LNPA Transition Outreach and Education Plan (TOEP)

Transcription

1 LNPA Transition Outreach and Education Plan () Frequently Asked s The LNPA Transition Oversight Manager (TOM) has assembled a list of Frequently Asked s (FAQ) that are of common interest to the NPAC community and other users of services provided by the LNPA. These questions have been grouped into several categories: 1. About the Transition 2. Scope and Customer Impact 3. Timeline 4. User Onboarding 5. User Testing 6. Communications and Staying Informed At this time, we are unable to answer certain specific questions that deal with aspects of the project that are still being finalized. But, as the transition progresses and additional details become available, we will update this FAQ document to reflect the responses to these questions. 1. About the Transition Why is the transition occurring? What do PTRS, SP, SB, ELEP, LEAP, WDNC and PAS mean? What do you mean by "Vendor"? In March 2010, the NAPM announced its intention to begin a competitive process to select a new LNPA. This process resulted in the FCC approving the NANC recommendation that Telcordia d.b.a iconectiv serve as the next LNPA in its March 27, 2015 selection order. Further details of the selection process can be found in the FCC LNPA selection order. PTRS is an abbreviation for "Provider of Telecommunications Related Services". SP is an abbreviation for "Service Provider", an NPAC system end-user SB is an abbreviation for "Service Bureau", a company that supports many end-user Service Providers ELEP is an abbreviation for "Enhanced Law Enforcement Platform" LEAP is an abbreviation for "Local number portability Enhanced Analytics Platform" WDNC is an abbreviation for "Wireless Do Not Call" service PAS means the "Pooling Administration Service" 1 of 10

2 Vendor means a company that develops local systems, i.e.: LSMS software or SOA software, as a product. Is there a map of the regions we can look at? Is there a time line on each region? A region map maybe found at: Precise timing for each region has not yet been finalized as the migrations will not occur until Scope and Customer Impact How will the transition impact user experience? What is the scope of the LNPA transition? Will there be a change in the Service Bureau that currently serves me? During the transition, some work will be required of users as part of onboarding and testing. However, following transition, the NPAC services provided by the new LNPA are expected to be similar to those before the transition: Users connecting directly via a mechanized interface (CMIP/XML) should expect the same service Users connecting indirectly via a Service Bureau should expect the same service as any changes will be managed by the Service Bureau Users connecting via the Web interface (LTI) can expect the same functionality but will see some differences in style and application steps Users connecting via the IVR will do so via a different contact number but should expect the same functionality. There may be some differences of style and application steps Users accessing the Helpdesk will do so via a different contact number but should expect a similar level of service Users of the ELEP and WDNC services will do so via a new system but the interfaces are expected to be consistent with what is in place today More information will be provided once available. All functionality of the current NPAC service, as defined by the FRS (functional requirements specification) will be part of the new NPAC service and is within the scope of this transition. This includes mass ports, mass updates, most regular and custom/ad hoc reports, ELEP service, WDNC service, and Bulk Data Download (BDD) file. Note that national number portability, administration of the North American numbering plan, number pooling, and IP transition are not part of this transition. The FRS mentioned above is available at in the Reference Documents section of the LNPA Transition tab. If you currently connect to NPAC/SMS services through a Service Bureau your experience is expected to remain essentially the same. Please contact your Service Bureau for more information on how they will handle your transition. 2 of 10

3 What about XML? I haven t heard anything about the XML interface How will this impact my total cost of services? Will there be extra fees for connection, testing, or other NPAC/SMS services? I've heard no mention of the Canada NPAC regional transition. Does your transition plan include the Canada region? XML will supported in accordance with the FRS. Specific timing and next steps for onboarding and testing will be covered by iconectiv during your onboarding process. Specific information on fees will be provided during onboarding in conjunction with the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and user agreement. Generally, we expect that future industry fees will be substantially lower than current fees. The US Regions are transitioning to a new LNPA, however Canada will remain with its current LNPA. Operators may receive data from both US and Canadian LNPAs but will need connections and user agreements with both to do so. 3. Timeline When will the NPAC migrate from Neustar to iconectiv? The regional migration is currently planned to start February of 2018 and complete May 25, Where can I find the current timelines and when will a more detailed transition schedule be shared? How long will the testing phase be? A baseline schedule was presented during the August 31 st, 2016 webcast. Subsequent webcasts, beginning with the September webcast, will include project status updates showing progress against these timelines The recording of the August 2018 webcast can be accessed using the following link (requires registration): The industry testing phase, which includes Vendors, Service Bureaus, Service Providers, is scheduled to last 10 months, from May of 2017 to February of Note that testing will be conducted throughout the project, both before and after the industry testing phase. Testing begins early in development and will be followed by an iconectiv QAP (quality assurance program) evaluation of the platform before it is released for industry testing. This development work is in progress now and lasts until late October However it will not be complete until all of the results of industry testing have been incorporated. How will regions be migrated? The seven regional transitions, including data migration, will be conducted in a sequence. The first region, Southeast, will be transitioned and allowed to run, or soak, for approximately 4 weeks. Upon successful conclusion of this soak period, the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic will be transitioned and allowed to run, 3 of 10

