Issued by the Director General of Telecommunications

9 October 2001

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Consultation

Annex A Standard for Telecommunications Metering Systems and Billing Systems (OTR 003 : 2001)

Annex B Metering Systems & Billing Systems Approval Scheme Guide

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 In its February 2000 Statement Ensuring telephone bills are accurate Oftel announced its intention to enhance customers’ confidence in the accuracy of their phone bills by introducing major changes to the existing approvals scheme for telecoms operators’ metering and billing systems. One of these was a revision of the standards set out in the current scheme to ensure they are appropriate to the levels of accuracy required in billing without being unduly onerous. Whilst the purpose of the wider exercise is to improve customer confidence in the accuracy of phone bills, the technical nature of this particular standard is such that users, and groups which represent the interests of users, are unlikely to be in a position to comment on its suitability. This paper will be of interest primarily to providers of telecommunications services and suppliers of billing and metering systems.

1.2 Other changes, described more fully in the Statement, will:

• extend the scheme to apply progressively to all major operators and service providers
• extend the scheme to cover fixed charges such as line rental and customer discount schemes
• focus on the accuracy of the individual customer’s bill, as well as the aggregate accuracy of metering and billing systems
• increase the number of approvals bodies accredited to operate the scheme.

The revised standard

1.3 The existing standard, OTR 003 :1993, was published in December 1993. It is restricted to services carrying or capable of carrying speech and only applies to calls, not to ancillary charges. In April 2000 a working group, chaired by Oftel and including operators and potential approvals bodies, was constituted to revise the existing standard in order to bring it into line with current needs and practices and to broaden its scope to apply to currently foreseen telecommunications services. A website has been used to chart progress with this co-operative programme of work and the latest statement, dated October 2001, is contained there. That group has now finished its work and produced a draft of a revised standard, OTR 003 : 2001, posted at Annex A to this document. The revised standard defines objective criteria against which the overall accuracy of logging/metering, charging and billing for telecommunications services can be assessed.

Designation of OTR 003 : 2001

1.4 OTR 003 : 2001 is the keystone of the new metering and billing scheme and will be designated by the Director General in exercise of his powers under section 24(6) of the Telecommunications Act 1984. At some later stage when the migration to the new scheme is complete the designation of OTR 003 : 1993 will be withdrawn in accordance with the Director General’s powers under section 24(11) of the Act.

Consultation

C.1 The introduction of the new metering and billing scheme has already been the subject of a full consultation, Meeting customer needs for accurate telephone bills published in April 1998. The responses received to this consultation were analysed in the February 2000 Statement. However, before OTR 003 : 2001 is designated, it is being made available in this document to all licensees and other interested parties so that they may have a reasonable opportunity to comment on the final draft.

C.2 As the standard has been produced by an industry working group it has already been exposed to a thorough-going process of informal consultation and incorporates policy decisions made by Oftel that have received a wide degree of support from interested parties. The purpose of this closing consultation is to invite editorial comments on the text of the standard that will be designated, so as to eliminate any ambiguities and ensure its clarity. Given that intensive period of joint development work, Oftel believe that it is appropriate to restrict this final consultation to 28 days, rather than the usual period of three months.

C.3 Having considered any such comments the Director General will, if appropriate, amend the text of OTR 003 : 2001 in advance of its designation.

C.4 At Annex B of this document, Oftel is also publishing a final draft of a Guide to the Metering Systems and Billing Systems Approval Scheme which has also been exposed to informal consultation across the industry. Although the Guide cannot be given independent statutory force in the same way as the standard will be, it forms an integral part of the Scheme documentation and is intended to provide guidance to operators, approval bodies and accreditation bodies in the operation of the Metering and Billing Approval Scheme. The Guide offers advice on the interpretation and application of the standard and it is appropriate that it should be published alongside it.

C.5 Editorial comments are also invited on the text of the Guide which may be amended, where appropriate.

C.6 Comments on the Standard and the Guide should be sent to:

Roy Davies
Oftel
50 Ludgate Hill
London EC4M 7JJ
Telephone: 020 7634 8906
Fax: 020 7634 8738

e-mail: roy.davies@oftel.gov.uk

C.7 Further copies of this document may be printed from Oftel’s website. Paper copies may also be obtained from Oftel’s Research and Intelligence Unit. Oftel has arrangements in place with organisations providing transcription services, and large print, Braille and audio cassettes can be made available on request. Copies are also available on computer disc so that stakeholders without Internet access may create their own large print copies.

C.8 Comments must arrive at Oftel no later than than Tuesday 6 November 2001. All non-confidential comments will be published. If any part of your comments are confidential, and not for publication, please include this in a separate annex and ensure that it is clearly marked as confidential. In the interests of transparency, please avoid confidentiality markings wherever possible. It would be helpful if your representations could be delivered by e-mail. However, copies may also be posted or faxed to the address above. If any stakeholders are unable to supply their comments in one of these ways they should contact Roy Davies to discuss alternatives.

C.9 Given the narrow scope of this proposal, Oftel does not plan on this occasion to allow a further period during which observations may be made on the representations made by others. Nevertheless, in the interests of transparency, all non confidential representations will be published.

C.10 Representations will be accessible via a link created on the title page of the electronic text of this document. This can be found in the Industry Groups section of Oftel’s website under the classification Metering and Billing. Paper copies of representations will also be made publicly available in Oftel’s Research and Intelligence Unit. Appointments to view written comments in this way, which must be made in advance, may be arranged by phoning: 020 7634 8761 (fax: 020 7634 8946).

