I clipped a little segment from Peter's email below
////////////////// SNIP /////////////////////////////// So this whole reliability thingy is primarily aimed at making certain communications systems are up for emergency service providers, especially government entities, with at least some nodding to e911. Nearly everywhere is that word, "voluntary." /////////////// END SNIP ///////////////////////////////// Voluntary; but backed by stiff fines in some cases. There are fines levied against phone companies for outages. Our salespeople have become very artful at using these fines as leverage to sell our equipment (which detects breaks and faults) The FCC regulations (CFR 47) may not be the only place to look for such fines. You may also have to look at state and local regulations. Even though the phone (and utility) companies are "deregulated" many states have "authorities" and other bureaucratic entities to "oversee" (notice I didn't use "regulate") these "deregulated" industries. One response in this thread mentioned the regulatory heaven called "The People's Republik of Kalifornia" Let me tell you something brother... (or should I say Comrade?) Kalifornia has nothing on the great bureaucratic machine in Albany, NY. Without going into the merits (or demerits) of our various state legislatures; I think that it's safe to say that many of them have taken a look at the telecom industry and drafted various plans to penalize (read "tax") various aspects of it. It would surprise me if network reliability was overlooked as a revenue source. If you really want to know what fines are levied against phone companies for outages...talk to a salesperson from a company that sells network monitoring and repair equipment :-) Sadly, I'm not a salesman...so I can't offer any more advice Chris Maxwell Design Engineer (not a salesman) Nettest This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/listserv/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: [email protected] Scott Douglas [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
