Diversity is the routing of two fully functional and separate services over facilities separated by a minimum of 25 feet. If the primary path is interrupted, services provided over the alternate path will still work and vice versa.

• Loop Diversity is the routing of two fully functional services over equivalent loop facilities separated by a minimum of 25 feet. Loop Diversity is defined as from the first utility vault outside the Serving Wire Center to the last terminal prior to your business location. It does not normally protect against failure in the Wire Center or a cable cut between the first utility vault and the CO, between the last terminal and your business location, or inside your business location.
• Wire Center Diversity provides alternate access to the public switched network via a distant Wire Center. This diversity includes ONLY the CO switch. The cable into and out of the Central Office is not included.
• Interoffice Diversity includes the facilities connecting Wire Centers from the first utility vault outside the Serving Wire Center to the first utility vault outside a Distant Wire center. Similar to Loop Diversity, it only includes diversity between the first utility vault outside each CO. It does not protect against failure toward each Wire Center from those two points.

Diversity does not include electronic equipment at each end to provide an automatic "switch-to-protect" function. That equipment, if any, under the diversity service description, is considered CPE.

Avoidance is the routing of a facility to avoid a customer-defined geographical area and/or Wire Center.

Safeguard your network with Diversity and/or Avoidance if you've already got:

• Voice Grade Service (VG)
• Single Line Business (1FB)
• Digital Switched Service (DSS)
• PBX Trunks
• Digital Data Service (DDS)
• All Private Line Services (including DS1, DS3, ATM, Commercial Video and Data Service, TLS, etc.)