4 In Testing timeline, why is there a gap between August and Oct for vendor certification? As a large service provider across multiple states it sounds like we will have "dual" systems running for a period of time or can we convert all at once? or soak, for approximately 2 weeks. Upon successful conclusion of this soak period, the Western, West Coast, and Southwest regions will be transitioned followed by a 1 week soak period. For additional information regarding the regional migration sequence. Please view the December 2016 webcast posted on the website under the Reference Documents tab The gap in vendor certification is because the platform is being developed in two releases. The first release, Release A, includes the core number portability functionality and the CMIP interface. Release B includes the XML interface among other features. Initial certification of CMIP systems has been prioritized first because of its widespread use. XML certification will occur later because it is a new offering with fewer current users. If you operate across multiple regions and those regions are not in the same cutover group, then you will likely have to maintain multiple connections during the migration period. 4. User Onboarding When will I be onboarded? How will iconectiv determine the appropriate contact at a carrier for onboarding? If my primary contact hasn't been contacted, how do I engage in registering? Onboarding activities, including the completion of NDAs, began on September 22nd 2016 for Vendors, Service Bureaus, Service Providers, and PTRS users. Ancillary service users will begin onboarding in the first quarter of Onboarding will continue until the first quarter of Every NPAC user will be contacted and onboarded by iconectiv during the periods mentioned above. Note that if you are the Primary Contact for your company, and you have not received correspondence from iconectiv, please contact: npac@iconectiv.numberportability.com iconectiv will use the contact information in the current NPAC/SMS associated with each SPID (Service Provider ID) to begin the onboarding process. One of the objectives of the outreach will be to update or confirm each user s Primary Contact. If your primary contact has not been contacted by iconectiv regarding onboarding, you can begin the registration process by going to If you need further assistance, you may contact iconectiv at npac@iconectiv.numberportability.com 4 of 10

5 What is the final date for Service Providers to complete their onboarding agreements? If a User has a mechanized interface to the NPAC, then they must complete their onboarding agreements with iconectiv by April 1, 2017 in order to be scheduled and prepared for mandatory testing. Users that interface with the NPAC through a LTI GUI should complete their agreements by May 1, 2017 in order to be ready for GUI training and testing. If a company anticipates a significant change (e.g. acquisition, sale...), is it better to on-board using current information and update the profile as changes are made, or is it better to wait until profile information is finalized? What is an "operating authority?" A state or federal grant of authority to serve? If a provider serves 40 states, must it provide 40 documents? Why do I need to provide SPIDs as part of the NDA? How do I find out what type of user I currently am? Ex: SOA/LSMS Vendor, Service Bureaus/Service Provider, NPAC/SMS user? What is a mechanized user vs. a non-mechanized user? We are a provider that accesses the NPAC data to produce lists, reports, or Onboarding will continue through February of 2018, however, we highly encourage service providers to get started as soon as possible in order to be prepared. Generally, onboarding early is recommended so that there is no delay. Once onboarded, updating profiles to account for corporate changes is straightforward. This happens regularly in the industry. The operating authority is a state or federal grant of authority to serve. As was done with the current LNPA, the Service Provider must provide one proof of Operating Authority for each NPAC/SMS region in which it operates (maximum of seven for each operating authority). The SPID (Service Provider ID) is a key identifier for number portability and is essential to the transition to the new NPAC system. It is a requirement of the overall onboarding process to provide a disposition of every SPID in the existing NPAC system. When applicants provide their SPIDs with the NDA, it helps ensure that all SPIDs are accounted. If you are uncertain as to the type of user that you are, you may contact the current LNPA to determine your user type. If you have a direct LSMS or SOA connection to the NPAC then you are considered a mechanized user. If you access the NPAC through a Service Bureau or through the LTI (including LTI Service Bureaus, IVR, helpdesk or as a user of NPAC ancillary services) then you are considered a non-mechanized user. Just like with the current LNPA, the new LNPA will require all users of NPAC/SMS data to complete an NDA. Whether this applies to your users or not, and the extent to which it applies, 5 of 10