Annex A

Standard for Telecommunications Metering Systems and Billing Systems (OTR 003 : 2001)

Contents

Foreword
Introduction
1. Scope
2. Definitions
3. Accuracy and Reliability
4. Individual Bill Accuracy
5. Timeliness of Billing
6. Tariffs
7. Interworking between Operators
8. Quality
9. Materiality
10. Measurement Systems
11. Service Usage Specification
Annex A Application of this Standard to compliance with UK legislation
Annex B Designation

Abbreviations

DG Oftel Director General of the Office of Telecommunications

OTR Oftel Technical Requirement

PTO Public Telecommunications Operator

SUS Service Usage Specification

TMBS Total Metering and Billing System

VFSTS Voice Frequency Switched Telecommunications Services

Foreword

This Standard has been written for the United Kingdom Metering & Billing Approval Scheme.

It supersedes Oftel Technical Requirement (OTR) 003 : 1993 referred to in Designation No. Oftel/92/1 under Section 24(6) of the Telecommunications Act 1984 (the Act). OTR 003 : 1993 was issued on 10 December 1993 and will be withdrawn at a date to be announced.

The original Standard, OTR 003 : 1992, was issued on 4 March 1992 and has been withdrawn.

Introduction

This Standard defines objective criteria against which the overall accuracy of Logging/Metering, charging and billing for Telecommunications Services can be assessed.

Earlier editions of this Standard were issued to provide certain Public Telecommunications Operators (PTOs) in the United Kingdom with objective criteria against which their metering and billing systems could be measured, thereby demonstrating compliance with section 24 of the Act , and relevant PTO licence conditions.

Following publication of the Oftel statement "Ensuring telephone bills are accurate" (February 2000) with its potential application to many more PTOs and service providers, the opportunity has been taken to bring this Standard in line with current needs and practice. Its scope has been broadened to cover currently foreseen Telecommunications Services.

This Standard may be cited in primary or delegated legislation. Such citation may limit the scope of application for legal purposes and/or apply other requirements.

NOTE: Within the United Kingdom such citation is often contained within a legal instrument known as a Designation.

Within the body of this Standard, certain words and phrases shown in Title Case have specific meanings; these are defined in clause 2. Otherwise, normal definitions from the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary apply.

The associated Oftel Scheme Guide provides additional information to assist with the interpretation of this Standard.

1 Scope

1.1 This Standard applies to any Total Metering and Billing System (TMBS) run by an Operator or Operators to record access to and usage of, and charge accordingly for, Telecommunications Services.

1.2 This Standard applies to the cumulative performance of all Equipment, procedures and activities contained within a TMBS concerned in the billing of a Chargeable Event, whether in being at the date of issue of this Standard or subsequently.

1.3 This Standard applies to TMBSs used for both retail and wholesale purposes. It does not apply to charging and billing raised by one Operator against another for handling telecommunications traffic passed between their systems (ie interconnection and settlement charges between Operators).

NOTE: This Standard, however, does apply to Logging/Metering of such traffic; see clause 7.

1.4 Where the TMBS is also used to record the supply of, and to charge for, goods or non-Telecommunications Services ordered via the Operator’s system, this Standard applies only to the recording of, and charging for, such goods or services.

NOTE: Fitness for purpose of such goods or services is not within the scope of this Standard.

2 Definitions

2.1 Approval Body

an undertaking appointed under legislation to approve TMBSs

2.2 Bill

either:

a) the documentation Issued by an Operator to the customer informing of the charges levied;

or

b) the information retained by an Operator recording and allowing debits to be made from a customer’s account.

NOTE: Prepay services are typical examples of b).

2.3 Chargeable Event

either:

a) implementation of a request for a service, feature or discount that attracts a recurring or non-recurring charge;

or

b) a use of such a service that attracts an individual charge for each use.

NOTE 1: The term Service Usage (see clause 2.13) corresponds to b). A typical example of Service Usage charged for by duration is a telephone call. Another example is the transmission of data, which could be charged for by counting the number of bytes sent.

NOTE 2: Chargeable Events may occur without having been initiated by the user. An example would be charges for the terminating leg of a call. Where charges apply to both the origin and termination of the same call, two distinct Chargeable Events will be deemed to have occurred. Examples are call diversion or mobile telephone roaming.

2.4 Complaint

an expression of dissatisfaction with the Operator or the service it provides, received from a customer

2.5 Due Process

the investigation, recording and correction of a failure, error or upheld Complaint

2.6 Equipment

all hardware and software and/or firmware necessary for the correct operation of a function

2.7 Issue

the action whereby the Operator, having completed preparation of a Bill, in the sense of clause 2.2 a), passes it to the delivery agent

NOTE: The Operator is deemed to have completed preparation of the Bill if any further processing still to be performed by the delivery agent is for presentational purposes only.

2.8 Logging/Metering

the operation of any Equipment constructed or adapted for use in ascertaining the extent of Service Usage of a telecommunication system

2.9 Operator

an undertaking, providing public telecommunications networks or publicly available Telecommunications Services

2.10 Overcharged Event

either:

a) a Chargeable Event for which the charge to the customer exceeds that calculated on the basis of the applicable Published Tariffs, or Previously Agreed Tariffs;

or

b) any other incident which results in a charge being logged or added erroneously to the Bill.

NOTE: An example of b) is multiple entries relating to the same Service Usage.

