Loop MUX Combination (LMC) is a combination of an Unbundled Local Loop and a Digital Signal Level 1 (DS1) or Digital Signal Level 3 (DS3) multiplexed facility. The multiplexed facility is provided as an Interconnection Tie Pair (ITP) from the high side of the multiplexer to the Competitive Local Exchange Carrier's (CLEC's) collocation. Both the multiplexer and the collocation must be located in the same Qwest Wire Center. An Enhanced Extended Loop (EEL) Loop with transport can be connected to the LMC multiplexer facility.
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) provides you with the ability to access end-users and aggregate DS1 or Digital Signal Level 0 (DS0)- Analog Voice Grade (VG) loops to a higher bandwidth using a DS1 or a DS3 multiplexed facility. There is no transport between the multiplexer and your collocation. The LMC multiplexed facility must terminate in your collocation. An LMC loop must terminate at an end-user's premises/demarcation point.
Digital Signal Level 0 (DS0) - Analog Voice Grade is a two-point circuit that provides such services as:
Product Diagram
The DS3 to DS1 LMC mulitplexed facility allows you to terminate 28 DS1 loops on the low side of the multiplexer and to multiplex them up to a single DS3, terminating on the high side of the multiplexer. An ITP is used to create a DS3 transmission path from the multiplexer to your collocation within the same Qwest Wire Center. The DS1 loop extends from your Connecting Facility Arrangement (CFA), e.g., DS3 multiplexed connection, to the end-user's premises/demarcation point. An EEL DS1 Loop with transport can be connected to this multiplexer.
The DS1 to DS0 LMC multiplexed facility allows you to terminate 24 DS0 loops on the low side of the multplexer and to multiplex them up to a single DS1, terminating on the high side of the multiplexer. An ITP is used to create a DS1 transmission path from the multiplexer to your collocation within the same Qwest Wire Center. The DS0 loop extends from your CFA, e.g., DS1 multiplexed connection, to the end-user's premises/demarcation point. An EEL DS0 Link/Loop with transport can be connected to this multiplexer.
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) is available where facilities exist throughout Qwest's 14-state local service territory.
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) is available where facilities exist or where you have CLEC Requested UNE Construction (CRUNEC) per the terms and conditions of your Interconnection Agreement. Refer to (SGAT), Section 9.19, in your Interconnection Agreement, which addresses options available to you when facilities are not available.
Border town cities are physically located in one state with service provided from a Qwest Serving Wire Center located in an adjacent state. The tariff and/or Interconnection Agreement for the state in which the Collocation is physically located in the tariff and/or Interconnection Agreement that applies for the Border Town. LMC requests that involve a border town will be provisioned if facilities are available; and your collocation and end-user customer location are located within the same Qwest Serving Wire Center area.
Loop MUX Combination services that extend to designated high voltage (HV) environments are required to have high voltage protection (HVP). HVP devices may be provided by you, the end user, or may be requested from Qwest. General High Voltage Protection activities are described in High Voltage Protection.
You may utilize the LMC DS1 Loop product to serve a location where you have multiple end user customers at a single multi-tenant location. LMC Loops are not available for telecommunications services provided directly to you for your own administrative purposes. An unbundled loop is defined as transmission facility between a distribution frame (or its equivalent) in a Qwest central office and the loop demarcation point at an end user customer premises.
Service guarantees associated with circuits converted from Private Line/Special Access Services to LMC do not apply after the circuits have been converted to LMC.
Recurring charges are comprised of the following rate elements:
Recurring charges bill on a month-to-month basis. Term contracts and volume discounts are not available.
There are three different LMC nonrecurring charges. The one that is applied to your service request is dependent upon the work Qwest must perform to fulfill your request. The following provides a brief description of each LMC nonrecurring charge.
Full LMC Installation Nonrecurring charges apply to the following Conversion As Specified requests:
A rearrangement nonrecurring charge may be assessed on some requests for work to be performed by Qwest on an existing LMC:
For coordinated project installations scheduled to commence out of hours, or rescheduled by a CLEC to commence out of hours, additional nonrecurring charges will be applied to each LMC circuit for the work performed by Qwest outside of normal business hours. If this offering is not included in your current ICA, an amendment will be required. Out of Hours Project Coordinated Installations are offered only in those states that contain the appropriate rates found under Miscellaneous Charges in Section 9.20 of Exhibit A for the specific state.
