ATIS Releases Service Migration Guidelines

ATIS, a technical planning and standards development organization, today released its Local Service Migration Guidelines, Issue 2, a reference to help state regulators and telecom carriers manage the transfer of customers from one service provider to another.

Issue 2 includes guidelines for service migration between wireline and wireless service providers, as well as migration scenarios for basic data services. Basic wireline service migration guidelines, first published in November 2004, also are included in the document.

ATIS Local Service Migration Sub-Committee, made up of representatives from ILECs, CLECs, wireless service providers and vendors, worked for almost a year to modify the how-to guide of existing ATIS and other organizations standards. The organization says the resulting guidelines provide clear directions for various local service migration scenarios, including: directory listings, local number portability, emergency services such as 911 and enhanced 911, basic data services and a variety of bundled and unbundled service arrangements.

The ongoing convergence of the communications industry continues to demand more unified guidelines and processes, says Lonnie Keck, co-chair of the ATIS Ordering and Billing Forums Wireless Committee and a Cingular representative on the sub-committee. By documenting the industry migration process, the guidelines will benefit both the industry and state and federal regulators as they contemplate rule changes.