Product Catalog (PCAT)
Resale - Local Exchange Services - Business and Residence Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) - V58.0
Product Description
Qwest's retail telecommunications services, Business and Residence local exchange access line services also known as Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) - Business and Residence, are available for resale by Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) to their end-users. Additional information about resale of Qwest's retail services, is availabe in Resale - General.
Both Business and Residence local exchange access line services provide access to the public switched network for local and long distance dialing. If your end-user chooses to use Qwest for Intra-Local Access and Transport Area (LATA) long distance the IntraLATA long distance is billed to you at the resale rate. The IntraLATA long distance is determined by the Local Primary Interexchange Carrier (LPIC). End-users designate a carrier of choice on calls that originate and terminate within the end-user's home LATA. The end-user's intraLATA carrier can be the same or different from their interLATA (long distance) carrier. Information describing long distance carrier selection is available in the Long Distance Carrier Selection Overview.
Types of Business Services include:
- Flat-rated Business service is unmeasured, allowing your end-user
to make an unlimited number of calls within the local calling
area at a flat, or fixed, monthly rate. The service utilizes the
exchange access line, which includes the central office equipment
and all the Qwest plant facilities up to and including the Standard
Network Interface. The service provides basic dial tone.
- Qwest Stand-By Line™ is a Basic Exchange service that allows buiness end-users to expand and contract their telephone service according to call volume and pay for only the service that they need. Business end-users are billed the same nonrecurring charges as for a flat business line however they pay about half the monthly cost of a regular second line plus per-minute usage charges for both incoming and outgoing calls. Ideal uses include fax modem lines or lines with credit card machines. Standby Lines cannot be used as a primary line, cannot be billed separately and are not available with measured service.
- Measured-rated Business service provides access to the public switched network for local and long distance calling. 1MB service is billed at a flat monthly rate for a set number of local calls or messages per line with an additional charge for every local message in excess of the base allowance. Charges for local calls in excess of the allowance are billed for based upon length of call, originating and terminating point of call, and time of day each call was made.
- Public Response Calling Service (PRCS), also known as Choke
Network, is currently available in the tariffs in NE, SD and MN
and is being added to the CO, ID-S, IA, MT, NM, OR, UT, WA, and
WY tariffs effective July 18, 2005, and to the ID-N tariff effective
August 1, 2005. PRCS is a service offering which provides facilities
for call-in programs, promotional activities and contests which
are publicly advertised and result in mass calling by the general
public to a telephone number. This service allows high volume
incoming calls to a single number that exceeds 200 calls a minute
without putting a switch at risk. This service is commonly used
by radio stations for contests or by ticket outlets. For specific
ordering requirements, refer to the Ordering
section of this document.
NOTE: The tariff states that certain conditions require your end-user customer to subscribe to PRCS. For additional information, refer to Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Types of Residence Services include:
- Flat-rated Residence service is unmeasured, allowing the end-user to make an unlimited number of calls within the local calling area at a fixed monthly rate. The service consists of utilizing the exchange access line, which includes the central office equipment and all the Qwest plant facilities up to and including the Standard Network Interface. The service provides basic dial tone for residential end-users.
- Message/Measured Rated Residence service provides access to
the public switched network for local and long distance calling.
- Measured Rated Service bills a flat monthly rate for a set number of local calls or messages per line with an additional charge for every local message in excess of the base allowance.
- Message Rated Service bills a flat monthly rate that includes a monetary usage allowance for calls completed to stations in the local calling area. Charges for local calls in excess of the allowance are also applicable and are based upon length of call, originating and terminating point of call, and time of day call was made.
- Lifeline Services
- The Lifeline Assistance Plan is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plan to provide a credit toward the recurring monthly local exchange service rate. It is available for resale to qualified low-income residential end-users throughout Legacy Qwest's 14-state local service territory.
- Tribal Lifeline is an enhancement to the existing Lifeline program. Tribal Lifeline offers low-income residential end-users on tribal lands a credit toward charges associated with the access line throughout Legacy Qwest's 14-state local service territory except Wyoming.
- Link Up is another assistance program that is funded by the CLECs. With this plan, some states waive up to 100% of the installation charges for residential low-income end-users. Link Up is Link-Up is limited to Tribal lands where high cost support is received.
For additional information on types of Business and Residence services and related USOCs view state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
The following Discounted Feature Packages are available for Resale
to your end-users:
Call Manager
Connection - Business Only.
