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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20091110Amendment.pdf11/04/2009 10: 15 FAX SILVER STAR ~002l033 Qu.t£,::~,~b Perfrmance Assurance Plan "PAP" Amendment to the Interconnection Agrement between Qwest Corporation and Silver Star Telephone Company, Inc. for the State of Idaho This is an Amendment ("Amendment") to the Interconnection Agreement betwen Qwest Corporation ("Qwesl), a Colorado corporation, and Silver Star Telephone Company, Inc. ("ClEC"). ClEC and Qwest shall be known jointly as the "Parties". RECITALS WHEREAS, the Parties entered into an Interconnection Agreement ("Agreement") which is currently pending before the Commission; and WHEREAS, the Parties wish to amend the Agreement further under the terms and conditions contained herein. AGREEMENT NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual terms, covenants and conditions contained in this Amendment and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufciency of which is hereby acknowledged, the Parties agree as follows: Amendment Terms The Agreement is hereby amended by adding terms and conditions as set forth in Attachment 1 and Exhibit K, to this Amendment, attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. Effective Date This Amendment shall be deemed effective upon approval by the Commission; however, the Parties may agree to implement the provisions of this Amendment upon execution. To accommodate this need, ClEC must generate, if necessary, an updated Customer Questionnaire. In addition to the Questionnaire, all system updates will need to be completed by Qwest. ClEC wil be. notified when all system changes have been made. Actual order processing may begin once these requirements have been met. Additionally, Qwest shall implement any necessary biling changes within two (2) biling cycles after the latest execution date of this Amendment, with a true-up back to the latest execution date of this Amendment by the end of the second biling cycle. The Parties agree that so long as Owest implements the billng changes and the true-up as set forth above, the ClEC's bils shall be deemed accurate and adjusted without error. September 29, 2009/mcd/PAP Amd/Silver Star/lD Amendment to CDS..90708-001 11/04/2009 10: 15 FAX SILVER STAR ~003/033 Further Amendments Except as modifed herein, the provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. The provisions of this Amendment, including the provisions of this sentence, may not be amended, modified or supplemented, and waivers or consents to departures from the provisions of this Amendment may not be given without the written consent thereto by both Parties' authorized representative. No waiver by any Party of any default, misrepresentation, or breach of warranty or covenant hereunder, whether intentional or not, wil be deemed to extend to any prior or subsequent default, misrepresentation, or breach of warranty or covenant hereunder or afect in any way any rights arising by virtue of any prior or subsequent such occurrence. Entire Agreement The Agreement as amended (including the documents referre to herein) constitutes the full and entire understanding and agreement between the Parties with regard to the subjects of the Agreement as amended and supersedes any prior understandings, agreements, or representations by or between the Parties, wrtten or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subjects of the Agreement as amended. The Parties intending to be legally bound have executed this Amendment as of the dates set forth below, in multiple counterparts, each of which is deemed an original, but all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument Silver Star Telephone Company, Inc.Qwest Corporation~~d/h#ature-:i r//-tJJJ lJ. hi '4UeName PrintedIyped Signature L. T. Christensen Name PrintedIyped C .0. éJ. Title /0 -c30 -09' Date Director - Wholesale Contract Title Date September 29, 2009/mcdPAP Amd/Silver StrllD Amendment to CDS-090708-0001 2 11/04/2009 10: 15 FAX SILVER STAR ~004/033 ATIACHMENT1 ATTACHMENT 1 Section 20.0 . SERVICE PERFORMANCE 20.2 The Qwest Performance Assurance Plan (OPAP) is attached as Exhibit K of this Agreement. Subsequent changes to the OPAP submitted to the Commission wil' be incorporated into Exhibit K as soon as they are effective by operation of law or the effecive date as approved by Commission order, whichever is applicable, and without further Amendment to this Agreement. September 29, 200/mcdlPAP Amd/Silver Star/iD Amendment to CDS-090708-0001 3 11/04/2009 10: 16 FAX SILVER STAR ~005/033 Exhibit K PERFORMANCE ASSURANCE PLAN 1.0 Introduction 1.1 As set forth in this Agreement, Qwest and CLEC voluntarily agree to the terms of the following Performance Assurance Plan ("PAP"), initially prepared in conjunction with Qwests application for approval under Section 271 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the "Act") to offer in-region long distance service and subsequently modified in accordance with the Commission's orders and, where applicable, by operation of law. 2.0 Plan Structure 2.1 The PAP is a two-tiered, self-executing remedy plan. CLEC shall be provided with Tier 1 payments if, as applicable, Qwest does not provide parity between the service it provides to CLEC and that which it provides to its own retail customers, or Qwest fails to meet applicable benchmarks. 2.1.1 As specified in section 7.0, if Qwest fails to meet parity and benchmark standards on an aggregate CLEC basis, Qwest shall make Tier 2 payments to a Fund established by the state regulatory commission or, if required by existing law, to the state general fund. 2.2 As specified in sections 6.0 and 7.0 and Attchments 1 and 2, payment is generally on a per occurrence basis, (Le., a set dollar payment times the number of non-conforming service events). For the performance measurements which do not lend themselves to per occurrence payment, payment is on a per measurement basis, (i.e., a set dollar payment). The level of payment also depends upon the number of consecutive months of non-conforming performance, (i.e., an escalating payment the longer the duration of non-conforming performance) unless otherwise specified. 2.3 Owest shall be in conformance with the parity standard when service Qwest provides to CLEC is equivalent to that which it provides to its retail customers. The PAP relies upon statistical scoring to determine whether any difference between CLEC and Qwest performance results is significant, that is, not attributable to simple random variation. Statistical parity shall exist when performance results for CLEC and for Qwest retail analogue result in a z-value that is no greater than the critical z- values listed in the Critical Z-Statistical Table in section 5.0. 2.4 For performance measurements that have no Qwest retail analogue, agreed upon benchmarks shall be used. Benchmarks shall be evaluated using a "stare and compare" method. For example, if the benchmark is for a particular performance measurement is 95% or better, Qwest performance results must be at least 95% to meet the benchmark. Percentage benchmarks wil be adjusted to round the Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 1- 11/04/2009 10: 16 FAX SILVER STAR ~006/033 Exhibit K allowable number of misses up or down to the closest integer, except when a benchmark standard and low CLEC volume are such that a 100% performance result would be required to meet the standard and has not been attined in which case section 3.1.2 applies. 3.0 Performance Measurements 3.1 The performance measurements that are in the PAP and either (1) subject to the PAP payment mechanisms or (2) not subject to the PAP payment mechanisms but subject to the Reinstatement/Removal Process set forth in section 3.2 below are identified in Attchment 1 and sections 6.3 and 7.4. Each performance measurement identified is defined in the Performance Indicator Definitions (t1pIDstl) included in the SGAT at Exhibit B. 3.1.1 On Attachment 1, the measurements have been designated as Tier 1, Tier 2, or both Tier 1 and Tier 2 and given a High, Medium, or Low designation. 3.1.2 Where applicable elsewhere in the PAP, this provision modifies other provisions and operates as follows: For any Tier 1 or Tier 2 benchmark or non-interval parity performance sub-measure, Qwest shall apply one allowable miss to a sub-measure disaggregation that otherwise would require 100% performance before the performance is considered as non-conforming to standard (1) if at the CLEC-aggregate level, the performance standard is met or (2) where the CLEC-aggregate performance must be 100% to meet the standard, the CLEC-aggregate performance is conforming after applying one allowable miss at that level. 