6 other products for our clients. Do we have to sign an NDA? Will our clients have to sign an NDA? Can we sign on their behalf? When do I need to order circuits? I am a Law Enforcement Agency, when do I onboard? Will iconectiv have to be added as an insured on all SP and Service Bureau insurance policies? will be determined between you and the new LNPA during onboarding. All users of the NPAC/SMS, including PTRS, ELEP, and WDNC Service customers, must complete the required onboarding documentation to validate their appropriate usage of NPAC data. Note that the document execution process planned for onboarding will enable a proxy to fill out the data; however the authorized company user must still sign the agreements. Circuits may be ordered during the onboarding process. The start of onboarding varies by NPAC user group and adequate time will be made available for the ordering of circuits. Law Enforcement outreach and onboarding is expected to begin in the first quarter of All Service Providers and Providers of Telecom Related Services registering with the iconectiv NPAC must furnish a certificate showing that either (1) iconectiv has been specifically added to their insurance policy as an additional insured or (2) evidence that their insurance policy includes coverage for all of their vendors (which would include iconectiv) as additional insureds. Additional details will be provided during the onboarding process. 5. User Testing How can I participate in testing? Is testing mandatory? If I am a mechanized user and have to test to Release A & B - do I have to perform my mandated testing twice? Do I need to order dedicated circuits to test? Will the network interconnections with iconectiv be in the same location as Neustar or different? When will these locations be identified? All NPAC service users will have the opportunity to test. During onboarding, instruction will be provided on how to engage and when testing activities may begin. Testing is mandatory for Vendors, Mechanized Service Providers, Mechanized Service Bureaus and Mechanized PTRS users. In some cases, Service Providers may contract with Vendors and Service Bureaus to test on their behalf. But, otherwise testing is optional. Mechanized users will receive a single test plan that will contain components of Release A and B based upon their functionality. Provided testing is successful, users will only have to test once. A dedicated circuit is not required for testing. For mechanized system testing a VPN tunnel may be used. For LTI (web interface) a secure browser connection may be used with iconectivprovided credentials. The network interconnection locations for iconectiv are different than Neustar s current locations. As part of the onboarding process, the new LNPA will provide the details required for interconnection. 6 of 10

7 Will VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections over the internet be allowed as the connection for testing? What QA (quality assurance) is iconectiv doing to ensure the NPAC is ready for testing? What are the entrance criteria for industry testing? May I execute my own test cases? During testing, will the iconectiv database be "live" and mirror the existing database or be a "mock" database? When will a draft version of the test cases be available? What iconectiv support will be offered if I wish to execute my own test cases? Which test cases should Ancillary Services users, like law enforcement agencies and WDNC users, execute? I am an LTI user. Which test cases do I execute? What are industry test cases? Are these same as LNPA WG test cases? What is PAS API? IPSEC (Internet Protocol Security) VPN tunnels over the internet are permitted for testing. The new LNPA is required to comprehensively test the new NPAC/SMS platform to validate that the platform meets the required industry specifications as defined in the FRS. Vendors, Service Providers and Service Bureaus who are required to test will certify with the new NPAC platform as they do today with any NPAC release using the suite of known Industry Test Cases. Users with mechanized interfaces and Vendors will need to execute Industry Test Cases (ITCs) applicable to the parameters supported by their system. However, following the completion of the ITCs, iconectiv will support Group or Round Robin and Ad-Hoc testing for any user that wants to participate. During this period, users can execute their own test cases. The iconectiv testbed will be a live NPAC test bed containing the same data as the Neustar test bed. Industry Test Cases (ITCs) as developed by the LNPA working group will be used for vendor testing and for testing of NPAC users with mechanized interfaces. These test cases are available through the NPAC website. iconectiv will provide industry test engineers and a help desk to facilitate the testing process. In addition; iconectiv will provide access to their test bed and will be available to answer questions as needed. iconectiv will develop acceptance test plans specific to each Ancillary Services user group with appropriate test cases for execution by Law Enforcement Agencies, WNDC, and IVR users. After completing LTI training, users will have the option to execute a subset of the industry test cases. Industry Test Cases (ITCs) are those test cases defined by the LNPA Working Group (LNPA WG) in the NPAC/SMS Individual Service Provider Certification and Regression Test Plan document. If you are a vendor or are using a mechanized connection (whether Service Provider, Service Bureau, or PTRS), then you must execute the industry test cases. PAS API means the Pooling Administration System (PAS) Application Programming Interface (API). This is an automated interface between the Pooling Administrator (currently Neustar) and the NPAC database (currently also Neustar). After 7 of 10