NOTE: Call Manager Connection – Business Only Packages are
grandparented in all states except Arizona and Idaho-North effective
April 11, 2005 and are only available as a new service in Arizona
and Idaho-North. Contact your Qwest
Sales Executive for additional information.
CustomChoice®
for Business Package.
NOTE: CustomChoice® for Business Packages are grandparented
effective April 11, 2005 and are not available as a new service.
Contact your Qwest
Sales Executive for additional information.
CustomChoice®
Packages - Residence.
NOTE: CustomChoice® Packages - Residence is grandparented effective
May 5, 2003 and is not available as a new service. Contact
your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
NOTE: CustomChoice® Packages - Residence are grandfathered effective June 18, 2010, and are not available as a new service in Idaho-North. These packages were previously grandparented in all other states on May 5, 2003. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
CustomChoice-Complete
Packages. (Residence Only).
NOTE: CustomChoice-Complete Packages - (Residence Only) is
grandparented effective May 5, 2003 and is not available as a new
service. Contact
your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
PopularChoice
Packages. (Residence Only).
NOTE: PopularChoice Packages is grandparented effective May
5, 2003 and is not available as a new service. Contact
your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
PreferredChoice
Packages. (Residence Only)
NOTE: PreferredChoice Packages are grandparented effective August
16, 2004, and are not available as a new service. Contact your Qwest
Sales Executive for additional information.
Qwest Choice
Business (available from December 15, 2003 to April 11, 2005)
NOTE: Qwest Choice™ Business Packages are grandparented effective
April 11, 2005, and are not available as a new service. Contact
your Qwest Sales
Executive for additional information.
Qwest Choice™ Business (Qwest Choice Business Pick 3 in CO) (available April 11, 2005)
Qwest Choice™ Business Add-A-Line
Qwest Choice
Home (available from December 15, 2003 to August 16, 2004
NOTE: Qwest Choice Home Packages are grandparented effective
August 16, 2004, and are not available as a new service. Contact
your Qwest Sales
Executive for additional information.
NOTE: Qwest Choice Home Packages are grandfathered effective June 18, 2010, and are not available as a new service in Idaho-North. These packages were previously grandparented in all other states on August 16, 2004. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
Qwest
Choice Home (Qwest Choice Home Pick 3 in CO) (available
August 16, 2004 and later)
NOTE: Qwest Choice™ Home (Qwest Choice Home Pick 3 in CO) is grandfathered effective June 18, 2010, and is not available as a new service except in Montana and New Mexico. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
NOTE: Qwest Choice Home™ Packages are grandfathered effective October 9, 2010 in the state of New Mexico. This package is not available as a new service in all states except Montana. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
NOTE: Qwest Choice Home™ Packages are grandfathered effective June 18, 2011 in the state of Montana. This package is not available as a new service in any of Legacy Qwest's 14-state local service territory. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
Qwest
Choice Home Plus
NOTE: Qwest Choice™ Home Plus Packages are grandfathered effective June 18, 2010, and are not available as a new service except in New Mexico and Montana. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
NOTE: Qwest Choice Home™ Plus Packages are grandfathered effective October 9, 2010 in the state of New Mexico. This package is not available as a new service in all states except Montana. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
NOTE: Qwest Choice Home™ Plus Packages are grandfathered effective June 18, 2011 in the state of Montana. This package is not available as a new service in any of Legacy Qwest's 14-state local service territory. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
Qwest Business Line
Plus.
NOTE: Qwest Business Line Plus™ Packages are grandparented
effective April 11, 2005 in all states except Idaho-North and are
not available as a new service except in Idaho-North. Contact your
Qwest Sales Executive
for additional information.
Qwest® Home Phone Package
SelectPak
(Residence Only).
NOTE: SelectPak is grandparented effective May 5, 2003 and
is not available as a new service. Contact
your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
SmartSet
(Business Only).
NOTE: SmartSet™ Packages are grandparented in all states except
Arizona effective April 11, 2005 and are only available as new service
in Arizona. Contact your Qwest
Sales Executive for additional information.
ValueChoice
Packages (Residence Only).
NOTE: ValueChoice Packages are grandparented effective August 16, 2004, and are not available as a new service, with the exception of Idaho-North. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
NOTE: ValueChoice Packages are grandfathered effective June 18, 2010, and are not available as a new service in Idaho-North. These packages were previously grandparented in all other states on August 16, 2004. Contact your Qwest Sales Executive for additional information.