3.2 The following measures, which are listed in Attachment 1 or section 7.4, are not subject to the payment mechanisms of the PAP; however, they are subject to the PID Reinstatement/Removal Process. All other measures listed in Attchment 1, section 6.3 or section 7.4 are subject to the PAP payment mechanisms, but they are not subject to the PID Reinstatement/Removal Process. GA-3 Gateway Availabilty EB- TA GA-4 System Availability EXACT GA-7 Timely Outage Resolution following Softare Releases PO-3 LSR Rejection Notice Interval PO-5D Firm Order Confirmations (FOCs) On Time (ASRs for LIS Trunks) PO-7 Biling Completion Notification Timeliness PO-B Jeopardy Notice Interval PO-16 Timely Release Notifications OP-17 Timeliness of Disconnects Associated with LNP Orders MR-11 LNP Trouble Report Cleared within Specified Timeframes BI-4 Billng Completeness Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 2- 11/04/2009 10: 16 FAX SILVER STAR ~007/033 Exhibit K NI-1 Trunk Blocking NP-1 NXX Code Activation 3.3 PID Reinstatement/Removal Process: If Qwests performance for any sub- measure of the PIDs listed in section 3.2 above does not conform to the established PID standard as set forth in the PAP for three consecutive months, that sub-measure wil be reinstated (i.e., be subject to the PAP payment mechanisms) subject to the retroactive payment provision of section 3.3.2 and subject to the PAP payment mechanisms effective in the month following the three consecutive months. The determination of whether a PID sub-measure is reinstated is made no later-than at the end of the second month following the third consecutive month of non-conforming performance. The sub-measure will remain subject to the PAP payment mechanisms until Qwests performance for that sub-measure satisfies the established standards for three consecutive months. Effctive the month following such conforming performance, the sub-measure wil no longer be subject to the PAP payment mechanisms but wil continue to be subject to the PID Reinstatement/Removal Process. The determination of whether a PID sub-measure is removed from being subject to the PAP payment mechanisms is made no later than the end of the second month following the third consecutive month of conforming peiformance. Where applicable elsewhere in the PAP, this PID Reinstatement/Removal Process modifies other provisions and operates as follows: 3.3.1 Disaggregation and Reporting Levels: Performance will be evaluated at the lowest level of disaggregation defined in Exhibit B of the SGAT on a CLEC-aggregated or other-aggregated basis such that performance is evaluated for the purposes of administering the Reinstatement/Removal Process on a statewide or regionwide level, as applicable per the PID. 3.3.2 Retroactive Payments: To calculate retroactive payments for the sub- measures reinstated, PAP payment mechanisms wil be applied to the three consecutive months in which the standard was missed, which triggered reinstatement. These retroactive payments wil be made to applicable CLECs or the Tier 2 Fund, depending upon the tier designation of the PID, at the end of the third month after the month in which performance triggered re- instatement. 3.3.2.1 Accounting for Payments: In support of retroactive payments (section 3.3.2 above), Owest wil accunt separately for PAP payments that would have been made to individual CLECs or to the Tier 2 Fund for a sub-measure as though it had been subject to the PAP payment mechanisms, where automatic reinstatement applies, and account separately in the same manner for the time between when it is determined that a sub-measure met the standard for automatic removal and the effective date of removal (the month following the three consecutive "met" months). With regard to sub-measures that are subsequently removed again through this process, any PAP payments Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 3- 11/04/2009 10: 16 FAX SILVER STAR ~008/033 Exhibit K made during the three consecutive months which triggers automatic removal wil not be recovered by Qwest. 3.3.2.2 Interest: In the case of automatic reinstatement, retroactive payments wil include interest calculated at the prime rate as reported in the Wall Street Journal from the date a payment would have been made to the date the payment is actually made. 3.3.2.3 Tracking: Qwest wil track and report service and payment results, including retroactive and avoided (Le., during periods of removal) PAP payments and the disposition of the avoided payments on a CLEC, PID sub-measure and aggregate basis each month. 3.3.3 Public Website: Qwest will maintain a public website showing the PAP status of each PID or sub-measure with respect to the applicability of the PAP payment mechanisms (Le., reinstated or removed), which eliminates the requirement to make filings with the Commission to modify the PAP due to the application of the PID Reinstatement/Removal Process. 4.0 Statistical Measurement 4.1 Qwest uses a statistical test, namely the modified "z-test," for evaluating the difference between two means (Le., Qwest and CLEC service or repair intervals) or two percentages (e.g., Qwest and CLEe proportions), to determine whether a parity condition exists between the results for Qwest and the CLEC(s). The modifed z- tests shall be applicable if the number of data points are greater than 30 for a given measurement. For testing measurements for which the number of data points are 30 or less, Qwest wil use a permutation test to determine the statistical significance of the difference between Qwest and CLEe. 4.2 Qwest shall be in conformance when the monthly performance results for parity measurements (whether in the form of means, percents, or proportions and at the equivalent level of disaggregation) are such that the calculated z-test statistics are not greater than the critical z-values as listed in Table 1, section 5.0. 4.3 Qwest shall be in conformance with benchmark measurements when the monthly performance result equals or exceeds the benchmark, if a higher value means better performance, and when the monthly performance result equals or is less than the benchmark if a lower value means better performance. Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 4- 11/04/2009 10: 17 FAX SILVER STAR ~'009/033 Exhibit K The formula for determining parity using the modified z-test is: z = DIFF / O'OIFF Where: DIFF = MQwest - MCiEC MOWEST = Owest average or proportion MClEC = CLEC average or proportion O'OIFF = square root LO" Owest (11 n CLEC + 1/ n Qwest)) 0'2Qwest = calculated variance for Owest nOwest = number of observations or samples used in Owest measurement nClEC = number of observations or samples used in CLEC measurement The modified z-tests wil be applied to reported parity measurements that contain more than 30 data points. In calculating the diference between Owest and CLEC performance, the above formula applies when a larger Owest value indicates a better level of performance. In cases where a smaller Owest value indicates a higher level of performance, the order is reversed, Le., MCiEC - MOWEST. 4.3.1 For parity measurements where the number of data points is 30 or less, Owest wil apply a permutation test to test for statistical significance. Permutation analysis wil be applied to calculate the z-statistic using the following logic: Calculate the modifed z-statistic for the actual arrangement of the data Pool and mix the CLEC and Owest data sets Perform the following 1000 times: Randomly subdivide the pooled data sets into two pools, one the same size as the original CLEC data set (nClEc) and one reflecting the remaining data points, and one reflecting the remaining data points, (which is equal to the size of the original Owest data set or nOWEST). Compute and store the modifed z-test score (Zs) for this sample. Count the number of times the z-statistic for a permutation of the data is greater than the actual modifiedz-statistic Compute the fraction of permutations for which the statistic for the rearranged data is greater than the statistic for the actual samples Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 5- 11/04/2009 10: 17 FAX SILVER STAR ~010/033 Exhibit K If the fraction is greater than a, the significance level of the test, the hypothesis of no difference is not rejected, and the test is passed. The a shall be .05 when the critical z value is 1.645 and .15 when the critical z value is 1.04. 5.0 Critical ZNalue 5.1 The following table shall be used to determine the critical z-value that is referred to in section 6.0. It is based on the monthly business volume of the CLEC for the particular performance measurements for which statistic testing is being performed. TABLE 1: CRITICAL Z-VALUE CLEC volume LIS Trunks,UDITs,All Other (Sample size)Resale, UBL-DS1 and DS- 3 1-10 1.04*1.645 11-150 1.645 1.645 151-300 2.0 2.0 301-600 2.7 2.7 601-3000 3.7 3.7 3001 and above 4.3 4.3 * The 1.04 applies for individual month testing for performance measurements involving LIS trunks and 05-1 and 05-3 that are UDITs, Resale, or Unbundled Loops. The performance measurements are OP-3d/e, OP-4d/e, OP-5a, o P-6-4/5 , MR-5a1b, MR-7d/e, and MR-8. For purposes of determining consecutive month misses, 1.645 shall be used. Where performance measurements disaggregate to zone 1 and zone 2, the zones shall be combined for purposes of statistical testing. 6.0 Tier 1 Payments to CLEC 6.1 Tier 1 payments to CLEC shall be made solely for the performance measurements designated as Tier 1 on Attachment 1. The payment amount for non- conforming service varies depending upon the designation of performance measurements as High, Medium, and Low and the duration of the non-conforming service condition as described below. Non-conforming service is defined in section 4.0. 