Additional rate information can be located in Exhibit A or the specific rate sheet in your Interconnection Agreement. The nonrecurring charges, either full installation or rearrangement, applied to Conversion as Specified requests are dependent upon the physical work Qwest must perform. Full LMC installation nonrecurring charges will apply on all Conversion as Specified requests unless your current Interconnection Agreement includes the LMC rearrangement nonrecurring charge. If you wish to amend your current Interconnection Agreement to include either LMC or the rearrangement nonrecurring charge, contact your Qwest Service Manager.
For Private Line/Special Access Services that are converted to LMC, minimum service period, termination liability and shortfall charges for the product from which the circuit is being converted will apply and will be assessed as described in the individual state Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists. If you wish to convert services to LMC the conversion of these services will not be delayed due to the applicability of minimum service period, shortfall or termination liability charges.
Information regarding Geographic Deaveraging is available in Geographic Deaveraging - General Information.
Wholesale rates for this product or service, including tariff references and any applicable discounts, are provided in your current Interconnection, Resale, Commercial, or other governing agreement.
Tariffs, regulations and policies are located in the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Loop MUX Combinations (LMC) are provisioned where existing facilities are available and/or where you have CLEC Requested UNE Construction (CRUNEC) per the terms and conditions of your Interconnection Agreement.
When you submit your service request and facilities are not available, your request may be held for 90 business days. For exceptions and detailed information, refer to the Provisioning and Installation Overview.
Co-mingling is the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) term for "combining loops or loop-transport combinations with tariffed services." Combining tariffed services such as Private Line/Special Access or Switched Access Services with Unbundled Network Elements (UNEs) is prohibited. Circuits connected to a Qwest tariffed service will not be converted to or provisioned as an LMC.
Eligible circuits that are converted from Private Line/Special Access Service to LMC will retain all optional features and functions that were associated with the existing service as requested from the tariffs(s). After a circuit has been converted to LMC and you wish to make design changes to that service, the change requested must be in compliance with the design requirements identified in Technical Publication, Unbundled Network Element Combinations Including Enhanced Extended Loop (EEL) and Loop Mux Combination (LMC), 77403.
The Special Request (SR) process is used when you are requesting nonstandard combination of previously available UNEs, or certain UNEs that Qwest does not offer as a standard product but have been identified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or State Commission as network elements. Special Requests information is described in Bona Fide Request (BFR) and Special Request (SR) Processes.
If the change is outside of the scope of Technical Publication, Unbundled Network Element Combinations Including Enhanced Extended Loop (EEL) and Loop Mux Combination (LMC), 77403 the Special Request Process must be followed.
There are no optional features available with LMC.
| Features | Benefits |
| Ability to aggregate unbundled LMC and EEL loops at a multiplexer located in the same Qwest Wire Center as your collocation |
|
See Features/Benefits.
If you are a new CLEC and are ready to do business with Qwest, view Getting Started as a Facility-Based CLEC. If you are an existing CLEC wishing to amend your Interconnection Agreement or New Customer Questionnaire, additional information is located in the Interconnection Agreement.
Before submitting your first request to either convert or provision new LMC service, you should review your Interconnection Agreement. If your Interconnection Agreement includes provisions for UNE combinations, all of the UNEs making up the LMC, and all of the appropriate recurring and nonrecurring billing elements comprised in an LMC, an amendment to your Interconnection Agreement is not required. The following LMC billing elements must be included your Interconnection Agreement:
Without an LMC amendment, full nonrecurring charges for loop and multiplexing as described in the your Interconnection Agreement will apply when converting Private Line/Special Access circuits to LMC and when provisioning new LMCs.
If you are amending your Interconnection Agreement, a New Customer Questionnaire must be updated and provided to your Qwest Service Manager.
Before accepting an LMC conversion service request, Qwest will perform a pre-qualification process todetermine each circuit's eligibility to convert to LMC. The pre-qualification process is not an audit of local usage.
As part of the pre-qualification process you must complete the Pre-Qualification UNE-Combinations Spreadsheet Template, which identifies the circuits to be converted, and return it to your Qwest Service Manager. Spreadsheets that do not contain all of the required information will be rejected.
Once the Pre-Qualification UNE-Combinations Spreadsheet has been received, you will receive pre-qualification feedback based on the following intervals:
| Number of Circuits | Response Interval |
| 1 - 28 | 5 business days |
| 29 - 60 | 6 business days |
| 61 - 99 | 7 business days |
| 100 or more | Negotiated with your Qwest Service Manager |
If you have a limited number of circuits to pre-qualify for conversion and you want to negotiate an alternative qualification process, contact your Qwest Service Manager.
