The Negotiations Process
The Negotiations Process
Initiating Negotiations
To initiate negotiations for local interconnection, a CLEC must submit a written request to the address shown below. While it is acceptable to initiate a request by sending a fax, please mail the original request as well. The request for negotiations must identify the states for which the CLEC would like to negotiate and delineate whether an Interconnection, Local Wholesale CompleteTM (LWCTM) /271 Switching or Resale agreement is required. LWCTM is a 13-State agreement.
Please note that Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas; Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut; Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin are separate companies and, while negotiations may be requested in a single letter, the request must identify the companies and states in which the CLEC intends to do business.
The written request to initiate negotiations should include the following:
1) Certified name of the carrier
2) Physical street address (no P.O. Boxes)
3) City/State/Zip
4) Carrier contact person’s name
5) Carrier contact person's title
6) Carrier contact person’s address (no P.O. Boxes)
7) Carrier contact person’s city/state/zip
8) Carrier contact person's telephone number
9) Carrier Contact person's fax number
- Carrier Contact person’s e-mail
11) Consultant/attorney’s name, if applicable
12) Consultant/attorney’s title
13) Consultant/attorney’s firm
14) Consultant/attorney’s address (no P.O. Boxes)
15) Consultant/attorney’s city/state/zip
16) Consultant/attorney’s telephone number
17) Consultant/attorney’s fax number
18) Consultant/attorney’s e-mail
19) Type of negotiations desired; i.e., interconnection, resale, etc.
20) State(s) in which carrier wishes to do business
21) State of incorporation
22) Include either a copy of proof of certification from the applicable state commission or application for certification for each state requested.
23) Include a copy of NECA confirmation of carrier Resale OCN if requesting resale negotiations. Include copy(ies) of NECA confirmation of carrier UNE OCN for each applicable state if requesting interconnection.
24) Include a copy of Telcordia’s confirmation of ACNA
Carriers requesting a LWC Agreement are required to have an Interconnection Agreement as well, which covers those items that are subject to Sections 251 and 252 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“the Act”). Such negotiations may be requested in the same letter. The CLEC website https://clec.att.com/clec provides additional information with regard to doing business as a CLEC with AT&T. It also offers a copy of AT&T’s 13-State Interconnection Agreement for your review.
Please address your request for negotiations for Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas; Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut; Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin (“AT&T”) to:
Director - Contract Management
AT&T Inc.
Four AT&T Plaza
311 S. Akard, 9th Floor
Dallas, Texas 75202
Fax: (800) 404-4548 or (214) 464-2006
You will receive a response within 8 business days of our receipt of your request for negotiations. Attached to that response will be a Non-Disclosure Agreement(s) to protect confidential information we may need to exchange during the negotiations process. This document protects both parties.
Prior to Negotiations
CLECs/Carriers request negotiations with Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut; Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin in writing as described previously in the Initiating Negotiations section.
You will be working with a AT&T negotiating team that is comprised of a lead negotiator, and various specialists in the case of Resale and Interconnection agreements. AT&T can provide you with a copy of our generic Interconnection or Resale Agreement to begin the negotiations. One of the generic agreements may fit your business plans. A new agreement may be negotiated with AT&T or you may adopt an interconnection agreement that is approved by the Commission in the state in which you are planning on doing business so long as that agreement has not expired or been noticed for renegotiation. All commission-approved agreements are publicly available for your review at the state regulatory commission's office. To obtain copies of a commission approved agreement, refer to the Certification section.
Copies of the California AT&T Interconnection Agreement, 13-State Resale Agreement, Multi-State Interconnection/Resale Agreement and several other state-specific agreements are available in the Interconnection Agreements section of this website. Pursuant to Merger Condition 13, AT&T offers a multi-state Interconnection and Resale Agreement. This multi-state agreement offers many advantages for our CLEC customers. The agreement is all inclusive, offers consistency, and is organized by topic. Although the multi-state agreement covers all 13 states, the agreement will be effective only in the specific state in which it has been executed, filed and approved.
Topics Discussed in Initial Negotiations Meeting
AT&T has determined that an open discussion of the following points early in the negotiation process helps to build a firm foundation for negotiating and implementing an Agreement that meets the needs and expectations of the CLEC. These topics are usually discussed in the initial negotiations meeting and include steps which must be completed prior to passing live traffic.
Facility-based Interconnection
- Overview of the CLEC plans (i.e., the LATAs, area code [s], cities, Central Offices in which the CLEC intends to operate, desired date for interconnection, whether the CLEC will interconnect its network with Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas; Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut, Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin or use Unbundled Network Elements (UNEs) to offer services, the types of optional services the CLEC might want Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas; Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut; Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin to provide)
- Options for Agreement format (e.g., AT&T generic, adopting the contract of another CLEC, CLEC proposed format)
- Overview of the Negotiation and Implementation Process and associated timeframes.