6.1.1 Determination of Non-Conforming Measurements: The number of performance measurements that are determined to be non-conforming and, therefore, eligible for Tier 1 payments, are limited according to the critical z-value shown in Table 1, section 5.0. The critical z-values are the statistical standard that Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 6- 11/04/2009 10:17 FAX SILVER STAR ~011/033 Exhibit K determines for each CLEC performance measurement whether Qwest has met parity. The critical z-value is selected from Table 1 according to the monthly CLEC volume for the performance measurement. For instance, if the CLEC sample size for that month is 100, the critical z-value is 1.645 for the statistical testing of that parity performance measurement. 6.2 Determination of the Amount of Payment: Tier 1 payments to CLEC, except as provided for in sections 6.2.3, 6.3 and 10.0, are calculated and paid monthly based on the number of performance measurements exceeding the critical z-value. Payments wil be made on either a per occurrence or per measurement basis, depending upon the performance measurement, using the dollar amounts specified in Table 2 below. The dollar amounts vary depending upon whether the performance measurement is designated High, Medium, or Low and escalate depending upon the number of consecutive months for which Owest has not met the standard for the particular measurement. 6.2.1 The escalation of payments for consecutive months of non-conforming service wil be matched month for month with de-escalation of payments for every month of conforming service. For example, if Owest has four consecutive monthly "misses" it will make payments that escalate from month 1 to month 4 as shown in Table 2. If, in the next month, service meets the standard, Qwest makes no payment. A payment "indicator" de-escalates down from month 4 to month 3. If Qwest misses the following month, it will make payment at the month 3 level of Table 2 because that is where the payment "indicator" presently sits. If Qwest misses again the following month, it wil make payments that escalate back to the month 4 level. The payment level will de-escalate back to the original month 1 level only upon conforming service sufficient to move the payment "indicator" back to the month 1 leveL. 6.2.2 For those performance measurements listed on Attchment 2 as "Performance Measurements Subject to Per Measurement Caps," excluding BI-3A, payment to a CLEC in a single month shall not exceed the amount listed in Table 2 below for the "Per Measurement Cap" category. For those performance measurements listed on Attachment 2 as "Performance Measurements Subject to Per Measurement Payments," if any should be added at a later time, payment to a CLEC wil be the amount set forth in Table 2 below under the section labeled "Per Measurement Cap." Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 7- 11/04/2009 10: 17 FAX SILVER STAR ~0121033 Exhibit K TABLE 2: TIER 1 PAYMENTS TO CLEC Per Occurrence Measurement Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Each Group following month after Month 6 add High $150 $250 $500 $600 $700 $800 $100 Medium $ 75 $150 $300 $400 $500 $600 $100 Low $ 25 $ 50 $100 $200 $300 $400 $100 Per Measurement Cap Measurement Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Each Group following month after Month 6 add Hioh $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $25,000 Medium $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $ 40,000 $ 50,000 $ 60,000 $10,000 Low $ 5,000 $10,000 $15,000 $ 20,000 $ 25,000 $ 30,000 $ 5.000 6.2.3 For the BI-3A performance measurement, the dollar payment amount for non- conforming performance varies depending upon the Total Bil Adjustment Amount for the CLEC. The payment amount is calculated using Table 2A below by multiplying the per occurrence amount times the number of occurrences based on the Total Bil Adjustment Amount,1 capped at the amount shown in the table for that Total Bil Adjustment Amount. The escalation of payments for consecutive months as stated in section 6.2.1 does not apply. TABLE 2A: TIER 1 PAYMENTS TO CLECS FOR BI-3A Total Bill Adjustment Per Occurrence Cap Amount Amount $0 - $0.99 $0 $0 $1 - $199.99 $1 $200 $200 - $999.99 $10 $5,000 $1,000 - $9,999.99 $10 $10,000 $10,000 - $49,999.99 $15 $15,000 $50,000 - $99,999.99 $20 $20,000 $100,000 and over $25 $25,000 6.3 For collocation, CP-2 and CP-4 performance measurements shall be relied upon for delineation of collocation business rules. For purposes of calculating Tier 1 payments, collocation jobs and collocation feasibilty studies that are later than the i Total Bil Adjustment Amount is determined by subtracting the BI-3A numerator from the BI-3A denominator as defined in the BI-3 PID formula. Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 8- 11/04/2009 10: 17 FAX SILVER STAR ~013/033 Exhibit K due date wil have a per day payment applied according to Table 3. The per day payment wil be applied to any collocation job in which the feasibilty study is provided or the collocation installation is completed later than the scheduled date. The calculation of the payment amount wil be performed by applying the per day payment amounts as specifed in Table 3. Thus, for days 1 through 10, the payment is $150 per day. For days 11 through 20, the payment is $300 per day and so on. TABLE 3: TIER-1 COLLOCATION PAYMENTS TO CLECS Days Late Completion Date Feasibility Study 1 to 10 days $150/day $45/day 11 to 20 days $300/day $90/day 21 to 30 days $450/day $135/day 31 to 40 days $BOO/day $180/day More than 40 days $1,OOO/day $300/day 6.4 A minimum payment calculation shall be performed by Qwest at the end of each year for each GLEG with annual order volumes of no more than 1,200. The payment shall be calculated by adding the applicable minimum payment amount in Table 4 below for each month in which at least one payment was due to the CLEe. To the extent that the actual GLEC payment for the year is less than the product of the preceding calculation, Qwest shall make an additional payment equal to the difference. TABLE 4: MINIMUM PAYMENTS TO CLECS Minimum Payment Total Monthly Payment:Amount: Less than $200 $ 0 Between $200 and $800 $1,500 Between $801 and $1,400 $ 2,000 Over $1,400 $ 2,500 7.0 Tier 2 Payments to the State 7.1 Payments to the State shall be limited to the performance measurements designated in section 7.4 for Tier 2 per measurement payments and in Attachment 1 for per occurrence payments and which have at least 10 data points each month for the period payments are being calculated. Similar to the Tier 1 structure, Tier 2 measurements are categorized as High, Medium, and Low and the amount of payments for non-conformance varies according to this categorization. 7.2 Determination of Non-Conforming Measurements: The determination of non- conformance wil be based upon the aggregate of all CLEC data for each Tier 2 Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 9- 11/04/2009 10: 18 FAX SILVER STAR ~014/033 Exhibit K performance measurement. Non-conforming service is defined in section 4.2 (for parity measurements) and 4.3 (for benchmark measurements), except that a 1.645 critical z-value shall be used for Tier 2 parity measurements that have Tier 1 counterparts. The critical z-value is the statistical standard that determines for each performance measurement whether Qwest has met parity. 7.3 Determination of the Amount of Payment: Except as provided in section 7.4, Tier 2 payments are calculated and paid monthly based on the number of performance measurements failng performance standards for a third consecutive month, or IT two out of three consecutive months in the 12 month period have been missed, the second consecutive month for Tier 2 measurements with Tier 1 counterparts. For Tier 2 measurements that do not have Tier 1 counterparts, payments are calculated and paid monthly based on the number of performance measurements exceeding the critical z-values, identified in section 5.1, in any single month. Payment wil be made on either a per occurrence or per measurement basis, whichever is applicable to the performance measurement, using the dollar amounts specified in Table 5 or Table 6 below. Except as provided in section 7.4, the dollar amounts vary depending upon whether the performance measurement is designated High, Medium, or Low. 7.3.1 For those Tier 2 measurements listed on Attachment 2 as "Performance Measurements Subject to Per Measurement Caps," payment to the State in a single month shall not exceed the amount listed in Table 5 for the "Per Measurement Cap" category. TABLE 5: TIER 2 PAYMENTS TO STATE FUNDS Per Occurrence Measurement Group High .$500 Medium $300 Low $200 Per Me t Casuremenap Measurement Group HiQh $75,000 Medium $30,000 Low $20,000 7.4 Performance Measurements Subject to Per Measurement Payment: The following Tier 2 performance measurements shall have their performance results measured on a region-wide (14 state) basis. Failure to meet the performance standard, therefore, will result in a per measurement payment in each of the Qwest in-region 14 states adopting this PAP. The performance measurements are: GA-1: Gateway Availability -IMA-GUI GA-2: Gateway Availability - IMA-EDI GA-3: Gateway Availabilty - EB- TA GA-4: System Availabilty - EXACT Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 10- 11/04/2009 10: 18 FAX SILVER STAR ~015/033 Exhibit K GA-6: Gateway Availabilty - GUI-Repair PO-1: Pre-Order/Order Response Times OP-2: Call Answered within Twenty Seconds - Interconnect Provisioning Center MR-2: Calls Answered within Twenty Seconds - Interconnect Repair Center GA-1 has two sub-measurements: GA-1A, and GA-1D. PO-1 shall have two sub- measurements: PO-1A and PO-1B. PO-1A and PO-18 shall have their transaction types aggregated together. For these measurements, Owest wil make a Tier 2 payment based upon monthly performance results according to Table 6: Tier 2 Per Measurement Payments to State Funds. TABLE 6: TIER 2 PER MEASUREMENT PAYMENTS TO STATE FUNDS Measurement Performance State Payment 14 State Payment GA-1,2,3,4,6 1% or lower $1,000 $14,000 ::1% to 3%$10,000 $140,000 ::3% to 5%$20,000 $280,000 ::5%$30,000 $420,000 PO-1 2 sec. or less $1,000 $14,000 ::2 sec. to 5 $5,000 $70,000 sec. ::5 sec. to 10 $10,000 $140,000 sec. ::10 sec.