HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-14-1986 i
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Technical Review Task Force - Telephone
AGENDA (#$)
Monday, April 14, 1986
6:00 pm, County Commissioners' Room
1. Opening remarks.
29 Selfiintroduction of Task Force members and liaisons.
3. D-i-sc i;ss speclal report and- recommendati-ons- to County
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Commissioners- on long- distance failures from 4/3/86 through
4/11/86-... ..Report and recommendations will be presented at
Joini meeting at 7:00 tonight.
4. Work-Ion report #1--to County Commissioners for presentation
Tuesday, April 22nd.
5. 7:00 Joint--special-meeting -w1th. County Commissioners. to
present long distance failure report and proposals for
action.
6. Other Business.
7. Adjourn.
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-April 14, 1986 :
N. C. Utilities Commission
c/o. Chief Clerk
P. O. Box 29510
Raleigh, NCi27625-0510
Dear Commissioners:
By. (unanimous) Resolution passed April 14,_ 1986,.. the
Orange County Board of Commissioners expressed - its deep
concern and Idisquiet regarding the recent intolerable interr-
uption to long distance service for Centel and General
Telephone subscribers in Orange County. It is our under-
standing that one or more network faults have led to a state
of 'affairs in -which the citizens of Orange County have
suffered from frequent interruptions to service, sometimes
lasting alll day long, and these have affected both incoming
and outgoing calls. This situation has prevailed since
April 3. These daily service failures have caused- distress
to our citizens, failed communications, and present a threat
to health and safety. You can well imagine the disastrous
effect this is having on many of our local businesses who
rely heavily on telephone links to customers, -suppliers, and .
to the outside world. Lost orders and inaccessible supplies-
are the result.
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All citizens in our society rightly expect and have need
for reliable telephone communications. notwithstanding whether
it be local or by long distance calls. It is astonishing to.
us that the=e is apparently no back-up route for calls out of
this area to the world; even our fire codes require two. doors
on every building!
By this letter, therefore, we formally request you to
use fully your procedures to look into this matter, covering
at least the following three areas:
1. To assist in securing immediate .relief (we under-
stand a temporary correction has been made. )
2. To investigate the nature of the problem and to make
full public disclosure of the ' events, their causes and
the remedies taken to date.
3. To take whatever steps are necessary to develop
under public scrutiny plan for a permanent solution to
this problem, together with a prompt timetable for the
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plan's implementation; and, further, to ensure that the
telephone service providers implement forthwith that r4�xe
permanent solutions, so that such problems have an
almost nil probability of. ever hajIning again.
sincerely,
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TELEPHONE TECANICAL REVIEW TASK FORCE
SPECIAL REPORT TO ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ON LONG DISTANCE FAILURE OF 4/3/86 - 4/11/86
April 14, 1986*
PROBLEM
Beginning -on- Thursday April 3rd, 1986, subscribers to Centel's
. service- out of- Hillsborough- and. subscribers of General Telephone ,
in-.eastern-Orange- County saw- the beginnings of- what was to
become a-major, regional telephone communications failure on the
dial network lasting from-Thursday-.4/3/86 through Saturday
4/12/86, a period of 10- days. While long distance service was at
best- sporadic during these 10 days, during- the 4 days from
Tuesday. 4/8- through Friday 4/11 service was almost non existant.
The outage was- widespread. - As best we can determine, most, if
not all., of Durham-County--served by- General Telephone, including
the- Research- Triangle• Park, and those portions-of Orange County
served- by Centel's Hillsborough%office and served by- General
Telephone were affected.
APPARENT CAUSE
Centel .Hillsborough and, General Telephone in Orange County are
connected only- to a-. General Telephone toll- office- in Durham, as
is- most of Durham- County... .- Long distance network control of that-
nurham- toll office is from AT&T- in- Atlanta and, redundantly, from
AT&T in- Birmingham - For some reasons,-- not- cable cuts, the Durham
to Atlanta path failed. .. The Durham-Birmingham -path- also failed
-rather than carry the load,- resulting in no long distance into or
out of the- Durham toll office for Orange County- and most of
Durham County.
TEMPORARY RELIEF
On day- 9, 720 channels- were- connected between Durham and
Greensboro- to provide another alternate path.to long- distance
toll routing. There were only "slight glitches" reported Saturday,
4/12/86.
IMPACT
Many-businesses in -Orange County have the world- as their market,
not- just. Hillsborough,- or- Orange. County, or even the region-. -
Since virtually every telephone communication i5 "long distance", '
these- businesses- have been almost totally- shut- down with the
economic--lose.- staggering.. - Even. -local businesses couldn't call.
thei-z• suppliers. - Residential- telephone users have- come to expect
the presence of a working long- distance phone' service Many have
situations with family- ox friends- which make telephone
communications absolutely- necessary With so many toll areas in
Orange County, public health and safety was compromised.
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SOLUTION
The-,Ora ng County Commissioners- have, a- -public responsibility- to
join-•arm- jn a•rm with Orange- County citizens seeking immediate- - -
relief. from and. permanent resolution- to -this -problem. . Practical,
economic and--affordable -technology is quite.well known and- has- .
existed for -quite--some-time- that• will• reduce- the, probability of
such- an--occurrence to- almost. .zero.- Redundant pathways (multiple
-resilient1 pathways}- are part of- the, solution. But- some- of the - -
problem (and of course, -solution), is administrative., and for -that
we must look to -our State- .Utilities Commission and perhaps even
to -our Legislature for regulations and laws in support of more
optimal networks.
The Telephone-Technical Task- Force unanamously -recommends that
the Orange County- Commissioners take a leadership- rolb in
defining fhe urgency of this situation- icy formally- requesting the
North- Carolina Ut-il•ities Commissioners to use. fully their-
procedures to attend to at- least the following three -items: 1) to
provide immediate- relief- from this problem, 2) to require
complete public disclosure for- -the -facts surrounding this
failure-, p and- 3) to require. development,. under public scrutiny, a
plan- for permanent- solution, a- timetable,- and a committment for
implementhtion to reduce the probability of such an occurrence to
almost zelro.
To this e.n -we- are submitting to- you- a draft resolution and a
draft- of- a- letter- to• the- North Carolina- Utilities Commission for
your consideration, review, revision and adoption.
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RES0LU- TIO-N -
WHEREAS, all citizens rightly expect and find necessary
• reliable telephone. communications, whether local or long
-distance, and
WHEREAS, the citizens of Orange County have recently
suffered intolerable interruptions to long distance service
provided through Centel and General Telephone, which has
occurred ovlr a 10 day period, and ,
WHEREAS, these service failures have caused distress to
our citizens, failed communications, lost orders and inacces-
sible supplies to our local businesses, and present a threat
to health and safety,
NOW TH MFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board expresses
its deep concern and disquiet regarding this intolerable
situation, �nd
THAT tle North Carolina Utilities Commission be asked by
letter to t-se fully its procedures to look into- this matter,
covering atileast the following three areas:
1. To assist in securing immediate relief (we under-
stand a temporary correction has been made. )
2. To investigate the nature of the problem and to
mace full public disclosure of the events, .their
causes and the remedies taken to date.
3. To take whatever steps are. necessary , to develop
under public scrutiny a plan, for a permanent
so ution to this problem, together with a prompt
timetable for the plan's implementation; and,
further, to ensure that the telephone service
providers implement forthwith that permanent
solution, so that such problems have an almost nil
prpbability of ever happening again.
Don Willhoit, Chair
Attest:
Clerk
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