FCC data shows improved network reliability

Local telephone service has made steady gains in reliability in recent years, according to data collected by the FCC through its Automated Reporting Management Information System. ARMIS reports, which must be filed by the largest local exchange carriers, showed a steady decline in the number of trouble reports per 100 lines between 1998 and 2007, the most recent year for which data is available. During that period, the number of trouble reports per 100 lines dropped from 2.03 to 1.86 per month.

Not all carriers experienced gains. Two major Tier 2 carriers — Citizens and Windstream — have seen an increase in trouble reports since 1998, perhaps because they made significant acquisitions during that period. Both companies have seen improvements since 2004, however. Another company that has grown through acquisition, Iowa Telecom, saw trouble reports creep up from 1.53 in 2004 to 1.85 in 2007.

Overall, Tier 2 carriers had higher levels of trouble reports than the former RBOCs — AT&T, Qwest and Verizon. But one area where Tier 2 carriers outperformed most of the former RBOCs was in the out-of-service repair interval. Six out of the seven Tier 2 telcos reporting beat the 2007 average of 24.9 hours by at least nine hours, while AT&T was only slightly below the average and Verizon was at 29.9 hours. Qwest had the lowest service repair interval of all telcos at 16.7 hours.

Despite their strong performance against the former RBOCs, however, the out-of-service repair interval for most Tier 2 carriers increased from 2004 to 2007. Exceptions were Cincinnati Bell, Citizens and Embarq, which saw a performance improvement.