$15,000 $210,000 OP-2/MR-2 1% or lower $1,000 $14,000 ::1% to 3%$5,000 $70,000 ::3% to 5%$10,000 $140,000 ::5%$15,000 $210,000 8.0 Step by Step Calculation of Monthly Tier 1 Payments to CLEC 8.1 Application of the Critical Z-Values: Owest shall identify the Tier 1 parity performance measurements that measure the service provided to CLEe by Owest for the month in question and the critical z-value from Table 1 in section 5.0 that shall be used for purposes of statistical testing for each particular performance measurement. The statistical testing procedures described in section 4.0 shall be applied. For the purpose of determining the critical z-values, each disaggregated category of a performance measurement is treated as a separate sub-measurement. The critical z-value to be applied is determined by the CLEC volume at each level of disaggregation or sub-measurement. Qwest Idaho SGAT Third. Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 11- 11/04/2009 10: 18 FAX SILVER STAR ~016/033 Exhibit K 8.2 Performance Measurements for which Tier 1 Payment is Per Occurrence: 8.2.1 Performance Measurements that are Averages or Means: 8.2.1.1 Step 1: For each performance measurement, the average or the mean that would yield the critical z-value shall be calculated. The same denominator as the one used in calculating the z-statistic for the measurement shall be used. (For benchmark measurements, the benchmark value shall be used.) 8.2.1.2 Step 2: The percentage differences between the actual averages and the calculated averages shall be calculated. The calculation is % diff = (CLEC result- Calculated Value)/Calculated Value. The percent difference shall be capped at a maximum of 100%. In all calculations of percent differences in sections 8.0 and 9.0, the calculated percent differences is capped at 100%. 8.2.1.2 Step 3: For each performance measurement, the total number of data points shall be multiplied by the percentage calculated in the previous step and the per occurrence dollar amounts from the Tier 1 Payment Table shall determine the payment to the CLEC for each non-conforming performance measurement. 8.2.2 Performance Measurements that are Percentages: 8.2.2.1 Step 1: For each performance measurement, the percentage that would yield the critical z-value shall be calculated. The same denominator as the one used in calculating the z- statistic for the measurement shall be used. (For benchmark measurements, the benchmark value shall be used.) 8.2.2.2 Step 2: The difference between the actual percentages for the CLEC and the calculated percentages shall be determined. 8.2.2.3 Step 3: For each performance measurement, the total number of data points shall be multiplied by the diference in percentage calculated in the previous step, and the per occurrence dollar amount taken from the Tier 1 Payment Table, to determine' the payment to the CLEC for each non-conforming performance measurement. 8.2.3 Performance Measurements that are Ratios or Proportions: 8.2.3.1 Step 1: For each performance measurement the ratio that would yield the critical z-value shall be calculated. The same denominator as the one used in calculating the z-statistic for the measurement shall be used. (For benchmark measurements, the benchmark value shall be used.) 8.2.3.2 Step 2: The absolute difference between the actual rate for the CLEe and the calculated rate shall be determined. Qwest Idaho SGAT Thírd Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 -12- 11/04/2009 10: 18 FAX SILVER STAR ~017/033 Exhibit K 8.2.3.3 Step 3: For each performance measurement, the total number of data points shall be multiplied by the difference calculated in the previous step, and the per occurrence dollar amount taken from the Tier 1 Payment Table, to determine the payment to the CLEC for each non-conforming performance measurement. 8.3 Performance Measurements for which Tier 1 Payment is Per Measure: 8.3.1 For each performance measurement where Qwest fails to meet the standard, , the payment to the CLEC shall be the dollar amount shown on the "per measure" portion of Table 2: Tier 1 Payments to GLEC. 9.0 Step by Step Calculation of Monthly Tier 2 Payments to State Funds 9.1.1 Application of the Critical Z-Value: Owest shall identif the Tier 2 parity performance measurements that measure the service provided by Owest to all CLEGs for the month in question. The statistical testing procedures described in section 4.0 shall be applied, except that a 1.645 critical z-value shall be used for Tier 2 parity measurements that have Tier 1 counterparts. For Tier 2 parity measurements that do not have Tier 1 counterparts, the statistical testing procedures described section 4.0 shall be applied using the critical z-values identified in section 5.1. 9.1.2 To determine if Tier 2 payments for performance measurements listed on Attachment 1 shall be made in the current month, the following shall be determined. For Tier 2 measurements that have Tier 1 counterparts, it shall be determined whether Qwest missed the performance standard for three consecutive months, or if Owest has missed the standard in any two out of three consecutive months for the 12 month period and for an additional two consecutive months. For Tier 2 measurements that do not have Tier 1 counterparts, it shall be determined whether Owest missed the performance standard for a single month. If any of these conditions are met and there are at least 10 data points for the measurement in each month, a Tier 2 payment wil be calculated and paid as described below and will continue in each succeeding month until Qwests performance meets the applicable standard. For Tier 2 measures that have Tier 1 counterparts. the most recent three months of nonconforming performance data that results in payment liability shall be averaged to determine payment. Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June, 26, 2007 - 13- 11/04/2009 10: 19 FAX SILVER STAR ~018/033 Exhibit K 9.2 Performance Measurements for which Tier 2 Payment is Per Occurrence: 9.2.1 Performance Measurements that are Averages or Means: 9.2.1.1 Step 1: The monthly average or the mean for each performance measurement that would yield the critical z-value for each month shall be calculated. The same denominator as the one used in calculating the z-statistic for the measurement shall be used. (For benchmark measurements, the benchmark value shall be used.) 9.2.1.2 Step 2: The percentage diference between the actual averages and the calculated averages for the relevant month(s) shall be calculated. The calculation for parity measurements is % diff = (actual average - calculated average)/calculated average. The percent difference shall be capped at a maximum of 100%. In all calculations of percent differences in section 8.0 and section 9.0, the calculated percent difference is capped at 100%. 9.2.1.3 Step 3: For each performance measurement, the total number of data points for the relevant month(s) shall be multiplied by the percentage calculated in the previous step. The amount (average amount, .i more than one month) (rounded to the nearest integer) is then multiplied by the result of the per occurrence dollar amount taken from the Tier 2 Payment Table to determine the payment to the State for each non-conforming performance measurement. 9.3 Performance Measurements that are Percentages: 9.3.1 Step 1: For each performance measurement, the monthly percentage that would yield the critical z-value for each month shall be calculated. The same denominator as the one used in calculating the z-statistic for the measurement shall be used. (For benchmark measurements, the benchmark value shall be used.) 9.3.1.2 Step 2: The difference between the actual percentages and the calculated percentages for the relevant month(s) shall be calculated. The calculation for parity measurement is diff = (CLEC result - calculated percentage). This formula shall be applicable where a high value is indicative of poor performance. The formula shall be reversed where high performance is indicative of good performance. 9.3.1.3 Step 3: For each performance measurement, the total number of data points for the relevant month(s) shall be multiplied by the diference in percentage calculated in the previous step. The amount (average amount, if more than one month)(rounded to the nearest integer) is then multiplied by the result of the per occurrence dollar amounts taken from the Tier 2 Payment Table to determine the payment to the State. Qwest Idaho SGATThird Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 14- 11/04/2009 10: 19 FAX SILVER STAR ~0~9/033 Exhibit K 9.4 Performance Measurements that are Ratios or Proportions: 9.4.1 Step 1: For each performance measurement, the ratio that would yield the critical z-value for each month shall be calculated. The same denominator as the one used in calculating the z-statistic for the measurement shall be used. (For benchmark measurements, the benchmark value shall be used.) 9.4.1.1 Step 2: The difference between the actual rate for the CLEC and the calculated rate for the relevant month(s) shall be calculated. The calculation is: diff = (GLEC rate - calculated rate). This formula shall apply where a high value isindicative of poor performance. The formula shall be reversed where high performance is indicative of good performance. 