Availability
Business and Residence local exchange access line services are available for resale throughout Legacy Qwest's 14-state local service territory.
For additional Qwest retail services available for resale by state, view state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Terms and Conditions
Business services can be installed in any business location and in a residential location where an end-user may be operating a 'home business.'
Residence services can only be installed in a residential location.
It is your responsibility to provide Qwest with accurate end-user address and location information for state regulated emergency databases. Information regarding 911/Enhanced 911 (E911) is located in Access to Emergency Services (911/E911).
For each main telephone number Qwest will accept one white page directory listing at no charge. Additional information about directory listing is available in White Pages Directory Listings.
Additional terms and conditions, rates and charges can be found in the Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Technical Publications
Technical characteristics are described in:
- Telcordia Special Reports (SRs), SR-2275, Notes on the Network.
- American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
Pricing
Rate Structure
General resale rate structure information is described in Resale - General.
Nonrecurring charges apply for the initial provisioning and installation of Residence service and most Business services. Nonrecurring charges also apply whenever there are additions or changes to existing services. Monthly recurring charges apply.
Business and Residence services and optional features are available on a month-to month basis. A minimum billing period of thirty days applies for monthly recurring charges.
Qwest retail rate elements for Business and Residence services, and how the rate elements apply are available in the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Rates
Rates and/or applicable discounts are available in Exhibit A or the specific rate sheet in your Interconnection or Resale Agreement.
Qwest's retail rates can be found in the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Tariffs, Regulations and Policy
Tariffs, regulations and policies applicable to Qwest retail products available for resale are located in the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.
Qwest has Interconnection/Resale tariffs in the following states:
| State | Tariff |
| Colorado | Colorado Local Network Interconnection and Service Resale Tariff |
| Iowa | Iowa Local Wireline Network Interconnection and Service Resale Tariff |
| Washington | Washington Resale Tariff |
You may purchase services for resale under these tariffs, or under an Interconnection or Resale Agreement in these states.
Additional policy information can be found in your Interconnection or Resale Agreement, or the Statement of Generally Available Terms and Conditions (SGAT) for the relevant state.
Optional Features
Business and Residence services optional feature availability and pricing may vary according to the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.\
A complete list of standard features, feature descriptions, availability, pricing, and ordering information is available in the Resale - Features matrix.
Qwest offers various optional intraLATA local calling plans in some states. Check the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists to determine what plans may be available.
Message Delivery Service (MDS) and Message Delivery Service Interoffice (MDSI) are network service product offerings that are used to facilitate the delivery of a voice messaging platform and are available with certain product offerings. For additional information contact your Qwest Service Manager.
Traffic Data Report Service (TDRS) provides customers with a summary of traffic data on certain network facilities. For additional information contact your Qwest Service Manager.
Features/Benefits
| Features | Benefits |
| Cost effective | |
| Flexible communication system | |
| Network reliability |
Applications
See Features/Benefits.
Implementation
Product Prerequisites
If you are a new CLEC and are ready to do business with Qwest, view Getting Started as a Facility-Based CLEC or Getting Started as a Reseller.
If you are an existing CLEC wishing to amend your Interconnection Agreement or New Customer Questionnaire, additional information is located in the Interconnection Agreement.
Pre-Ordering
General pre-ordering activities are described in the Pre-Ordering Overview.
Requirements for pre-ordering are described in Local Service Guidelines (LSOG) Pre-Order.
Ordering
It is important to understand the Resale - General procedures before ordering local exchange services.
General ordering activities are described in the Ordering Overview.
Service requests should be placed using Interconnect Mediated Access (IMA) Extensible Markup Language (XML), IMA Graphical User Interface (GUI), or faxed to (888) 796-9089.
Local Exchange Services, Business and Residence POTS service requests are submitted using the following LSOG forms:
- Local Service Request (LSR)
- End User (EU)
- Resale Service (RS)
- Directory Listing (DL), if applicable
Field entry requirements are described in the LSOG.