8 Will there be basic test data pre-created in iconectiv s NPAC. In other words, will the testbed have the current data from the Neustar test environment or will it start fresh? Will the TOM provide specific defect information and test case results for vendor testing? transition, Neustar will continue as the Pooling Administrator but iconectiv will run the NPAC database. The API will be used between them to manage the flow of Thousands-block pooling requests. Neustar and iconectiv will test the API in preparation for transition; however, this is not visible to NPAC users. For SP/SB s, Neustar s snap-shot of testbed data will be migrated to the iconectiv testbed and will be maintained in place. In addition, all SP/SB test participants will also be assigned new NPA-NXXs by iconectiv and will need to create subsequent new test data (LRNs, NPA-NXX-Xs, etc.) based on the newly assigned NPA-NXXs against their existing test SPID s. These new SP/SB NPA-NXX-XXXX s will be different than the NPA-NXX-XXX s that exist in the Neustar testbed. The SP/SB testing entities will test against their new iconectiv testbed data for certification. Once the group and optional testing phase begins, SP/SB testing entities will be able to use the migrated Neustar testbed data and also use the iconectiv testbed data created for certification while testing on the iconectiv testbed. For Vendors, iconectiv will start fresh and will create new Vendor test SPIDs and all the associated Vendor test data (LRNs, NPA- NXX-Xs, etc.) for the Vendor to certify The TOM is not allowed to provide specific defect information because of the vendor confidentiality provisions agreed to by iconectiv and the vendors. The TOM will continue to provide sanitized and aggregated test results. 6. Communications and Staying Informed Where can I get more information about the transition? Where can I ask questions? A variety of information sources are available: Information about the transition will be posted on the LNPA Transition tab at napmllc.org events will provide information about the LNPA transition progress The FCC periodically releases public notices about the transition The incoming LNPA vendor, iconectiv, will also be executing a communication plan to conduct outreach and education You may ask specific questions through the NAPMLLC.org website in the Comments form under the LNPA Transition tab. All submissions are routed to the Transition Oversight Manager (TOM) as well as the NAPM LLC. 8 of 10

9 Where can we reach the TOM directly? Will the TOM interact directly with carriers? Where can I learn more about iconectiv? And how can I connect with iconectiv? If you would like your question and the TOM's response published on the napmllc.org website, please include the text Publication Authorized as the first line of your submission. Due to the large number of stakeholders involved in the LNPA transition, direct input will be gathered using the NAPMLLC.org website in the Comments form on the LNPA Transition tab. The Transition Oversight Manager (TOM) will interact with carriers directly through the napmllc.org website and via the Transition Outreach and Education Plan (). The can be accessed at You can find more information on the iconectiv at their website: For LNPA transition specific information, please go to When is the next event? What are my options to meet with the TOM in person? Will the TOM attend any industry conferences or other events to answer questions for NPAC users? How can I access past webcasts? Who should attend events? Who is the intended audience? iconectiv may be contacted directly at LNPA-ACCT- MGMT@iconectiv.numberportability.com for onboarding related questions and at lnpatransition@iconectiv.com for any generic LNPA transition related questions or comments. webcast announcements are posted on napmllc.org along with a list of proposed events at which the TOM will provide a forum for outreach. Prior participants and those identified in mailing lists will receive updates by . To be added to the mailing list, visit the comments page at under the heading LNPA Transition by selecting the Comments option to the left of the page and request to be added to the mailing list. The TOM has presented at, and arranged face-to-face meetings convenient to, a number of industry events like the LNPA WG. The currently proposed list of events, conferences, and related meetings in 2017 is posted in the reference documents section of under the "LNPA Transition" tab. Audio recording, materials presented and the meeting notes from the webcast can be accessed at under the heading LNPA Transition by selecting the References Documents link on the left of the page. These webcasts are one of the channels that will be used to communicate with the public in accordance with the Transition Outreach and Education Plan () as described in the Transition Oversight Plan (TOP) issued 31-August The objectives of the webcasts are three-fold: 1. To provide transparent communications regarding the LNPA transition 9 of 10

10 2. To serve as an open forum to gather and understand your needs and concerns 3. To incorporate the feedback you provide to improve future communications All transition stakeholders and interested parties are invited to attend. 10 of 10