9"..1.2 Step 3: For each performance measurement, the total number of data points shall be multiplied by the difference calculated in the previous step for each month. The amount (average amount, if more than one month)(rounded to the nearest integer) is then multiplied by the result of the per occurrence dollar amounts taken from the Tier 2 Payment Table to determine the payment to the State. 9.5 Performance Measurements for which Tier 2 Payment is Per Measure: 9.5.1 For each performance measurement where Qwest fails to meet the standard, the payment to the State Fund shall be the dollar amount shown on the "per measure" portion of the Tier 2 Payment Table. 10.0 Low Volume, Developing Markets 10.1 For certain qualifying performance standards, if the aggregate monthly volumes of CLEGs participating in the PAP are more than 10, but less than 100, Qwest wil make Tier 1 payments to GLECs for failure to meet the parity or benchmark standard for the qualifying performance sub-measurements. The qualifying sub-measurements are the ADSL qualifed loop product disaggregations of OP-3, OP-4, OP-5a, MR-3, MR-5, MR-7, and MR-8. If the aggregate monthly GLEC volume is greater than 100, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the qualifying performance sub-measurement. 10.2 The determination of whether Qwest has met the parity or benchmark standards wil be made using aggregate volumes of GLECs participating in the PAP. In the event Qwest does not meet the applicable performance standards, a total payment to affected GLEGs wil be determined in accrdance with the high, medium, low designation for each performance measurement (see Attachment 1) and as described in section 8.0, except that CLEC aggregate volumes wil be used. In the event the calculated total payment amount to CLECs is less than $5,000, a minimum payment of $5,000 shall be made. The resulting total payment amount to CLEGs wil Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 15- 11/04/2009 10: 19 FAX SILVER STAR ~020/033 Exhibit K be apportioned to the affected CLECs based upon each CLEC's relative share of the number of total service misses. 10.3 At the six (6)-month reviews, Owest wil consider adding to the above list of qualifying performance sub-measurements, new products disaggregation representing new modes of CLEC entry into developing markets. 11.0 Payment 11.1 Payments to CLEC, the State, or the Special Fund shall be made one month following the due date of the performance measurement report for the month for which payment is being made. Owest will pay interest on any late payment and underpayment at the prime rate as reported in the Wall Street Journal. On any overpayment, Owest is allowed to offset future payments by the amount of the overpayment plus interest at the prime rate. 11.2 Payment to CLEC shall be made via bil credits. Bill credits shall be identifed on a summary format substantially similar to that distributed as a prototype to the CLECs and the Commissions. To the extent that a monthly payment owed to CLEC under this PAP exceeds the amount owed to Owest by CLEC on a monthly bil, Owest wil issue a check or wire transfer to CLEC in the amount of the overage. Payment to the State shall be made via check or wire transfer. 11.3 A Special Fund shall be created for the purpose of payment of an independent auditor and audit costs as specified in section 15.0 and payment of other expenses incurred by the participating Commissions in the regional administration ofthe PAP. 11.3.1 Owest shall establish the Special Fund as an interest bearing escrow account . upon the first FCC section 271 approval of the PAP applicable to a participating state Commission. Owest shall be authorized to withhold and deposit into the Special Fund one-half of all Tier 2 payments. The cost of the escrow accunt wil be paid for from account funds. 11.3.2 Commissions participating in the Special Fund shall appoint a person designated to administer and authorize disbursement of funds. All claims against the fund shall be presented to the Commissions' designates and shall be the responsibility of the participating Commissions. 11.3.3 Owest shall advance funds to meet initial claims against the Special Fund to the extent Tier 2 contributions are insufcient. Such funds shall not exceed $500,000 and shall be rèduced appropriately in the event that at least six states in which the QPAP is in effect do not agree to participate in the Special Fund. Upon a determination by the participating Commissions that the Special Fund has become Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 16- 11/04/2009 10: 20 FAX SILVER STAR ~021/033 Exhibit K self-sustaining or is no longer required, Owest shall be allowed to recover any such advances plus interest at the rate that the escrow accunt would have earned. 11.3.4 Upon the execution of a memorandum of understanding with the Idaho Commission, Owest shall establish an Idaho Discretionary Fund as a separate interest bearing escrow account. Owest shall deposit into the Discretionary Fund the remaining balance of Tier 2 payments after disbursement of Tier 2 payments to the Special Fund pursuant to section 13.3.1. The Commission shall appoint a person designated to administer and authorize disbursements of funds from the Discretionary Fund. Disbursements from the Discretionary Fund shall be limited to competitively neutral Idaho telecommunications initiatives. The costs of the Discretionary Fund will paid for from the account's funds. 12.0 Cap on Tier 1 and Tier 2 Payments 12.1 There shall be a cap on the total payments made by Owest for a 12 month period beginning with the effective date of the PAP for the State of Idaho. The annual cap for the State of Idaho shall be 36% of ARMIS Net Return, recalculated each year based upon the prior year's Idaho ARMIS results, subject to any applicable adjustment permitted pursuant to section 12.2. Owest shall submit to the Commission the calculation of each year's cap no later than 30 days after submission of ARMIS results to the FCC. CLEC agrees that this amount constitutes a maximum annual cap that shall apply to the aggregate total of Tier 1 liquidated damages, including any such damages paid pursuant to this Agreement, any other interconnection agreement, or any other payments made for the same underlying activity or omission under any other contract, order or rule and Tier 2 assessments or payments made by Owest for the same underlying activity or omission under any other contract, order or rule. 12.2 The 36% annual cap may be increased to 44% or decreased to 30% of ARMIS Net Return ås follows: 12.2.1 An increase in the cap of a maximum of 4 percentage points at anyone time (i.e., first to 40 percent) shall occur upon order by the Commission if the cap has been exceeded for any consecutive period of 24 months by that same 4 percent or more, provided that: (a) the Commission has determined that the preponderance of the evidence shows Owest could have remained beneath the cap through reasonable and prudent effort, and (b) the Commission has made that determination after having available to it on the record the results of audits and root cause analyses, and provided an opportunity for Qwest to be heard. 12.2.2 A decrease in the cap of a maximum of 4 percentage points at anyone time shall occur upon order by the Commission after performance for any consecutive period of 24 months in which total payments are 8 or more percentage points below the cap amount, provided that: (a) the Commission has determined that the Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 17- 11/04/2009 10: 20 FAX SILVER STAR ~0221033 Exhibit K preponderance of the evidence shows the performance results underlying those payments results from an adequate Qwest commitment tå meeting its responsibilities to provide adequate wholesale service and to keeping open its local markets and (b) the Commission shall have made that determination after providing all interested parties an opportunity to be heard. 12.2.3 The provisions of 12.2.1 and 12.2.2 shall be in effect for the next 24 month period commencing with the end of the 24 month period upon which the Commission's order is based. 12.3 If the annual cap is reached, each CLEC shall, as of the end of the year, be entitled to receive the same percentage of its total calculated Tier 1 payments. In order to preserve the operation of the annual cap, the percentage equalization shall take place as follows: 12.3.1 The amount by which any month's total year-to-date Tier 1 and Tier 2 payments exceds the cumulative monthly cap (defined as 1/12th of the annual cap times the cumulative number of months to date) shall be calculated and apportioned between Tier 1 and Tier 2 according to the percentage that each bore of total payments for the yea r-to-d ate. The Tier 1 apportionment resulting of this calculation . shall be known as the "Tracking Account. II 12.3.2 The Tier 1 apportionment shall be debited against the monthly payment due to each CLEC, by applying to the year-to-date payments received by each the percentage necessary to generate the required total Tier 1 amount. 