and other non-telecommunications products and services, contained in this “Service Guide and Price Guide” (“Guide”). They also apply to regulated intrastate service to the extent a particular definition explicitly states or to the extent to which such intrastate service is subject to a Catalog Schedule in a specific state. They may be modified or supplemented by service-specific definitions contained elsewhere in this Guide, specifically, where individual services are located, or by definitions contained in a written contract between the Company and the Customer.
These General Definitions also apply to capitalized terms contained in written contracts between Company and Customer which incorporate this Guide by reference and do not otherwise define those capitalized terms in the written contract.
In the event of an inconsistency between a General Definition, a service-specific definition, a state-specific Catalog Schedule or a definition in a written contract, the relationship with the Customer will consist of the following, in order of precedence from (1) through (4): (1) the definition in the written contract; (2) the state-specific Catalog Schedule; (3) the service-specific definition in this Guide; and (4) the General Definition.
Access: A means by which Company service is provided to a Customer. Access may be “Dedicated,” in which case it is available to the Customer on a full-time, unshared, basis, or it may be “Switched,” in which case it is available to the Customer and others on a usage, shared, basis.
Access Coordination: The design, ordering, installation coordination, pre‑service testing, service turn‑up, maintenance and ongoing coordination of testing and trouble resolution for all Company-provided Local Loop. In the case of customer-provided Local Access Loop, the maintenance, ongoing coordination of testing and trouble resolution.
Address of Record: For purposes of the CPNI rules, a Company address of record is any address associated with the account for at least 30 days in a Company system such that Company can immediately notify the customer if the address of record changes, such as a billing address and a contract notice address. So long as Company does not have the ability to immediately notify customers if service addresses changes, a service address is not an address of record.
Affinity Group: An association or group (not organized for the purpose of qualifying for service discounts) with common business or other interests that agrees to market Company service(s).
Administrative Change: The modification of an existing circuit or a dedicated access line or port at the request of the Customer that involves changes to authorization codes, speed numbers, route guide, consolidation of billing, verification of testing performed by parties other than the Company, or any other administrative change not covered by a billing record change.
Alternate Access: A form of Local Access in which the provider is an entity, other than the Local Exchange Carrier, authorized or permitted to provide such service.
ASR or Access Service Request: An order placed with a Local Access provider for Local Access.
Answer Supervision: The return of a signal to the calling party disclosing that a call was answered.
Application for Service: A standard order or enrollment form that includes all pertinent billing, technical and other descriptive information needed by the Company to provide service.
Authorized User: A person, firm, corporation or other entity that either is authorized by the Customer to receive or send communications or is placed in a position by the Customer, either through acts or omissions, to send or receive communications.
Bandwidth: The total frequency band, in hertz, allocated for a channel.
Called Station: The station called, or the terminating point of a call.
Calling Station: The station at which a call is originates.
Catalog Schedule: A specific set of terms and/or rates for intrastate service set out under the title of “catalog schedule,” “price list,” or a similar name, in the section of the Guide for standard Intrastate Telecommunications Products.
Channel or Circuit: A communications path between two or more points. Channel is often used to indicate a circuit that takes up only part of the bandwidth of the facility over which it operates.
Channel Termination: The point at which the Company’s channel originates, terminates, or drops for the insertion or removal of a Customer's signal.
Collect Call: A call for which applicable charges are billed to the telephone number of the called station of the Customer.
Commercial Service: A switched network service involving dial station originations for which the Customer pays a rate that is described as a business or commercial rate in the applicable local exchange service tariff for switched service.
Company: MCI Communications Services, Inc., d/b/a Verizon Business Services, or any affiliated entity designated as the provider of any service offered in the Guide. MCImetro Access Transmission Services LLC d/b/a Verizon Access Transmission Services is the provider of any such service to the extent such service is required to be offered by a certified local exchange carrier, except in Virginia and Massachusetts. In Virginia, that service is provided by MCImetro Access Transmission Services of Virginia, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Access Transmission Services of Virginia, and in Massachusetts, it is provided by MCImetro Access Transmission Services of Massachusetts, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Access Transmission Services of Massachusetts.
Customer: The person, firm, corporation or other entity which orders service and is responsible for the payment of all charges for service and for compliance with Company contract and tariff requirements. The term "customer" also includes a person, firm, corporation or other entity that either knowingly or unknowingly accesses service and completes a communication over the Company’s network. For Resp Org Service, the Customer is the person, firm, corporation or other entity that selects or is directed to select the Company as the Responsible Organization (Resp Org) for a toll-free telephone number. For purposes of SMS Resp Org Changes, the customer is the person, firm, corporation, or other entity that submits the change request.
Customer Premises: A space owned, leased or otherwise under the control of Customer or Authorized User at which Service is provided (including without limitation locations of interconnection, termination and origination).
Dedicated Access/Termination: An access line service consisting of a continuously connected circuit between a Customer Premises or serving telephone company central office and a Company terminal, available to the Customer on a full-time, unshared, basis, which is used for the origination or termination of services.
Due Date: The date on which payment for service by the Customer is due.
End-to-End: Customer Premise to Customer Premise.
Exemption Certificate: A written notification provided by a Customer certifying that its dedicated facility should be exempted from the monthly Special Access Surcharge because: (a) the facility terminates in a device not capable of interconnecting service with the local exchange network; or (b) the facility is associated with a Switched Access Service that is subject to Carrier Common Line Charges.
Expedite: A Service Order that is processed at the request of the Customer in a time period shorter than the Company standard Service interval.
Gbps: Billions of bits per second.
Guide: This Service Publication and Price Guide.
ICO (Independent Company): An ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) not affiliated with an RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company) which provides
exchange service in areas not served by an RBOC.
ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier): The dominant phone carrier providing exchange service within a geographic area as determined by the FCC.
Installation: The provision of connections for new or additional service.
Institutional Phones: Telephones, other than payphones, located in public institutions such as universities, prisons, or public offices, or in hotels or motels, or in other premises where the Customer may not be able to control access to the phones.
Interexchange (IXC) Service: The portion of a Channel or Circuit between a Company designated Point-of-Presence in one exchange and a Company designated Point-of-Presence in another exchange.
Interruption: A condition that arises when service or a portion thereof is inoperative.
Invoice: A document or other communique that discloses the Company’s charges for service furnished to the Customer.
kbps: Kilobits per second.
LATA (Local Access Transport Area): A geographic area established by law and regulation for the provision and administration of telecommunications services.
Local Access Circuit: The connection between a Customer Premises and a Company Point-of-Presence. Also known as “Local Loop”.
Local Access: The portion of service between a Customer Premises and a Company designated Point-of-Presence.
Local Exchange Carrier (LEC): A company which furnishes exchange telephone service.
Local Loop: The connection between a Customer Premises and a Company Point-of-Presence. Also known as “Local Access Circuit”.
Locations: Places from or at which service is furnished.
Mbps: Megabits per second.
MCI Legacy Company: An affiliate of Verizon that was an affiliate of MCI, Inc. prior to the acquisition of MCI, Inc. by Verizon Communications Inc., including one or more of the following entities (without limitation): MCI Communications Services, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Business Services; MCImetro Access Transmission Services LLC d/b/a Verizon Access Transmission Services; MCImetro Access Transmission Services of Virginia, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Access Transmission Services of Virginia; and MCImetro Access Transmission Services of Massachusetts, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Access Transmission Services of Massachusetts, and applicable affiliated operating companies outside the United States.
Multiline Terminating Device: Switching equipment, key telephone type systems or other similar customer premises terminating equipment which is capable of terminating more than one access line.
Operator Station: Service that requires the assistance of an operator to complete a call.
Private Carriage Service: a service provided to a Customer on an individual basis, whose rates, terms and conditions are subject to negotiation between the Company and Customer, and not offered for sale ubiquitously to the general public at publicly posted rates. If rates, terms and conditions cannot be satisfactorily negotiated with a Customer, Company reserves the right not to sell such Private Carriage Service to that Customer.
Person-to-Person: Service for which the person originating a call specifies to an operator a particular person, mobile station, department, extension, or office to be reached.
Physical Change: A service modification that requires some physical change of service.
Point-of-Presence (POP): A location at which the Company maintains a Terminal Location for purposes of providing service.
Promotion: Periodic financial inducement offered by the Company to new and/or existing Customers of service to subscribe to and use new or additional service(s).
Rate: The price per unit of service.
Rate Center: A specified geographical location used for determining mileage measurements.
RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company): One of the seven LECs established in the U.S. Department of Justice 1984 Consent Decree with AT&T. The RBOC carriers are Ameritech, Verizon (NYNEX) or Verizon North, Verizon (Bell Atlantic) or Verizon South, Bell South, Pacific Bell (PacBell), Southwestern Bell and US West (Qwest).
Redundancy: An offering of alternate service through the use of one or more different routings, circuits, and/or additional equipment
Requested Service Date: The date requested by the Customer for the commencement of service and agreed to by the Company.
Restoration: The re-establishment of service.
Route Diversity: Two channels furnished partially or entirely over two physically separate routes.
Service: Any Company product or service provided to, or obtained by, the Customer, any Authorized User, or a third party.
Service Document: The initial online document or page on the Guide related to a specific service which contains the service description, defined terms, description of features and options, pricing, terms and conditions and service level agreement sections either in whole or in part. The Service Document may hyperlink to other HTML pages, spreadsheets or PDF documents that complete the above sections.
Serving Wire Center: The physical location within a Local Exchange Carrier's central office or other service provider's facility used to determine mileage sensitive rates. A serving wire center is associated with each Customer location and each Company location.
Special Access Surcharge: A charge imposed by a Local Exchange Carrier in accordance with Section 69.115 of the FCC Rules and Regulations.
Start of Service Date: The Requested Service Date or the date service first becomes available for use by the Customer.
Station: Telephone equipment from or to which calls are placed.
Station-to-Station: A directly dialed call for which no operator is used.
Switched Access/Termination: An access line service consisting of an occasionally connected circuit between a Customer Premises or serving telephone company central office and a Company terminal, available to the Customer on a usage, shared, basis, which is used for the origination or termination of service.
Telecommunications Service Priority: An FCC-mandated program to provide telecommunications provisioning and/or restoration of service in accordance with Part 64, Subpart D, Appendix A of the Federal Communications Commission's Rules and Regulations, which specifies the priority system for such activities.
Term: The period of time of service selected by the Customer and agreed to by the Company.
Terminal Equipment: Devices, apparatus and their associated wiring, such as teleprinters, telephone handsets or data sets, interconnected to service.
Terms of Service: The body of prescribed rules governing the offering and furnishing of service, including (without limitation) “general” and “service-specific” terms contained in this Guide, as supplemented by any additional or alternative terms in a Signed Contract.
Third Party Billing: An optional invoicing procedure that permits service charges to be billed to a number that is different from the number of the calling station or the called station. The person agreeing to accept a call is responsible for payment for the call.
Transmission Speed: Data transmission speed or rate, in bits per seconds (bps).
Twelve O’clock: In designating time period 12:00 AM refers to 12:00 Midnight and 12:00 PM refers to 12:00 Noon.
United States: The 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories.
U.S. Mainland: The District of Columbia and the 48 conterminous states.
U.S. Territories: Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
Wire Center: Denotes the service area from which a Customer Premises would normally obtain exchange service dial tone from an ILEC.