W. Va. Code R. § 150-37-4

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 150-37-4 - General Practices

4.1. Coordination of activities of multiple Service Providers.

When multiple Service Providers are involved, the coordination of their activities should be guided by section 3 of this rule and the general practices of the industry, which include but are not limited to:

4.1.a. Reasonable advance notice shall be provided to affected parties of work in the Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction.

4.1.b. After the effective date of these rules, new Intercepts are permitted only in instances when the affected parties agree and where it is not feasible to access the Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction at the UAP. The only acceptable basis for disagreement by a Service Provider shall be that the proposed Intercept (i) will pose an imminent threat to the existing facilities or (ii) would constitute a violation of any of the standards, practices, rules and orders with which compliance is required by these rules.

4.1.c. The design of the new Intercept shall follow generic engineering drawings as agreed to by the Customer and will be provided to the affected parties.

4.1.d. Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction shall have a Universal Access Point to facilitate the Customer's receipt of service from multiple Service Providers. The UAP shall permit ready access by each user to the Conduit system, and shall minimize interference with, and avoid danger to, other Service Provider facilities. It is desirable that the UAP be provided at the time of the initial installation of the Conduit.

4.1.e. Installation of a Universal Access Point shall provide access for multiple Service Providers to the Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction and shall:

4.1.e.1. provide adequate working space to avoid interference with, or damage to, existing installed cables or the Conduit,

4.1.e.2. maintain seal integrity of the Conduit system, and

4.1.e.3. be agreed to by the Customer.

4.1.f. It is desirable in the future that the UAP be supplied and installed by the Customer as part of the general installation of the Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction. Thereafter, all Service Providers shall enter the Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction through the UAP, which shall:

4.1.f.1. permit ready access by each user to the capacity in the Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction and

4.1.f.2. minimize interference with, and avoid danger to, other Service Provider facilities.

4.1.g. Whenever feasible, telecommunications or other Service Provider facilities owned or belonging to the same entity shall be installed and maintained within the same Duct within Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction, considering the need to separate different cable types and materials.

4.1.h. Companies should reasonably allow shared cable installations in Ducts where Duct access is restricted by available capacity.

4.1.i. When needed to provide necessary capacity, unused cables in Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction should be extracted in a reasonably expeditious manner at no cost to the Customer.

4.1.j. Initial and subsequent installations into new Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction should use separate Ducts when feasible.

4.1.k. Upon request by the Customer, a Telephone Public Utility or other Service Providers shall examine and report the status of their existing entrance paths into Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction in a reasonably expeditious manner.

4.1.l. Whenever technically feasible, a Telephone Public Utility or other Service Provider shall consolidate or minimize entrance points into the Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction.

4.1.m. A Service Provider should not bill another Service Provider for access to or occupancy of Customer-Provided Conduit or Other Underground Construction.

W. Va. Code R. § 150-37-4