2.11 Previously Agreed Tariff

a written agreement between an Operator and his customer(s) stating charges for Telecommunications Services that is not made public

2.12 Published Tariff

publicly available statements that specify the charges which an Operator makes for Telecommunications Services

NOTE: The term is intended to cover paper documents made available for public inspection, statements published in The London Gazette or other periodicals, advertisements, information published on the Internet, and the like.

2.13 Service Usage

the extent of the customer’s use of the service provided when successfully accessed

2.14 Service Usage Specification (SUS)

the detailed description of the basis on which a customer’s use of an Operator’s telecommunications facilities is assessed for charging purposes

2.15 Telecommunications Service(s)

a service provided to the public for the conveyance of speech, music and other sounds, visual images, data and control signals through the agency of electric, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrochemical or electromechanical energy

2.16 Total Metering and Billing System

the totality of all Equipment, data, procedures and activities used to determine the charges to be sought for service provision and Service Usage, and to present these charges on customers’ Bills

NOTE: A TMBS incorporates all processing steps from the original recording of a Chargeable Event to its readiness for presentation on a Bill to the end customer whether performed by one or more Operators.

2.17 Undercharged Event

a Chargeable Event

either:

a) for which the charge to the customer is lower than that calculated on the basis of Published Tariffs, or Previously Agreed Tariffs;

or

b) which has been omitted from the logged record or Bill owing to an incident and which is not covered by an SUS claim.

NOTE: An example of b) is the loss of call records as a result of a switch restart.

3 Accuracy and Reliability

3.11 All charges must be consistent with the Published Tariff or Previously Agreed Tariff applicable to the customer charged.

3.2 Unless otherwise specified in the Published Tariff or Previously Agreed Tariff, a charge shall be determined in accordance with all of the following limits that apply to it:

a) where the charge is dependent upon duration, the recorded duration shall be measured to within minus one second or minus 0.01%, whichever is less stringent;

and

b) where the charge is dependent upon the time of day, the time of day shall be recorded to within ±1 second, traceable to an appropriate time reference;

and

c) where the charges are dependent upon the counting of occurrences of a particular type, the count shall be accurate to no more than plus 1/ 25,000 or minus 1/1,000.

3.3 The performance of a TMBS shall be such that, subject to the tolerances specified in clause 3.2:

a) the number of items of Service Usage overcharged, undercharged, or if chargeable, not charged for shall not exceed as a proportion of the total number of items of Service Usage chargeable the limits shown in the column marked "Logging / Metering" in Table 1;

and

b) the sum of the absolute values of errors in the monetary value of all items of Service Usage overcharged, undercharged, or if chargeable, not charged for shall not exceed as a proportion of the total monetary value of such items; the limits shown in the column marked "Billing" in Table 1.

NOTE: Measurement results can be presented as a ratio or percentage.

Table 1 – TMBS reliability performance requirements

NOTE: A waiver may be for purposes of goodwill or as a result of litigation.

3.6 Where an item of Service Usage is completed other than intended, but the charge applied is correct for the service as delivered, this shall not be regarded as either an Undercharged Event or an Overcharged Event.

NOTE: Examples include such events as wrong numbers.

3.7 The increase in duration of items of Service Usage resulting from degraded transmission performance shall not be taken into account when computing the performance of the system.

NOTE: Such degradation may result in the repetition of voice or data messages.

3.8 The Operator will provide the Approval Body with access to all people, locations, Equipment and data necessary to establish conformity to clause 3.1. In general, compliance with clause 3.1 shall be assessed by appraisal of the relevant Equipment, procedures, associated documentation and by analysis of the associated data.

4 Individual Bill accuracy

4.1 The Operator shall employ safeguards to prevent gross errors being included in individual customers’ Bills.

4.2 The Operator shall have a documented process for identifying, investigating and dealing with billing Complaints and creating appropriate records thereof.

4.3 The Operator shall carry out a root cause analysis for each upheld billing Complaint, categorise the cause and establish proportionate remedial action to correct it.

4.4 Where the root cause affects multiple customer accounts, then all affected Bills shall, if practicable, be included in a recovery programme.

4.5 Where remedial action has not been completed and the cause is likely to affect other Bills when Issued, then the Operator shall ensure that they are checked and, if necessary, corrected, before being sent to the customer.

5 Timeliness of Billing

5.1 Post pay

5.1.1 The timeliness of Bill Issue or Bill data file Issue shall be subject to Due Process.

5.1.2 Unless Published Tariffs or Previously Agreed Tariffs contain alternative provisions, any Chargeable Event details which are not to hand when the Bill is prepared shall be included in a Bill no later than:

a) the next Bill, when Bills are rendered quarterly or less frequently;

or

b) where Bills are rendered monthly, the fourth monthly Bill after the Chargeable Events occurred.

Any details not so presented shall, unless permission to do otherwise is obtained from the customer, be written off, and counted against the performance for undercharged items of Service Usage in clause 3.3. Exceptionally, Chargeable Event details from a separate Operator (see clause 7) may be billed by the receiving Operator up to three months after receipt.

5.1.3 Agreement to extend the time scales described in clause 5.1.2 may be sought from the Director General of the Office of Telecommunications (DG Oftel) via the Operator’s Approval Body. An extension will only be available on an irregular basis. Decisions will be made on application for an extension concerning:

a) how customers’ will be informed of a protracted delay in rendering call records onto a subsequent Bill;

and

b) the veracity of the billing process audit arrangements.

All such decisions made by the DG Oftel will be published on the Oftel website.