The pre-qualification process will validate the following:
Upon completion of the pre-qualification process, Qwest will provide a validation code to you for circuits that qualify for conversion to LMC.
General pre-ordering activities are described in the Pre-Ordering Overview.
Border town characteristics, including a NPA/NXX matrix are described in the Pre-Ordering Overview.
Requirements for pre-ordering are described in Local Service Ordering Guidelines (LSOG) Pre-Order.
The Interconnect Mediated Access (IMA) User's Guide specifically details the information available for the pre-ordering functions.
Pre-ordering activities applicable to LMC include:
You may verify if the DS1 or DS3 facility is available by doing a high capacity facility check using the inquiry function in IMA. Information is available in the IMA User's Guide.
CSR retrieval is available through IMA for the following Local Service Request (LSR) ACT types:
On-line CSR retrieval is not available for 'Conversion as is' requests as the account resides in the Integrated Access Billing System (IABS™). IMA does not have the ability to access records in IABS.
If you are unable to locate the CSR, contact the Qwest Customer Service Inquiry and Education (CSIE) and select the Centrex and Complex Resale Option to reach the appropriate workgroup.
When contacting the Qwest CSIE, be prepared to provide:
Depending on your needs, the Qwest CSIE can:
The RLD Tools provide the physical characteristics of the facility at either the wire center level or at the individual loop level. Data may include, but is not limited to, the physical characteristics by segment:
The Wire Center RLD Tool provides the physical characteristics
of the facilities for an entire wire center.
The IMA RLD Tool provides loop specific information. This tool also
enables you to obtain the physical characteristics of the facilities.
Information regarding the IMA RLD Tool is described in the IMA
User's Guide. The IMA
Loop Qualification and Raw Loop Data-CLEC Job Aid provides loop
makeup information and instructions on how to use the IMA based
loop qualification tools. and the Wire Center RLD Tool. The Wire
center RLD Tool requires a
digital certificate.
General ordering activities are described in the Ordering Overview.
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) service requests are submitted using the following LSOG forms:
Field entry requirements are described in the LSOG.
Service requests should be placed using IMA Extensible Markup Language (XML), IMA Graphical User Interface (GUI), or faxed to (888) 796-9089.
A separate service request is required for each of the following:
Valid NC/NCI codes are required on all LMC requests. Information regarding NC/NCI codes is located in the Technical Publication, Unbundled Network Element Combinations Including Enhanced Extended Loop (EEL) and Loop Mux Combination (LMC), 77403.
A Design Layout Record (DLR) request is described in the IMA XML Network Disclosure Document or the IMA User's Guide.
Valid LSR ACT types are:
Valid TOS Types include:
NOTE: LMCs used for residential service require a TOS of 1.
Valid REQTYP is MB.
The Remarks field on the LSR form must indicate your request is for “LMC.” If this is missing or incorrect, your request will be rejected.
Service interval guidelines are located in the Service Interval Guide (SIG).
"When submitting LMC DS1 Loop requests where the end user location is a multi-tenant environment, you must place your company name followed by the acronym "MTE" in the "Name" field in the Secondary Location on the Resale Private Line (RPL) form."
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) Conversion Requests
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) 'Conversion As Is' is a conversion of an existing Private Line/Special Access circuit to LMC. The conversion does not require redesign of the circuit and will not disrupt service. There is a change in billing and the service code modifiers within the circuit ID.
A separate service request is required for each 'Conversion As Is request'. The ACT field of the LSR must show a 'W' for 'conversion as is'. In the REMARKS section of each LSR, you must specify:
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) Conversion as Specified requires Qwest to redesign and perform physical work on a circuit at the time of conversion from Private Line/Special Access to LMC. The end user address must remain the same for all Conversion as Specified requests. All work must be performed in the same Qwest Wire Center.
The following options are available with Conversion As Specified:
Qwest will follow the same pre-qualification process followed on Conversion As Is requests on all LMC Conversion as Specified requests. After Qwest has completed the prequalification process, Qwest will provide a validation code to you. This validation code must be included on your LSR when submitting your request for Conversion as Specified.
Conversions as Specified with circuits converting from POTS service or Unbundled Loop to LMC require an LSR. The Remarks section of the LSR must state:
Conversions as Specified with circuits converting from Private Line to LMC require an Access Service Request (ASR) and an LSR. An ASR is required to disconnect the existing Private Line circuit. The activity field must be populated with a "D". The RPON field must be populated to relate the ASR to the LSR and the REMARKS section of the ASR must state:
"Conversion from Private Line to LMC. Reuse facilities on related LSR PON# _____. Physical work required.