Local Wholesale CompleteTM
- Overview of CLEC plans (i.e., cities in which the CLEC intends to operate, desired services)
- Overview of LWCTM
- Overview of negotiations process and associated timeframes
- Steps necessary to become a CLEC of Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas, Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California, Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada, The Southern New England Telephone Company, Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois, Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana, Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan, The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin local exchange telecommunications services and what needs to be accomplished prior to passing resale orders
- Overview of optional Wholesale Inside Wire Plan offering, where available
- E9-1-1 Service
271 Switching
- Overview of the CLEC plans (i.e., the LATAs, area code [s], cities, Central Offices in which the CLEC intends to operate, desired date for interconnection, whether the CLEC will interconnect its network with Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas; Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut, Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin or use Unbundled Network Elements (UNEs) to offer services, the types of optional services the CLEC might want Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas; Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut; Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin to provide)
- Options for Agreement format
- Overview of the Negotiation and Implementation Process and associated timeframes.
Resale
- Overview of CLEC plans (i.e., cities in which the CLEC intends to operate, desired services)
- Overview of Resale
- Overview of negotiations process and associated timeframes
- Steps necessary to become a CLEC-Reseller of Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas, Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California, Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada, The Southern New England Telephone Company, Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois, Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana, Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan, The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin local exchange telecommunications services and what needs to be accomplished prior to passing resale orders
- Options for Agreement format (i.e., AT&T Generic, adopting the contract of another CLEC, or CLEC proposed format)
- Overview of optional Wholesale Inside Wire Plan offering, where available
- E9-1-1 Service
Most Favored Nations (MFN)
Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma and/or AT&T Texas; Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California; Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada; The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut; Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois; Indiana Bell Telephone Company Incorporated d/b/a AT&T Indiana; Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan; The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio and/or Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin will make available interconnection, service, or network element provided in agreements between AT&T and a Telecommunications Carrier that have been filed in accordance with the provisions of 251/252 of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, and approved by a state regulatory commission to any other requesting telecommunications carrier upon the same terms and conditions as those provided in the agreement in accordance with Section 252(i) of the Act, as that Section has been interpreted by the FCC in its First Report and Order, FCC Rule 51.809, and the United States Supreme Court in AT&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Bd., 119 S. Ct. 721 (1999), along with any other relevant decision(s) by a regulatory commission or court of competent jurisdiction. AT&T will also abide by all AT&T/Ameritech Merger Conditions related to MFN.
Access Carrier Name Abbreviations (ACNAs)
IAC (Interexchange Access Customer) (aka ACNA) Codes are assigned and administered by Telcordia as the maintenance agent for ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Standard T1.251, which is the specification for these codes. An IAC is a telecommunications or information provider who may be classified as an Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier, a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier, a Reseller, a Wireless Services Provider, an Enhanced Service Provider, a Telecommunications Billing an/or Processing Company, a Competitive Access Provider, a Regional Holding Company or any other type of company that is part of the telecommunications industry. The IAC code is used in interfacing between companies and aiding flowthrough. This three character alphabetic code is used to populate such COMMON LANGUAGE® Universal Service Order (USO) record fields as "ACNA" and "PIC" and is used to populate the ACNA and CCNA fields on the Access Service Request (ASR) and the Local Service Request (LSR). Telcordia may be contacted at the following address or website to obtain an ACNA.
Customer Service Center
Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
One Telcordia Drive, RRC 1B-180
Piscataway, NJ 08854-4156
Phone: 866.672.6997
Fax: 732.336.222
http://telecom-info.telcordia.com/site-cgi/ido/
Industry Requirements for Operating Company Numbers/Company Codes
Operating Company Numbers, also known as company codes and AECNs (Alternate Exchange Carrier Numbers), are company identifiers assigned by the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA). Company Codes are used like social security numbers to uniquely identify your company and are assigned to all telecommunications service providers. They are used in mechanized systems throughout the industry to facilitate the exchange of information. NECA and the telecommunications industry require state-specific company codes for facilities-based local service providers to fulfill the industry requirements of FCC Tariff Number 4 for intercompany compensation and meet-point billing arrangements.
NECA also assigns a nationwide company code for local wholesale customer specifically for resale for each local wholesale customer that resells other facilities-based providers’ telecommunications services.
Directory listings, Line Information Database (LIDB), repair/maintenance and ordering processes utilize company codes to identify local wholesale customers and to distinguish between facilities-based UNE/Interconnection and Resale business.
CLECs are required to provide unique state-specific code(s) for facilities-based business (UNEs and Interconnection) and a single resale-specific code for use nationwide.
It is AT&T’s policy to adhere to the industry standards as defined by NECA above. AT&T requires Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) wishing to conduct business in any of the AT&T-owned ILEC territories to establish Operating Company Numbers (OCNs) in accordance with the NECA standards. CLECs will be required to establish Resale and/or Facility-Based OCNs as outlined above prior to provisioning services under a Resale or Interconnection Agreement (ICA) entered into with AT&T or any AT&T-Owned ILEC.
NECA may be contacted at the following address or website to obtain an OCN. NECA’s guidelines are available on its website.
80 South Jefferson Road
Whippany, NJ 07981-1009
800-228-8597
Fax: 973-884-8469
http://www.neca.org/source/NECA_BusinessSolutions_4452.asp
Revised: 09/11/13 | Negotiations Request Form |