5.1.4 The Operator shall contract with its delivery agent to ensure that an effectual Bill or Bill data file delivery schedule is in place. This requirement shall be subject to Due Process.

NOTE: For avoidance of doubt, the Operator does not need to establish when the Bill is actually delivered, only that it has Issued the Bill with sufficient time for the delivery agent to deliver the Bill on time. It is reasonable to assume that the delivery agent performs to the level described in its agreement with the Operator or in its public statements.

5.2 Prepay

5.2.1 A prepaid account shall be debited in accordance with the requirements of this Standard.

6 Tariffs

6.1 Where more than one document has been placed in the public domain to constitute Published Tariffs, and conflicts in the information so published exist between them, the Operator shall:

a) confirm which document takes precedence for the purposes of this Standard;

and

b) make such confirmation public so that it is visible to the customer.

6.2 Tariffs shall include statements to define the resolution and rounding of charges, including the underlying units of measurement.

6.3 Where the fee varies according to a choice made by the customer, then such variations should appear in the Published Tariffs.

6.4 If a Previously Agreed Tariff statement is made visible to the general public, it is to be regarded as a Published Tariff.

7 Interworking between Operators

7.1 Where a TMBS is operated by more than one Operator, each Operator shall be responsible for the accuracy of output produced by their Equipment, procedures, and data.

7.2 No Operator shall be responsible for the accuracy of output produced by another Operator's Equipment, procedures, and data.

7.3 If there is evidence that signals or data handed over to a receiving Operator contain errors, then such errors, if uncorrected, shall be counted by the receiving Operator in determining compliance with this Standard. The correction of errors shall be subject to Due Process.

NOTE: An example of signalling error is a premature answer signal being transmitted.

7.4 Application of Table 1

7.4.1 Where:

a) the TMBS is operated by more than one Operator;

and

b) the activities of each Operator do not fall within the scope of Table 1 columns 1 or 3.

Then the limits in Table 1 column 2 shall be apportioned notionally and equitably to each Operator according to the scope of his activity.

7.4.2 After agreement with the Approval Body such apportionment shall be made contractually binding between Operators

7.4.3 Limits shall not be applied which would require any Operator to operate his part of the TMBS free from any error.

8 Quality

8.1 An Operator operating a TMBS shall have procedures and documentation covering all aspects of operation for which it is responsible.

NOTE: This shall include sub-contractors, formal procedures and documentation.

8.2 Where accuracy of Logging/Metering and/or billing may be affected by the performance of Equipment operated and/or maintained by a sub-contractor, the Operator shall contractually commit the sub-contractor to operate and/or maintain the Equipment so as to maintain compliance with this Standard.

9 Materiality

9.1 Compliance with the requirements of this Standard shall need to be demonstrated only in relation to products and services that have a material impact on the customer’s Bill. This materiality is deemed to be:

a) where the Operator’s turnover from a product or service comprises 5% or more of his turnover with the customers targeted for that product or service;

or

b) where the number of customers subscribing to a product or service offered by the Operator comprises 5% or more of the customers targeted for that product or service;

or

c) at the specific direction of the DG Oftel.

NOTE: Such a direction may, for example, be given in the event of a product or service raising a disproportionate level of Complaints.

10 Measurement Systems

10.1 The means for demonstrating conformity with the requirements of this Standard shall be subject to agreement between the Operator and Approval Body. Where conformity to the performance requirements is monitored through the deployment and use of call logging/call sending Equipment, it is permitted to express the requirements so monitored in terms of the results to be expected from that Equipment.

11 Service Usage Specification

11.1 Where design features and operating processes are used to protect customers' interests and, under normal operation of the Operator's TMBS, result in one or more Undercharged Events. Such undercharging shall not count against the requirements of this Standard provided:

a) the design features and operating procedures are formally documented, the resulting document or series of documents to be known as a Service Usage Specification;

and

b) the said features and processes do not under any circumstances result in Overcharged Events;

and

c) the SUS is accepted by the Approval Body.

NOTE: Approval bodies are expected to publish their conditions for accepting a SUS.

Annex A (informative)

Application of this Standard to compliance with UK legislation

Note: Annex A explains the relationship between the enabling legislation and the Standard and is thus not a part of the Standard.

A.1 The Act and the licences under which PTOs operate lay down requirements for the approval of "Meters" for Voice Frequency Switched Telecommunications Services (VFSTS), being those services carrying or capable of carrying speech and which involve switching.

A.2 The term "Meter" as defined in the Act encompasses functionality today found in TMBSs. For the avoidance of doubt, this Standard sets performance requirements for "metering" which must be met before the "Meters" can be approved under the requirements of the Act.

A.3 Approvals may only be granted by the Secretary of State, the DG Oftel, or such bodies as may be appointed by the Secretary of State. The Act defines this in Sections 24(1) and 25(1). Before granting an approval, the Approval Body must satisfy itself that that the Logging/Metering and billing accuracy achieved by a PTO meets the requirements of this Standard and other relevant requirements.

A.4 Further, in Sections 24 (6) to 24 (8) the Act defines that a Standard must be Designated before Meters are approved as complying with that Standard. This Standard is formally designated by the DG Oftel in accordance with an authorisation granted to him by the Secretary of State on 29 June 1988 and in exercise of powers in section 24(6) of the Act. Any changes to the designated Standard shall be implemented by means of a variation made under section 24(11) of the Act. In designating this Standard, the DG Oftel has taken account of the technological and other changes which have occurred in the marketplace since the Act was drafted in 1984, and the requirements in this Standard therefore extend to the accuracy of billing.