When requesting a full conversion from existing Retail/Resale/commercial local exchange services products e.g. CenturyLink™ Local Services Platform (CLSP™) using the LSR ACT Type = V, all listings on the current account must be addressed by providing the end-state of the listing on your LSR. If there are no change(s) to the listing(s), the listing(s) should have the LACT value of Z. If the LSR ACT Type = V, and a LACT value of Z is present on the DL form, the TN will be used for validation purposes, but all other information on the DL form will be ignored. The listing will remain exactly as it exists on Qwest’s Customer Service Record. LSRs with 'LACT = N - New Listing' selected when changes are being made to existing listings will be manually rejected by Qwest. Only new listings may be added with LACT = N during conversion activity. Existing listings may be deleted during conversion activity with LACT = D - Delete Listing.
Requests for multiple line conversions may be made on the same LSR, provided the request is based on the same Customer Service Record (CSR), for the same end-user, at the same location, and for the same due date.
LSRs related to Public Response Calling Service (Choke Network) must be submitted by fax until further notice. Additionally, the following three USOCs are required on the RS form:
- 1MN - Public Response Calling Service
- GE6 - Traffic Load Protector
- NRC83 - Non-Recurring Charge
In addition, the Remarks section must include the following information:
- Choke Network"
- Group Size/Number of Lines
- New or Existing Call Forwarding 'To' Number, if needed
Additional information regarding the restrictions and limitations of Choke Network Service:
- Call Forwarding Restrictions - whenever Choke calls are forwarded or hunt outside the choke network, they lose their choking properties. Be advised to NEVER call forward a Choke line outside of the Choke Network.
- Multi-Line Hunt Concerns - Call Forwarding features may be used on a one-to-one basis with Multi-Line Hunting, however no Series Hunting is allowed. Many Choke Network lines have multiple Multi-Line Hunt groups, which in turn have multiple Call Forwarding Variable (CFV) features active. This leads to abuse and loss of control of the network as the forwarding feature can be used to forward these numbers to other service providers.
Provisioning and Installation
General provisioning and installation activities are described in the Provisioning and Installation Overview.
Some products or features require the addition of a Line Class Code (LCC) to provision the service in the Qwest switch. When a LCC is required, the CLEC is not responsible for providing it on the LSR; Qwest adds it to the service order.
In some cases, several products associated with a single line may each require a LCC. Only one LCC may be used on a line. Therefore, in these situations, Qwest will assign a single LCC that provides the function for multiple products. There are also times when one LCC may be translated into another LCC to accommodate various switch types and/or Multi-line Hunting requirements.
Qwest enters the LCC on the service order following each line USOC to be equipped with the product or feature, as in the following example:
- 1FB/PIC xxxx/LCC KXB
- RTY
For information on the LCCs used in provisioning Resale POTS services refer to the LCC Job Aid. The LCC Job Aid is provided as an informational tool and should not be used by the CLEC when submitting an LSR.
Loss and Completion Reports are based on loss and gain account activity. Loss and Completion Reports are described in Billing Information - Additional Outputs - SMDR, Completion Report, Loss Report.
Maintenance and Repair
General maintenance and repair activities are described in the Maintenance and Repair Overview.
In certain communities where Qwest has deployed Fiber To The Premise (FTTP) architecture, Qwest will not be able to technically line power the customer phone from the serving wire center. Therefore, a battery back up unit is required and is initially installed at the end user customer location for lifeline capability. The maintenance of this battery backup unit will be your responsibility. Qwest will monitor this battery backup unit for alarms (i.e., battery is low, dead, or missing) and provide written notification to you, as a provider of Resale service to an impacted end user location, so that you may make arrangements to ensure that the battery is replaced. This notification will provide instructions on how to proceed.
The written notification for the FTTP low battery alarm will be sent to the billing address on the CSR. If you would like the battery replacement notification to be sent to an alternate address, mark the FTTP LSR for manual handling and enter the alternate address or contact information in the Remarks section of the request.
Billing
On a monthly basis, Qwest will provide you with billing information that will provide summary account information as well as end-user account information.
Customer Records and Information System (CRIS) billing is described in Billing Information - Customer Records and Information System (CRIS).
Training
View Qwest courses in the Course Catalog.
Contacts
Qwest contact information is located in Wholesale Customer Contacts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This section is being compiled based on your feedback
Last Update: April 1, 2012
Qwest Stand-By Line, CustomChoice Complete, PopularChoice, PreferredChoice, Qwest Business Line Plus, Qwest Choice Home , Qwest Choice Home Plus, Qwest Choice, Business SelectPak, SmartSet and ValueChoice Packages are Trademarks of Qwest Communications International, Inc.
CustomChoice® is a Registered Trademark of Qwest Communications International, Inc.

