National performance standards for telecommunications services

Nationally, performance standards for the network portion of telecommunication services are being actively addressed in Committee T1 (or, more specifically, its Performance Technical Subcommittee, T1Q1), which is accredited by the American National Standards Institute and sponsored by the Exchange Carrier Standards Association (ECSA). A brief description of the current structure T1 and T1Q1 is followed by a discussion of several generic issues that have arisen in the working groups addressing each service. The issues relate to the methodology of developing requirements; the impact of embedded facilities; standards´ relationship to existing tariffed services; and the determination of which portions of a network connection require standards. Current standards activity in each working group is highlighted.<>