A.5 The methods of demonstrating compliance with the requirements herein may vary, depending on the technology and size of the network under consideration. The Act, in Section 24 (2), allows the person to whom application is made for approval to set such requirements as he thinks appropriate, and the details of the methods to be used to demonstrate compliance are to be covered in this way.

A.6 Oftel will not expect every Operator to apply for, and achieve approval of, the same range of services. The scope of an individual approval shall be specified in the relevant Application, and Oftel may wish to rule whether such a scope is or is not adequate on a per occasion basis. This Standard has been framed in the most general terms and a materiality clause, 9, has been included to avoid a need for amendments with the introduction of new services.

A.7 Compliance with the requirements of this Standard is evidence of compliance with Section 24 of the Act.

Annex B

Designation of OTR 003 : 2001

T Mobile has brought to Oftel’s attention that the terms of Designation Number Oftel/2001/1 of 21^st December 2001 were not consulted upon during the October 2001 consultation or subsequently. In the interests of transparency, Oftel is now consulting on the terms of that designation a copy of which is shown below. Oftel is allowing a period of 28 days for consultation on the terms of the designation, and so requests any representations or observations to be received by 20 June 2002.

These should be made to Frank Phillips

tel: 020 7634 8871
fax : 020 7634 8757

email: frank.phillips@oftel.gov.uk

The Designation

Designation No: Oftel/2001/1

SECTION 24, TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT 1984

DESIGNATION OF STANDARD FOR METERS

1. The Director General of Telecommunications, in accordance with a general authorisation given by the Secretary of State on 29th June 1988, and in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 24(6) of the Telecommunications Act 1984 ("the Act") hereby, for the purpose of the approval of meters by such Approval Bodies as shall be appointed by the Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 25(1) of the Act, designates:

a copy of which is annexed to this designation, as a standard to which:

2. In accordance with section 24(7) of the Act, the conditions specified below must be complied with if any meter used for the metering of Telecommunication Services as indicated in paragraph 1 above is to be regarded as conforming to the Designated Standard:

3. "Meter" in this designation means "meter" as defined in section 24(15) of the Act.

Signed:

David Albert Edmonds

a person duly authorised in that behalf under paragraph 8, schedule 1 to the Telecommunications Act 1984

Date:

21 December 2001

Annex B

Metering Systems & Billing Systems Approval Scheme Guide

Contents

Glossary
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Background to the Revised Scheme
Chapter 3 Operators
Chapter 4 Approval Bodies
Chapter 5 Scope of Approvals
Chapter 6 Assessment and Compliance
Chapter 7 Approval and Certification
Chapter 8 Transition period for Approvals under OTR003:1993
Chapter 9 Scheme Review
Chapter 10 Categorisation of Observations and Non Compliant Matters
Chapter 11 Publications
Chapter 12 Guidance for the use of OTR 003 : 2001
Annex A PTO Licence Condition 11 Metering Arrangements
Annex B PTO Licence Condition 12 Billing Arrangements
Annex C PTO Licence Condition 13 Itemised Bills
Annex D Good practice in dealing with upheld complaints
Annex E Examples of application to a multi-Operator TMBS
Annex F Designation of OTR 003 : 2001

Glossary

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this scheme is to approve the Metering & Billing systems used by major Operators and service providers to ensure that they meet defined levels of accuracy.

1.2 This scheme is operated by the Director General of Oftel and will apply to all Operators with an annual turnover of £1 million or more.

1.3 Operators will be required to enter into a contract with an approval body for the assessment of their metering and billing systems. Approval Bodies are appointed by the Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The term "Operator(s)" is defined in Section 3 of this document.

1.4 The approval body will assess an Operator’s Total Metering and Billing System (TMBS) for each product and service that meets the materiality rules described in Oftel Technical Requirement (OTR) OTR 003 : 2001. Approval bodies will approve systems that are compliant with the Technical Requirement.

1.5 This Scheme has been designed to apply to a wide range of network services and applications. The overriding principle is that customers should be charged neither more nor less for the services they use than is specified in the tariff to which they subscribe.

1.6 The Scheme documentation consists of, but is not limited to

The Scheme Guide.

OTR 003 : 2001, the Standard.

Approval Bodies’ proprietary documentation and certificates.

Operators’ documented metering & billing systems, including Service Usage Specifications (SUS), Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Quality Management Systems (QMS).

Operators’ published and agreed tariffs.

Chapter 2

Background to the Revised Scheme

2.1 The Telecommunications Act 1984 provides that meters used to measure the usage of telecommunications services may be subject to approval. Since 1984, the telecommunications industry has deployed new technologies and offered customers new forms of service. Customers purchase services and products that they believe will address their requirements, but they may lack detailed knowledge of how these services work.

2.2 In consequence Oftel published a consultation document in March 1998, entitled "Meeting Customer Needs For Accurate Telephone Bills", which led in turn to the publication in February 2000 of a policy statement, "Ensuring Telephone Bills Are Accurate". The revised scheme has been developed with the industry to satisfy those stated principles of policy.

2.3 There has been a long-standing recognition that a bill for telecommunications services can be regarded as a product in its own right; because it has significant cost implications for Operators and their customers.

2.4 In a rapidly changing environment, it is ultimately for customers to choose between competing Operators’ service offerings. Operators may claim that their billing product is superior to rival products; but this claim is difficult for customers to verify.

