This briefing on the General Election is for all Communications Providers.

This update on the General Election follows on from the initial briefing (GEN008/10) of 11th January 2010.

In advance of the General Election, which must be held by June 2010, this briefing provides all Communications Providers (CPs) with information on the arrangements that Openreach will put in place for short duration, General Election lines. (PSTN, ISDN2, ISDN30).

Please note that Ethernet lines are not currently available as short duration products and do not fall within the remit of this briefing. If Ethernet lines are required at short notice and are eligible, CPs should consider the Fast-track and/or DSO expedite processes.

All short duration election lines, for ISDN2, ISDN30 and PSTN products will be managed through the Openreach events process, and the Openreach Events Team Openreach.events.team@openreach.co.uk.

Order processes for the above can be found on http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/products/cpp/cpp.do  (at the bottom of web-page)

In addition, please ensure that all orders for election lines are marked “GENERAL ELECTION 2010” in the “Warning Notes” Field for PSTN and ISDN30 orders and the “Non engineering notes” field for ISDN2 orders.

As normal all lines provided will be of a short duration nature. Events products have a usual lead time of 30 working days. It is however expected that the majority of election lines will be ordered well inside this lead time. Openreach will therefore endeavour to expedite all election lines, on a reasonable endeavours basis. This will be on a first-come, first served basis, with all Communications Providers being treated equally.

The Openreach Events Team has considerable experience delivering events lines at very short notice. We also understand the importance of the General Election to Openreach’s CPs and end-users and will prioritise resources accordingly. CPs are however requested to order lines with as much advance notice as possible.

If any additional services are required, such as out-of-hours installation, project co-ordination or standby engineers, then the appropriate published charges and/or Time Related Charges (TRC) will be raised for the engineering services, time and materials.  If Excess Construction (EC) is required charges will also apply at the published rates. See here for TRC and ECC rates.

Openreach would strongly recommend that Communications Providers consider ordering Project Services if multiple lines are ordered, as well as standby engineering services to ensure we offer the best possible opportunity for rapid repair and to accommodate last minute customer changes in provision requirements.

Events pricing including the survey charge and special day rates can be found here.

Short Duration charges are listed here.

Project Services information can be found at
http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/products/cpp/projectservices.do

For further information please contact your Sales and Relationship Manager or the Openreach Events Team via the contact details provided above.  

Initial briefing (GEN008/10) can be found at http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/news/generalbriefings/gen00810.do

Waiving of Survey Fees
From the date of this communication until 5 days after the date of the election, for lines related to the General Election, Openreach will be waiving the Events & Exhibitions Survey Fee in the following circumstances
•  The lines are to currently served premises and
•  No site visit is required to survey the premises* and
•  The orders go through the Events & Exhibitions process detailed above and
•  The lines are marked as general election lines, as detailed above.
*Note that if a site visit is required to survey the premises (as determined by our engineers) a survey fee will be charged.

Misuse: Openreach reserves the right to cancel this offer if CPs are found to be misusing the General Election marking for unrelated lines.

This is a temporary revision to the E&E Business Rules (GEN142/09), which can be found at the website below.
http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/news/generalbriefings/gen14209.do

The contents of this briefing are accurate at the time of writing and are subject to change.

If you wish to discuss the information contained within this brief, please contact your Sales and Relationship Manager.

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