12.3.3 The Tracking Amount shall be apportioned among all CLECs so as to provide each with payments equal in percentage of its total year to date Tier 1 payment calculations. 12.3.4 This calculation shall take place in the first month that the year-to-date total Tier 1 and Tier 2 payments are expected to exceed the cumulative monthly cap and for each month of that year thereafter. Qwest shall recover any debited amounts by reducing payments due to any CLEC for that month and any succding months, as necessary. 13.0 Limitations 13.1 The PAP shall not become available in the State unless and until Qwest receives effective section 271 authority from the FCC for that State. 13.2 Qwest will not be liable for Tier 1 payments to CLEC in an FCC approved state until the Commission has approved an interconnection agreement between CLEC- and Qwest which adopts the provisions of this PAP. Qwest Idaho SGA T Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 18- 11/04/2009 10: 20 FAX SILVER STAR ~023/033 Exhibit K 13.3 Qwest shall not be obligated to make Tier 1 or Tier 2 payments for any measurement if and to the extent that non-conformance for that measurement was the result of any of the following: 1) with respect to performance measurements with a benchmark standard, a Force Majeure event as defined in section 5.7 of the SGAT. Qwest will provide notice of the occurrence of a Force Majeure event within 72 hours of the time Qwest learns of the event or within a reasonable time frame that Qwest should have learned of it; 2) an act or omission by a CLEC that is contrary to any of its obligations under its interconnection agreement with Qwest or under federal or state law; an act or omission by CLEC that is in bad faith. Examples of bad faith conduct include, but are not limited to: unreasonably holding service orders and/or applications, "dumping" orders or applications in unreasonably large batches, "dumping" orders or applications at or near the close of a business day, on a Friday evening or prior to a holiday, and failing to provide timely forecasts to Qwest for services or facilties when such forecasts are explicitly required by the SGAT; 3) problems associated with third-part systems or equipment, which could not have been avoided by Qwest in the exercise of reasonable diligence, provided, however, that this third part exclusion will not be raised in the State more than three times within a calendar year. If a Force Majeure event or other excusing event recognized in this section merely suspends Qwests abilty to timely perform an activity subject to a performance measurement that is an interval measure, the applicable time frame in which Qwests compliance with the parity or benchmark criterion is measured wil be extended on an hour-for-hour or day-for-day basis, as applicable, equal to the duration of the excusing event. 13.3.1 Qwest wil not be excused from Tier 1 or Tier 2 payments for any reason except as described in Section 13.0. Qwest wil have the burden of demonstrating that its non-conformance with the performance measurement was excused on one of the grounds described in this PAP. A party may petition the Commission to require Qwest to deposit disputed payments into an escrow account when the requesting party can show cause, such as grounds provided in the Uniform Commercial Code for cases of commercial uncertainty. 13.3.2 Notwithstanding any other provision of section 13 of this QPAP, Qwest shall not be excused for failng to provide such performance that Owest could reasonably have been expected to deliver assuming that it had designed, implemented, staffed, provisioned, and otherwise provided for resources reasonably required to meet foreseeable volumes and patterns of demands upon its resources by CLECs. 13.4 Qwests agreement to implement these enforcement terms, and specifically its agreement to pay any "liquidated damages" or "assessments" hereunder, wil not be considered as an admission against interest or an admission of liabilit in any legal, regulatory, or other proceeding relating in whole or in part to the same performance. 13.4.1 CLEC may not use: 1) the existence of this enforcement plan; or 2) Qwests payment of Tier -1 "liquidated damages" or Tier 2 "assessments" as evidence that Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 ~ 19- 11/04/2009 10: 20 FAX SILVER STAR ~024/033 Exhibit K Qwest has discriminated in the provision of any facilities or services under Sections 251 or 252, or has violated any state or federal law or regulation. Qwesfs cOnduct underlying its performance measures, however are not made inadmissible by its terms. 13.4.2 By accepting this performance remedy plan, CLEC agrees that Qwests performance with respect to this remedy plan may not be used as an admission of liability or culpability for a violation of any state or federal law or regulation. (Nothing herein is intended to preclude Qwest from introducing evidence of any Tier 1 "liquidated damages" under these provisions for the purpose of offsetting the payment against any other damages or payments a CLEC might recover.) The terms of this paragraph do not apply to any proceeding before the Commission or the FCC to determine whether Qwest has met or continues to meet the requirements of section 271 of the Act. 13.5 By incorporating these liquidated damages terms into the PAP, Qwest and CLEC accepting this PAP agree that proof of damages from any non-conforming performance measurement would be difcult to ascertin and, therefore, liquidated damages are a reasonable approximation of any contractual damages that may result from a non-conforming performance measurement. Qwest and CLEC further agree that Tier 1 payments made pursuant to this PAP are not intended to be a penalty. The application of the assessments and damages provided for herein is not intended to foreclose other noncontractual legal and non-contractual regulatory claims and remedies that may be available to a CLEC. . 13.6 This PAP contains a comprehensive set of performance measurements, statistical methodologies, and payment mechanisms that are designed to function together, and only together, as an integrated whole. To elect the PAP, CLEC must adopt the PAP in its entirety, in its interconnection agreement with Qwest. By electing remedies under the PAP, CLEC waives any causes of action based on a contractual theory of liabilty, and any right of recovery under any other theory of liability (including but not limited to a state utilty regulatory commission or Federal Communications Commission rule or order) to the extent such recovery is related to harm compensable under a contractual theory of liability (even though it is sought through a noncontractual claim, theory, or cause of action). 13.7 If for any reason a CLEC agreeing to this QPAP is awarded compensation for the same harm for which it received payment under the QPAP , the court or other adjudicatory body hearing such a claim may offset the damages resulting from such claim against payments made for the same harm. 13.8 Qwest shall not be liable for both Tier 2 payments under the PAP and assessments, sanctions, or other payments for the same underlying activity or omission pursuant to any Commission order or service quality rules. 13.9 Whenever a Qwest Tier 1 payment to an individual CLEe exceeds $3 milion in a month, Qwest may commence a proceeding to demonstrate why it should not be Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 20- 11/04/2009 10: 21 FAX SILVER STAR ~025/033 Exhibit K required to pay any amount in excess of the $3 milion. Upon timely commencement of the proceeding, Qwest must pay the balance of payments owed in excess of $3 million into escrow, to be held by a third-part pending the outcome of the proceeding. To invoke these escrow provisions, Qwest must file, not later than the due date of the Tier 1 payments, its application. Qwest wil have the burden of proof to demonstrate why, under the circumstances, it would be unjust to require it to make the payments in excess of $3 millon. If Qwest reports non-conforming performance to CLEC for three consecutive months on 20% or more of the measurements reported to CLEC and has incurred no more than $1 millon in liability to CLEC, then CLEC may commence a similar proceeding. In any such proceeding CLEC wil have the burden of proof to demonstrate why, under the circumstances, justice requires Owest to make payments in excess of the amount calculated pursuant to the terms of the PAP. The disputes identified in this section shall be resolved in a manner specified in the Dispute Resolution section of the SGAT with the CLEC. 14.0 Reportng 14.1 Upon receiving effective section 271 authority from the FCC for a state, Qwest wil provide CLEC that has an approved interconnection agreement with Owest, a monthly report of Qwests performance for the measurements identified in the PAP by the last day of the month following the month for which performance results are being reported. However, Qwest shall have a grace period of five business days, so that Qwest shall not be deemed out of compliance with its reporting obligations before the expiration of the five business day grace period. Qwest will collect, analyze, and report performance data for the measurements listed on Attachment 1 in accrdance with the most recent version of the PIDs. Upon CLEC's request, data files of the CLEC's raw data, or any' subset thereof, wil be transmitted, without charge, to CLEC in a mutually acceptable format, protocol, and transmission medium. 