2.5 The Director General has decided to afford greater protection to customers by extending the existing Meter Approval Scheme.

2.6 The following steps have been taken in order to establish the framework for a revised scheme:

• Revision of the Metering Standard OTR 003 : 1993 to encompass the TMBS in use at present and to include service provision fixed charges (eg line/access rentals) as well as service usage (eg telephone call) charges.
• Widening the scope to include additional providers of telecommunications as defined in the Operators’ section of this document.
• Increasing the number of approval bodies authorised to offer assessment, approval and certification services to Operators

2.7 The implementation of the revised Scheme and the application of the revised standard, OTR 003 : 2001, is intended to increase customers’ confidence in the accuracy of their telecommunications bills.

2.8 The Director General acknowledges the participation of industry representatives in developing the scheme revisions and thanks all those concerned for their contributions.

Chapter 3

Operators

3.1 An Operator in the context of the Scheme is an undertaking providing public telecommunications networks or publicly available telecommunications services. It includes but is not limited to public telecommunications Operators (PTO) and service providers.

3.2 Normally, the Operator issues a bill to a customer for services arising from the operation of a telecommunications network of any description.

3.3 Situations can arise where the records of a number of chargeable events are quarantined and cannot be allocated to any valid bill. Operators may identify areas of operation in which they deviate from the norm but remain compliant by generating a SUS and / or SLA. A SLA generally forms part of the customer supply contract for services, including contracts between Operators, but a SUS can remain confidential between an Operator and his chosen approvals body to avoid potential for fraud. Any such SUS or SLA will need to be assessed and agreed by the chosen approval body.

3.4 Operators may wish to present an existing documented and certified QMS as evidence towards compliance with this Metering & Billing Approval Scheme. In any event the QMS is to be assessed with respect to an associated TMBS by the Metering and Billing approval body.

3.5 A senior executive will be nominated by an Operator to ensure the following:

• Budgetary resources
• Human and other resources
• Full accessibility by the approval body to all component parts of a TMBS operated by the organisation.

3.6 It is expected that the person nominated will have an awareness of the following aspects of the metering and billing operations:

• Performance against the Standard
• Assessment activity
• Recovery plan status of Category 1, 2 &3 matters

Chapter 4

Approval bodies

4.1 Approval bodies operating this scheme are subject to the following requirements:

4.1.1 They are appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

4.1.2 They have accreditation from a competent body to EN 45011 to carry out the Metering and Billing approval process as defined in OTR 003 : 2001. The competent body will be the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) or an appropriate alternative agreed with Oftel.

4.1.3 If not accredited, they have an action plan for the accreditation process in place with progress reports being made to Oftel at agreed intervals.

4.1.4 They have operated under appointment for no more than two years whilst seeking accreditation.

4.1.5 They will assess Operators’ TMBS(s) and approve compliant Operators in accordance with this Scheme Guide.

4.1.6 They maintain their status in accordance with the Standard and this Scheme Guide.

4.1.7 Their decisions are published in accordance with this Scheme Guide.

4.1.8 Their details are displayed on the Metering & Billing Page of the Oftel website.

4.2 The approval body, its Director and the staff responsible for carrying out the tasks for which the approval body has been appointed must not be a designer, manufacturer, supplier or installer of telecommunications networks or of telecommunications metering and/or billing solutions. They must be independent of network Operators and service providers and avoid direct involvement in the design, construction, operation or maintenance of telecommunications networks or telecommunications metering and/or billing solutions. They shall not represent parties engaged in these activities. These restrictions do not, however, preclude the possibility of exchanges of technical information between such organisations and the approval body.

4.3 The approval body and its staff must carry out the tasks for which the approval body has been appointed with the highest degree of professional integrity and technical competence. They must be free from all pressures and inducements, particularly financial, which might influence their judgement or the results of any assessment, especially from persons or groups of persons with an interest in such results.

4.4 The approval body must have at its disposal the necessary staff and facilities to enable it to perform properly the administrative and technical work associated with the tasks for which it has been appointed.

4.5 The staff responsible for assessments must have:

• Sound professional and technical qualifications.
• A satisfactory knowledge of the evaluations required to be carried out and adequate experience of such assessments.
• The ability to draw up the certificates, records and reports required to authenticate the performance of the assessments.

4.6 The impartiality of inspection staff must be guaranteed. Their remuneration must not depend on the number of assessments carried out or on the results of such assessments.

4.7 The staff of the approval body are bound to observe professional secrecy with regard to all information gained in carrying out its tasks, although this does not preclude proportionate information-sharing with Oftel.

4.8 Approval bodies will submit details of their implementation plans for joining the scheme to Oftel, including reference copies of proprietary scheme documentation and any revised versions thereof.

4.9 Approval bodies will be expected to contribute information for, and participate in, an approval body forum constituted by Oftel to strive for fair and consistent application of the approval scheme to Operators. The forum will employ electronic communication and meet as appropriate.

4.10 Approval bodies appointed under this scheme are expected to recognise each other’s approval activities and to co-operate in the approval of TMBSs spanning multiple Operators.

4.11 In particular, where the TMBS for a particular service involves multiple Operators, then it is expected that the principal approval body assessing an Operator’s systems will also assess those parts on which other third party Operators are dependant; rather than the approval body to whom the lead Operator applied for approval of that TMBS. An example of this is where Mobile Service Provider A applies to approval body X for approval of his TMBS. Service Provider A depends on receiving Call Detail Records (CDRs) from Mobile Operator B. Having direct customers of his own, Mobile Operator B also has approval for his TMBS from (another) approval body Y. It would be expected that approval body would assess the generation of CDRs for the Service Provider rather than approval body X. The approval certificate for each Operator would describe the scope of his approval accordingly. Each Operator would be responsible for the cost of his approval body.

