BRIEFING: Simultaneous Provide of PSTN and Broadband

Transition to SIM2 and Charges for SIM

Cerberus has offered the ability to simultaneously provide Broadband along with a new PSTN phone line as long as the BT “SIM Provide” feature on which it depends has existed.

SIM Provide offers the alility to tie together the orders for provision of a new PSTN phone line and Broadband Internet Service, so that the two can be provided on the same day, instead of needing to wait for the PSTN to be installed before one can place the Broadband order.

To link the orders together a Linked Order Reference Number (LORN) is used on both orders so that BT Openreach can identify the phone line in the absence of an active telephone number.

This best-effort service has always been provided by Cerberus free of charge and has been very popular , however it is not always successful and carries no Service Level Agreement.

When SIM Provide orders fail it can lead to delays providing the Broadband or even a phone line being installed where BT have decided that it will be impossible to provide the Broadband. The end user may not want to pay for a phone line on which they cannot have broadband.

The old SIM Provide system, which for clarity we will call SIM1 for the remainder of this document, was actually joined by a more modern process called SIM2 In late 2013, however it is less well known about and used.

There are some subtle differences between the two processes:

SIM1 provide

1. The LORN begins with the Reseller ID (RID) of the party placing the first order, eg FCM if Cerberus is the first party.

2. Broadband order accepted, awaits a matching PSTN order

3. If a match is found, orders are linked for delivery together, but orders can become decoupled if for instance the date associated with the PSTN order does not meet the Standard Lead Time (SLT) of the broadband order

4. Lack of matching PSTN order eventually leads to order cancellation, for which BT Openreach charge but to date (until September 2015) BT Wholesale would absorb these charges

5. The PSTN will be delivered even if it has not matched

6. The Broadband can only be delivered if a match is made

SIM2 provide

1. The LORN begins SIM2 regardless of who creates the LORN.

2. The Broadband order is given 3 days to find a matching PSTN order

3. Matched orders are linked together (date changes on the primary* order reflected on the other)

4. Lack of match within the 3 day period leads to total order rejection

5. SIM2 overcomes potential skill mismatch issues for FTTC simultaneous provision

6. Cancelling one order cancels both, so there is no need to cancel each order separately

* For FTTC orders, the FTTC order is considered the primary order, for ADSL/ADSL2+ the PSTN order is primary

SIM2 is usually considerably more reliable than SIM1, orders are more tightly linked and date changes are better reflected. In addition with SIM2 orders it is not possible for the phone line to be provided without the broadband order. BT either do both or none.

Please see this table which demonstrates how much more effective SIM2 is compared to SIM1:

Source: BT Wholesale

SIM1 Withdrawal and Charges

BT Openreach are withdrawing SIM1 provide for FTTC in September 2016 and ADSL is expected to follow though currently no date is announced.

BT Wholesale changed its terms to providers on 6th August 2015 and are now passing on cancellation charges for SIM1 provides where the broadband order is cancelled due to lack of matching PSTN order.

Cerberus has duly updated its terms and conditions to do the same.

Recommendations

When placing an order with Cerberus to provide both the phone line and the broadband we will use the SIM2 process wherever possible. The customer does not need to take any action.

When placing an order with Cerberus to provide only either the phone line or the broadband (but not both) we strongly recommend that the customer uses SIM2 with their other provider. We will not reject and will continue to process SIM1 based orders as long as BT allow us to do so, however we will now pass on any order cancellation charges should the SIM1 provide fail. Using SIM2 greatly decreases the chance of the order failing.

Questions

If you have any questions please contact your account manager, or a member of the Cerberus Provisioning Team.
e. provisioning@cerberusnetworks.co.uk
t. 0345 257 1333