How common is it for an upstream provider (in this case someone that manages 911 networks) to not have a sandbox, testing number, or anything of any kind to allow you to test that you've done everything right, short of just sending 911 calls in production? Most of my third-party DID providers have various (well, usually 933) numbers to test that you're routing correctly, are getting the right information returned, etc. One (the one on the LEC side of the house) has no mechanism for such.
To quote Bill O'Reilly, "We'll do it live!". To me that seems like a gaping, obvious problem that any idiot long before me should have pointed out and resolved by now.
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Mike Hammett
Intelligent Computing Solutions
http://www.ics-il.com
Midwest Internet Exchange
http://www.midwest-ix.com
We have a new customer that has an increasing number of TNs they can't call. I've traced them all down to going through our local Frontier tandem. Calls from other phone numbers on our network are fine. Two of the numbers are with Frontier, just another ratecenter off of that tandem. The third we know of goes to VZW.
I submit a ticket to Frontier with source number, destination number, and call date\time for the last set of problem calls, all within the previous 24 hours, out of our Metaswitch SAS.
Frontier replies:
Per Software Engineering/DBA: Did not find mention call in IRIS (SS7), did find at that time a call to 815-824-XXXX, not 815-824-YYYY. SS7 show that call at 14:51 came in on DNC tgn 1011, GN089085, OPC=005-092-136 and terminate to DeKalb switch. Verified
incoming call in switch, switch not blocking terminating to line. **31 - Normal. Unspecified. This cause is used to report a normal event only when no other cause in the normal class applies**. Found no trouble in switch translations/routing.
Status: Cleared Awaiting Cust Verification
So we have a very different definition of "cleared". I call a problem cleared when it's resolved, not when the reason can't be found.
So Frontier:
1. Can't find one of the three calls I sent them.
2. Doesn't chase the problem to the end of the line.
3. Clarifies that the ISUP error I'm getting means they don't have a reason for it to be closed, so probably not a normal circumstance.
4. Doesn't investigate why there's an unclassified release.
How can I incentivize Frontier to actually figure this out?
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Mike Hammett
Intelligent Computing Solutions
http://www.ics-il.com
Midwest Internet Exchange
http://www.midwest-ix.com