Chapter 5

Scope of approvals

5.1 Background

5.2 A TMBS operated by one Operator

In this situation Operators operate in a manner that readily allows an end to end Metering and Billing Process to be examined and, if appropriate, approved. All the components that could have an effect on accuracy are managed directly by one organisation. Additionally, the platform(s) supporting individual services are readily distinguishable. In these cases, accuracy can be assessed on an end to end basis for each service for which approval is sought. An approval can then be granted listing the services found to be compliant. This might cover, for example, "All customer-dialled telephone calls, excluding those made using a ‘Calling Card’ and those involving Operator Assistance".

5.3 Operators using sub-contractors and evaluation of TMBS components in isolation

This Scheme recognises that sub-contracting may take place, while not allowing any compromises to the accuracy of the bill received by the customer. This has several consequences:

• It is not sensible to "approve" an individual part of a TMBS, such as a switch, or a rating, billing or mediation system at its manufacturer’s premises. Experience suggests that only some 20% of problems arise from hardware or software deficiencies. The remaining 80% arise from human error, eg inadequate data management and audit techniques or inadequate management of the interface between modules or between main and sub-contractors.
  
• It may be possible to assess certain features of the individual building blocks of a TMBS. No numerical Standard is relevant to this assessment, nor can one conveniently be written, because the "share of inaccuracy" appropriate to each part will change as the TMBS develops over a period of time. Although no approval is feasible, an approval body may desire to give an opinion as to whether or not the item in question is considered to be fit-for-purpose.
• Each part of the TMBS will need to be evaluated for fitness for purpose using headings such as, but not limited to:
  

1. Capacity.
2. Scalability.
3. Management Information Outputs.
4. Security.
5. Traceability and ownership.
6. Data management and audit.
7. Clarity and completeness of configuration and operating instructions.
8. SLAs.
9. Contracts.
   

• Crucial to overall accuracy is the management of the interfaces between the separate parts of a TMBS. It follows that the ownership and management of these interfaces are key items for assessment, measurement and audit of the TMBS.
  
• Where the TMBS includes sub-contracted processes, the Operator will need to ensure that appropriate contract terms, reporting arrangements, management controls and SLAs are in place to ensure that he can demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Standard to the satisfaction of his approval body.

5.4 A TMBS Operated by more than one Operator

A single TMBS may be operated by more than one Operator. For example a service provider may rely on CDRs received from a PTO, which he then prices in his billing system. Where the PTO is a U.K. PTO licence holder within the scope of this scheme in his own right, then the production of CDRs for the service provider shall be included in the PTO’s approval and be assessed by the PTO’s approval body. The service provider’s approval will reference this dependency. The service provider’s approval body should confine its assessment to the service provider’s billing system and the communication between service provider and PTO to check incoming CDRs for gross error and duplication etc. Both approval bodies will be expected to assess the arrangements for ensuring that all CDRs are correctly transferred and the associated measures at the receiving and sending Operators respectively.

5.5 Other Standards

An Operator may submit data or assessments used by other Standards or Codes of Practice for consideration by his approval body when they are assessing the TMBS. However such data or assessments shall not be used as the substantive basis, or be solely relied on, for issuing an Approval Certificate or for the use of any Approval Mark under this scheme.

Chapter 6

Assessment and Compliance

6.1 The methods agreed with an approval body by different Operators and used to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Scheme may vary depending on the nature of the technology and size of the network under consideration.

6.2 The chosen approval body will make both the initial and full assessment.

6.3 The initial assessment is an evaluation by the approval body with the Operator to discover the scope and construction of the TMBS. It allows the approval body to set such requirements for the demonstration of compliance that it considers appropriate, as permitted under Section 24(2) of the Telecommunications Act 1984. These requirements will be defined in the initial assessment.

6.4 Compliance with the Standard shall be assessed and monitored by that approval body for a sufficient period to enable it to come to an appropriate conclusion as regards approving a TMBS and granting a Certificate. Experience has shown that such a period is unlikely to be less than 6 months and more typically extends up to 12 months.

6.5 Any changes (eg hardware modifications, changed management processes or software up-grades) to the approved TMBS shall be addressed in accordance with the Operator’s documented change control process. As well as the necessary change management aspects, this will require the Operator to inform their approval body of any changes to a TMBS, which may have the potential to affect its continued compliance with the Standard. The approval body will acknowledge such changes, assess their effects and inform the Operator of any resulting requirements for continuation of approval. The change control process and associated records will be subject to audit by the approval body.

Chapter 7

Approval and Certification

7.1 Only the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Oftel, or other bodies exercising delegated powers (eg approval bodies appointed under this scheme) may grant approvals to Operators. In practice approval bodies will directly issue approvals.

7.2 Both Operator and approval body will advise Oftel that they are beginning the approval process (on a service by service basis) to enable tracking of the scheme.

7.3 Approval and certification duration can be ascertained from the approval body chosen, as the scheme does not dictate a standard period.

7.4 Re-approval time scales can be obtained from the approval body chosen. Typically it is expected that a 12-month cycle will be used.

7.5 In any event the approval body granting an approval shall regularly review approved Operators’ TMBS(s) to confirm continued compliance (typically by a systematic, often monthly, inspection of measurement results).