A service request is required to establish the circuits as LMC. The activity field on the LSR must be populated with "V". Your LSR must include the new information associated with the Conversion as Specified request to establish the circuit as an LMC. REMARKS section of the LSR must state:
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) New Requests
A separate service request is required for each new LMC circuit requested. The ACT field of the LSR must show an 'N' for 'new service'. In the REMARKS section of the LSR:
New LMCs will not be provisioned if they are connected to or combined with tariffed services. If a service is received requesting that an LMC be connected or combined with tariffed services, the request will be rejected.
Loop MUX Combination (LMC) Rearrangement Requests
The CLEC and the end-user address must remain the same on all rearrangement requests. All work performed must be in the same Qwest Wire Center.
Rearrangements to LMC may include the following:
A separate service request is required for each LMC rearrangement request. The ACT field on the LSR must show a "C" for "rearrangement".
New LMCs will not be provisioned to, connected to or combined with tariffed services. If a service request is received requesting that an LMC be connected or combined with tariffed services, the request will be rejected.
General provisioning and installation activities are described in the Provisioning and Installation Overview.
Provisioning information and design requirements are available in Technical Publication, Unbundled Network Element Combinations Including Enhanced Extended Loop (EEL) and Loop Mux Combination (LMC), 77403.
Firm Order Confirmation (FOC) intervals are found in the (SIG). Additional FOC information is available in the Provisioning and Installation Overview.
If no facilities are available, the service request will be rejected for a No Facilities reason. Information describing reject codes is located in the Provisioning and Installation Overview.
A jeopardy occurs on a service request if a condition exists that threatens timely completion. Jeopardy notifications are described in the Provisioning and Installation Overview.
For order status information for LMC above DS0 signal levels, refer to the Customer Electronic Maintenance and Repair (CEMR). This tool requires a digital certificate. For additional information about CEMR, access the Customer Electronic Maintenance and Repair (CEMR).
Qwest offers Out of Hours Project Coordinated Installations. Qwest's standard installation hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Qwest holidays. Installations requested outside of these hours are considered to be Out of Hours Project Coordinated Installations. You must first contact your assigned Qwest Service Managerto ensure you have provisions in your existing ICA that allow for Out of Hour Project Coordinated Installations of LMC circuits. An amendment may be required before submitting your first request.
The date and time of the project coordinated installation requires up-front planning and must be negotiated between Qwest and the CLEC. Contact your Qwest Service Manager to negotiate project dates and times. All requests will be processed on a first come, first served basis and are subject to Qwest's ability to meet a reasonable demand. Considerations such as volumes, system down time, switch upgrades, switch maintenance, and contention with other CLECs requesting the same appointment times in the same switch must be reviewed. To request Out of Hours Project Coordinated Installations, you will submit an LSR designating "Out of Hours Project Coordinated Installation" in the Remarks section of the LSR.
General maintenance and repair activities are described in the Maintenance and Repair Overview.
Qwest's Repair Centers will assist you in your LMC repair needs. Qwest repair call-handling centers are described in the Wholesale Customer Contacts PCAT.
Trouble isolation and testing is a joint process. Details of this process are described in the Test Results Information download found in the Maintenance and Repair Overview under Qwest Design Services Trouble Ticket Codes and Qwest Non-Design Disposition & Cause Codes.
When the Special Access circuit converts to an LMC the circuit is removed from the IABS Billing Account Number (BAN) (for billing purposes only) effective with the completion date of the LMC conversion order. Charges will be prorated from the service order completion date to the bill date for circuits converted to LMC.
The account will be established in Customer Records and Information System (CRIS) effective with the completion date of the LMC conversion and/or new service request.
The Universal Service Order Codes (USOCs) will be a combination of retail (i.e. tariffed) and LMC specific USOCs. The recurring multiplexing and loop (channel termination) USOCs are retail USOCs, utilizing the rates from your Interconnection Agreement. All other LMC USOCs are product specific and also utilize the rates from your Interconnection Agreement.
Loop MUX Combinations (LMC) are billed on a CRIS Summary Bill on a month-to-month basis; term contracts are not available. CRIS billing is described in Billing Information – Customer Records and Information System (CRIS).
Loss and Completion Reports are based on loss and gain account activity. Completion notification, including Loss and Completion is described in Billing Information - Additional Outputs - SMDR, Completion Report, Loss Report.
View Qwest courses in the Course Catalog.
Qwest contact information is located in Wholesale Customer Contacts.
This section is being compiled based on your feedback
Last Update: May 27, 2009
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