14.2 Owest wil also provide the Commission a monthly report of aggregate CLEC performance results pursuant to the PAP by the last day of the month following the month for which performance results are being reported. However, Owest shall have a grace period of five business days, so that Owest shaii not be deemed out of compliance with its reporting obligations before the expiration of the five business day grace period. Individual CLEC reports of participating CLECs wil also be available to the Commission upon request. By accepting this PAP, CLEC consents to Qwest providing CLEC's report and raw data to the State Commission. Pursuant to the terms of an order of the Commission, Owest may provide CLEC-specific data that relates to the PAP, provided that Qwest shall first initiate any procedures necessary to protect the confidentiality and to prevent the public release of the information pending any applicable Commission procedures and further provided that Owest provides such notice as the Commission directs to the CLEC involved, in order to allow it to prosecute such procedures to their completion. Data files of participating Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 21- 11/04/2009 10: 21 FAX SILVER STAR ~026/033 Exhibit K CLEC raw data, or any subset thereof, wil be transmitted, without charge, to the Commission in a mutually acceptable format, protocol, and transmission form. 14.3 In the event Qwest does not provide CLEC and the Commission with a monthly report by the last day of the month following the month for which performance results are being reported, Qwest wil pay to the State a total of $500 for each business day for which performance reports are 6 to 10 business days past the due date; $1,000 for each business day for which performance reports are 11 to 15 business days past the due date; and $2,000 for each business day for which performance results are more than 15 business days past the due date. If report are on time but are missing performance results, Qwest wil pay to the State a total of one-fifth of the late report amount for each missing performance measurement, subject to a cap of the full late report amount. These amounts represent the total payments for omitting performance measurements or missing any report deadlines. rather than a payment per report. Prior to the date of a payment for late reports, Qwest may file a request for a waiver of the payment, which states the reasons for the waiver. The Commission may grant the waiver, deny the waiver, or provide any other relief that may be appropriate. 14.4 To the extent that Qwest recalculates payments made under this PAP, such recalculation shall be limited to the preceding three years (measured from the later of the provision of a monthly credit statement or payment due date). Qwest shall retain sufcient records to demonstrate fully the basis for its calculations for long enough to meet this potential recalculation obligation. CLEC verification or recalculation effort should be made reasonably contemporaneously with Qwest measurements. In any event, Qwest shall maintain the records in a readily useable format for one year. For the remaining two years, the records may be retained in archived format. Any payment adjustments shall be subject to the interest rate provisions of section 11.1. 15.0 Integrated Audit Program/Investigations of Penormance Results 15.1 Audits of the PAP shall be conducted in a two-year cycle under the auspices of the participating Commissions in accordance with a detailed audit plan developed by an independent auditor retained for a two-year period. The participating Commissions shall select the independent auditor with input from Qwest and CLECs. 15.1.1 The participating Commissions shall form an oversight committee of Commissioners who wil choose the independent auditor and approve the audit plan. Any disputes as to the choice of auditor or the scope of the audit shall be resolved through a vote of the chairs of the participating commissions pursuant to Section 15.1.4. 15.1.2 The audit plan shall be conducted over two years. The audit plan wil identify the specific performance measurements to be audited, the specific tests to be conducted, and the entity to conduct them. The audit plan will give priority to auditing Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 22- 11/04/2009 10: 21 FAX SILVER STAR ~027/033 Exhibit K the higher risk areas identified in the ass report. The two-year cycle will examine risks likely to exist across that period and the past history of testing, in order to determine what combination of high and more moderate areas of risk should be examined during the two-year cycle. The first year of a two-year cycle wil concentrate on areas most likely to require follow-up in the second year. 15.1.3 The audit plan shall be coordinated with other audit plans that may be conducted by other state commissions so as to avoid duplication, shall not impede Qwests ability to comply with the other provisions of the PAP and should be of a nature and scope that can be conducted in accrdance with the reasonable course of Qwests business operations. 15.1.4 Any dispute arising out of the audit plan, the conduct of the audit, or audit results shall be resolved by the oversight committee of Commissioners. Decisions of the oversight committee of Commissioners may be appealed to a committee of the chairs of the participating Commissions. 15.2 Qwest may make management processes more accurate or more effcient to perform without sacrifcing accuracy. These changes are at Qwests discretion but will be reported to the independent auditor in quarterly meetings in which the auditor may ask questions about changes made in the Qwest measurement regimen. The meetings, which wil be limited to Qwest and the independent auditor, wil permit an independent assessment of the materiality and- propriety of any Qwest changes, including, where necessary, testing of the change details by the independent auditor. The information gathered by the independent auditor may be the basis for reports by the independent auditor to the participating Commissions and, where the Commissions deem it appropriate, to other participants. 15.3 In the event of a disagreement between Qwest and CLEC as to any issue regarding the accuracy or integrity of data collected, generated, and reported pursuant to the PAP, Qwest and the CLEC shall first consult with one another and attempt in good faith to resolve the issue. If an issue is not resolved within 45 days after a request for consultation, GLEG and Qwest may, upon a demonstration of good cause, (e.g., evidence of material errors or discrepancies) request an independent audit to be conducted, at the initiating part's expense. The independent auditor wil assess the need for an audit based upon whether there exists a material deficiency in the data or whether there exists an issue not otherwise addressed by the audit plan for the current cycle. The dispute resolution provision of section 18.0 is available to any part questioning the independent auditor's decision to conduct or not conduct a GLEe requested audit and the audit findings, should such an audit be conducted. An audit may not proceed until dispute resolution is completed. Audit findings wil include: (a) general applicabilty of findings and conclusions (Le., relevance to GLECs or jurisdictions other than the ones causing test initiation), (b) magnitude of any payment adjustments required and, (c) whether cost responsibilty should be shifted based upon the materiality and clarity of any Qwest non-conformance with measurement requirements (no pre-determined variance is appropriate, but should Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 23- 11/04/2009 10: 22 FAX SILVER STAR ~028/033 Exhibit K be based on the auditor's professional judgment). CLEe may not request an audit of data more than three years from the later of the provision of a monthly credit statement or payment due date. 15.4 Expenses for the audit of the PAP and any other related expenses, except that which may be assigned under section 15.3, shall be paid first from the Tier 2 funds in the Special Fund. For Idaho, the remainder of the audit expenses will be paid by Qwest. 15.5 Qwest wil investigate any second consecutive Tier 2 miss to determine the cause of the miss and to identify the action needed in order to meet the standard set forth in the performance measurements. To the extent an investigation determines that a CLEC was responsible in whole or in part for the Tier 2 misses, Qwest shall receive credit against future Tier 2 payments in an amount equal to the Tier 2 payments that should not have been made. The relevant portion of subsequent Tier 2 payments wil not be owed until any responsible CLEC problems are corrected. For the purposes of this sub-section, Tier 1 performance measurements that have not been designated as Tier 2 wil be aggregated and the aggregate results wil be investigated pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. 16.0 Reviews 16. 