7.6 The approval body shall maintain procedures covering the issue, suspension, or withdrawal of approval and any certification.

7.7 An approval body is required by EN 45011 to make an appeal process available.

7.8 The Director General will be responsible for resolving unresolved disputes, which have been considered under an approval body’s appeal process.

7.9 The Director General will be responsible for sanctioning transfers by an Operator between approval bodies.

7.10 Operators will be required to inform a new approval body of any other approval bodies used before and of any categorised non-compliance matters in force.

7.11 Details of Operators seeking approval and those holding an approval certificate will be posted on the relevant approval bodies’ website. The website of an appointed approval body will be accessible via a link from the Oftel website.

Chapter 8

Transition Period For Approvals under OTR003 : 1993

8.1 The Director General will consult with each Operator approved under OTR 003 :1993 to establish an individual migration timetable and plan for gaining approval under the revised Standard OTR003 :2001.

8.2 In any event, such Operators will be required to obtain approval under OTR003 : 2001 by 31^st December 2003.

8.3 Associated with the transition arrangements will be a review of the application of the Telecommunication Meters (Approval) (BABT) (Amendment) order 2001 (SI 2001 / 2606).

Chapter 9

Scheme Review

9.1 The Metering and Billing Approval Scheme shall be reviewed at the discretion of the Director General.

9.2 The Standard has been devised as far as possible to be technology neutral for application to the services currently available and envisaged. It is intended that the Scheme Guide will be a living document, updated to interpret the Standard as necessary when new applications are discovered.

Chapter 10

Categorisation of Observations and Non Compliant Matters

10.1 Areas of concern identified by an approval body during the assessment of an Operator’s TMBS against OTR 003 : 2001 may come to light in the form of a:

• Discrepancy – an instance of a difference or inconsistency.
• Deficiency – something lacking.
• Issue – a point in question.
• Non Compliance – the act or instance of not complying.
• Any other matters

10.2 These will result in matters being raised, which will be categorised as follows:

• Category 1: An important matter preventing the issue or continuance of approval for which corrective action must be undertaken urgently. In view of the grave consequences of a Category 1 matter, it is expected that an Operator will resolve it as a matter of the utmost importance, without need for a maximum resolution period to be specified in this guide.In any event a detailed corrective action plan must be agreed and put into effect within four months.As a Category 1 matter has the potential to constitute a licence breach, the Director General reserves the right at his own discretion to provide guidance when a resolution is sought. One resolution would be to amend the scope of approval for a determined period.Withdrawal of a certificate will only take place after consultation between Oftel, the approval body and the approval holder.Note: All Category 1 matters for an existing approval are to be reported by the approval body to the Director General.

• Category 2: A matter of concern, which features as a condition of approval, that is to be resolved within a period agreed with the approval body but not exceeding 24 months.In any event a detailed corrective action plan must be agreed and put into effect within four months.

• Category 3: A matter worthy of consideration by the Operator, possibly leading to corrective action, but not of sufficient importance to warrant Category 1 or 2 status.

10.3 Re-categorisation

The approval body can re-categorise a previously categorised matter, (eg a Non Compliance or Observation) dependent on the Operator’s response and / or the implementation and progress of his corrective action plan. For example a Category 2 matter that has not been acted upon to the satisfaction of the approval body can be raised to Category 1 status.

10.4 Appeals

10.4.1 Operators may appeal against the categorisation of any matter by following the approval body’s documented Appeal Process (provision of such a process is required by EN 45011).

10.4.2 In the case of Category 2 or 3 matters, The Director General will be responsible for mediating unresolved disputes, which have been considered under an approval body’s Appeal Process.

Chapter 11

Publications

11.1 Oftel shall maintain a website containing public documents, approval body information, Operators’ compliance information and links to other related sites and other relevant items.

Documents forming part of the scheme are available in .pdf format from www.oftel.gov.uk

The following documents are downloadable:

This Guide.

Oftel Technical Recommendation 003 : 2001, the Standard.

11.2 Not all documentation will be placed in the public domain, for example Approval Bodies’ proprietary documentation, Operators’ confidential information and records relating to comparability review of Approval Bodies.

Chapter 12

Guidance for the use of OTR 003 : 2001

Note: Title Case is used in this section to highlight words where definitions and abbreviations are contained in OTR 003 : 2001. References to Clauses are to clauses in the Standard.

12.1 Principle and major concepts

12.1.1 This Standard has been intentionally drafted to cover a wide range of users and applications. The overriding principle is that customers should be charged neither more nor less for the services they use than is specified in the tariff to which they subscribe.

12.1.2 This guidance explains how the Standard may be interpreted in various situations. The Standard makes use of three major concepts, defined formally in Clause 2:

• Operator
• TMBS
• Chargeable Event

12.1.3 The main attributes of the Standard are that an Operator is required to

• demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of his TMBS against defined parameters using an appropriate test, measurement and reporting regime
• operate the TMBS under systematic management processes which will encompass any sub-contractors used
• handle billing Complaints under a systematic management process
• systematically analyse the root causes of Bills that were the subject of justified Complaint and implement improvements to the TMBS to eliminate such matters
• feed upheld matters into test and measurement programmes.

12.2 Operator

An Operator in the context of the Scheme is an undertaking providing public telecommunications networks or publicly available telecommunications services. It includes for example:

• PTOs
• traditional fixed networks
• mobile networks
• cable Operators
• Other Operators and Service Providers