1 Every six (6) months, beginning six months after the effctive date of section 271 approval by the FCC for the state of Idaho, Qwest, CLECs, or the Idaho Public Utilties Commission may initiate a review of the performance measurements to determine whether measurements should be added, deleted, or modified; whether the applicable benchmark standards should be modified or replaced by parity standards; and whether to move a classification of a measurement to High, Medium, or Low, Tier 1 or Tier 2. The criterion for reclassification of a measurement shall be whether the actual volume of data points was less or greater than anticipated. Criteria for review of performance measurements, other than for possible reclassification, shall be whether there exists an omission or failure to capture intended performance, and whether there is duplication of another measurement. Any disputes regarding adding, deleting, or modifying performance measurements shall be resolved pursuant to a proceeding before the Commission and subject to judicial review. No new performance measurements shall be added to this PAP that have not been subject to observation as diagnostic measurements for a period of 6 months. Any changes made at the six-month review pursuant to this section shall apply to and modif this agreement between Qwest and CLEC, subject to a stay, modifcation or reversal upon appeal or judicial review. , 16.1.1 Notwithstanding section 16.1, if any agreements on adding, modifying or deleting. performance measurements as permitted by section 16.1 are reached between Qwest and CLECs participating in an industry Regional Oversight Committee (ROC) PID administration forum, those agreements shall be incorporated Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 24- 11/04/2009 10: 22 FAX SILVER STAR ~029/033 Exhibit K into the QPAP and modify the agreement between CLEC and Qwest at any time those agreements are submitted to the Commission, whether before or after a six- month review. 16.1.2 For the first twelve months that any changes made pursuant to paragraphs 16.1 or 16.1.1 are in effect, Qwests liability for such changes shall be limited to 10% of the monthly payments that Qwest would have made absent the effect of such changes as a whole. This provision shall be referred as "the 10% payment collar." Such payment limitation shall be accomplished by factoring the payments resulting from the changes to ensure that such payments remain within 10% of the payments Qwest would have made absent such changes. 16.1.3 In the event that the Commission adds, modifies, or reclassifies a performance measurement that has not been agreed upon in the ROC PID administration forum process in 16.1.1, the 10% payment collar shall remain in effect unless removed by the Commission pursuant to this section. If, after a minimum of 6 months of payments to a CLEC, Qwests payments have been limited by the 10% payment collar to 80% or less of what the total payments would have been absent the collar for the preceding 6-month period, the Commission may, upon motion by an affected CLEC, conduct a record proceeding to determine whether the 10% payment collar should be removed from any such performance measure. The Commission can prospectively remove the 10% collar for Tier 1 payments to affected CLEC(s) for any such performance measure upon a demonstration through a record proceeing and a Commission determination that the total payments to the CLEC(s) under the QPAP were inadequate to compensate CLEC(s) for actual harm incurred during the same period and upon a determination that such change is otherwise necessary and appropriate and in the public interest. 16.1.4 Notwithstanding section 16.1, any part may submit a root cause analysis to the Commission requesting removal of a PID or sub-measure from the PAP or requesting exemption of a PID or sub-measure from the application of the trigger mechanism for reinstatement or subsequent removaL. In the analysis and recommendations concerning the root cause analysis, the Commission is to consider, at a minimum, whether the root cause analysis provides evidence of no harm, the same harm as covered by other PID measures, non-Qwest related causes, or other factors which directly relate to the harm or circumstances specific to the PID or sub- measure being analyzed. 16.2 Two years after the effective date of the first FCC 271 approval of the PAP, the participating Commissions may conduct a joint review by a independent third party to examine the continuing effectiveness of the PAP as a means of inducing compliant performance. This review shall not be used to open the PAP generally to amendment, but would serve to assist Commissions in determining existing conditions and reporting to the FCC on the continuing adequacy of the PAP to serve its intended functions. The expense of the reviews shall be paid from the Special Fund. Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 25- 11/04/2009 10: 22 FAX SILVER STAR ~030/033 Exhibit K 16.3 Owest wil make the PAP available for CLEC interconnection agreements until such time as Qwest eliminates its Section 272 affliate. At that time, the Commission and Qwest shall review the appropriateness of the PAP and whether its continuation is necessary. However, in the event Qwest exits the interLA TA market, that State PAP shall be rescinded immediately. 17.0 Voluntary Penormance Assurance Plan This PAP represents Qwests voluntary offer to provide performance assurance. Nothing in the PAP or in any conclusion of non.-nformance of Qwests service performance with the standards defined in the PAP shall be construed to be,of itself, non-conformance with the Act. 18.0 Dispute Resolution For the purpose of resolving disputes over the meaning of the provisions of the PAP and how they should be applied, the dispute resolution provisions of the SGAT, section 5.18, shall apply whether the CLEC uses the SGAT in its entirety or elects to make the PAP part of its interconnection agreements (Le., the unique dispute resolution provisions of interconnection agreements should not apply). Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 26- 11/04/2009 10: 22 FAX SILVER STAR ~031/033 Exhibit K Attchment 1: Tier 1 and Tier 2 Performance Measurements Subject to Per Occurrence Payment Performance Measurement Tier 1 Payments Tier 2 Payments Low Med High Low Med Hiah GATEWAY Timely Outaae Resolution GA-7 X PRE-ORDER/ORDERS LSR Reiection Notice Interval PO-3a X Firm Order Confirmations On Time PO-5 X X Work Completion Notification Timeliness PO-6D X Billng Completion Notification Timeliness po-r X Jeopardy Notice Interval PO-S X Timelv Jeopardy Notices PO-9 X' Release Notifications PQ-16 X (Expanded)-Manual Service Order PO-20 X Accuracy ORDERING AND PROVISIONING Installation Commitments Met OP-3g X X Installation Intervals OP-4c,g X X New Service Quality OP-X X 5ag bd,9, Delayed Davs Op-Se.g X X Number Portabilty Timeliness OP-S X X Coordinated Cuts On Time -Unbundled OP-13a X X Loops LNP Disconnect Timeliness OP-17 X X MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR Out of Service Cleared within 24 hours MR-3g X All Troubles Cleared within 4 hours MR-S9 X Mean time to Restore MR-X 6ag,b9,c9, df,ef Recair Repeat Report Rate MR-79 X X Trouble Rate MR-S9 X X LNP Trouble Reports Cleared within MR-11 X X Soecifred Timeframes BILLING Time to Provide Recorded Usage Records BI-1 X X Billng Accuracy-Adìustments for Errors BI-3 X Biling Completeness BI-4 X X NETWORK PERFORMANCE Trunk Blocking NI-1 . X X NXX Code Activation NP-1 X X Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26,2007 - 27- 11/04/2009 10: 23 FAX SILVER STAR ~032/033 Exhibit K a. PO-3 is limited to PO-3a-1, PO-3b-1, and PO-3c. b. PO-6 is included with PO-7 as two "families:" P0-6a1PC-7a and P0-6b/PO-7b. Measurements within each family share a single payment opportunity with only the measurements with the highest payment being paid. c. OP-4 is included with OP-6 as five "familes:" OP-4aIOP-6-1, OP-4b/OP-6-2, OP-4c10P-6-3, OP-4d/OP- 6-4, and OP-4e/OP-6-5. Measurements within each family share a single payment opportunity with only the measurement with the highest payment being paid. . d. Section 3.1.2 applies to OP-5b only if the number of orders with trouble in OP-5a is no more than one. e. For purposes of the PAP, OP-6a and OP-6b wil be combined and treated as one. The combined OP-6 breaks down to OP-6-1 (within MSA), OP-6-2 (outside MSA), OP-6-3 (no dispatch), OP-6-4 (zone 1), and OP-6-S'(zone 2). f. Applicable only to xDSL-1 capable loops. g. Excludes the following product disaggregations as applicable to this PID: Resale Centrex, Resale Centrex 21, Resale DSO (non-designed), Resale DSQ (designed), Resale DSO, E911/911 Trunks, Resle Frame Relay, Resale Basic ISDN (non-designed), Resale Basic ISDN (designed), Resle Basic ISDN, Resale Primary ISDN (non-designed), Resale Primary ISDN (designed), Resale Primary ISDN, Resale PBX (non-designed), Resale PBX (designed), Resale PBX, Sub-Loop Unbundling, UNE-P (POTS), UNE-P (Centrex), and UNE-P (Centrex 21). Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 28- 11/04/2009 10: 23 FAX SILVER STAR Exhibit K Billing Attchment 2: Penormance Measurements Subject to Per Measurement Caps Time to Provide Recorded Usage Records - BI-1 (Tier 1fTier 2) Billing Accuracy - Adjustments for Errors - BI-3 (Tier 1) Billng Completeness - BI4 (Tier 1fTier 2) Qwest Idaho SGAT Third Revised, Sixth Amended Exhibit K, June 26, 2007 - 29- ~033/033