INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION

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TELECOMMUNICATION
STANDARDIZATION SECTOR
OF ITU

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)45 4 Recommendation -

(Extract from the "LUE "OOK)

-

NOTES

1
ITU-T Recommendation M.1016 was published in Fascicle IV.2 of the Blue Book. This file is an extract from
the Blue Book. While the presentation and layout of the text might be slightly different from the Blue Book version, the
contents of the file are identical to the Blue Book version and copyright conditions remain unchanged (see below).

2
In this Recommendation, the expression Administration is used for conciseness to indicate both a
telecommunication administration and a recognized operating agency.

ITU 1988, 1993

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from the ITU.

Recommendation M.1016
Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

ASSESSMENT OF THE SERVICE AVAILABILITY PERFORMANCE

OF INTERNATIONAL LEASED CIRCUITS

General

The attention of Administrations is drawn to the benefits which can be derived from basing assessments of the
service availability performance of international leased circuits on internationally agreed practices. Adoption of common
practices assists international cooperation in identifying and clearing service difficulties, allows Administrations to
compare performance results, and enables Administrations to present a common approach in discussions with customers.
To this end, this Recommendation offers guidance to Administrations on assessing the service availability of
international leased circuits1) on the performance figures which may be used in such assessments and the method of
deriving such performance figures.
Where appropriate, the terms and definitions given in Recommendation E.800 [1] and in Supplement No. 6 to
Fascicle II.3[2] have been used in this Recommendation.
2

Basis of assessments of service availability performance

In establishing a common method to assess the service availability performance of international leased circuits,
the CCITT has been concerned to ensure that the basic information for such an assessment is readily available to all
Administrations. To this end, the assessment procedure in this Recommendation is based on a service orientated
approach. This approach implies that fault reports made by customers and planned interruptions which unacceptably
disrupt the customers service, will play a major role.
The adoption of the service orientated approach recognizes that in order to determine the true service
availability performance with accuracy it would be necessary, for example, to continuously observe the circuits in some
way, and to record the number and duration of all events which affect their performance. This requirement cannot
reasonably be met by most Administrations, and the best that can be achieved in practice is an approximation of the true
performance.
Another basic factor in the assessment procedure is that, for international leased circuits, no differentiation
should be made on the basis of, for example, circuit length, circuit quality (Recommendations M.1020, M.1025
and M.1040), type of routing, etc. Such differentiation may be carried out by an Administration for internal purposes if it
so desires.
3

Purpose of the assessment procedure

3.1

General
The assessment procedure specified in this Recommendation may be used for two purposes:

3.2

international purposes;

national purposes.

International purposes

The assessment procedure is used for international purposes when two Administrations wish to assess together
the performance of individual international leased circuits (or a group of circuits) as a whole for special investigations,
for dealing with customers complaints or similar situations.
For such assessments it is necessary, as far as practicable, to gather simultaneously all available information on
the performance of the circuit(s) from the Administrations involved. Thus, the stations with control responsibilities
(Recommendations M.1012 and M.1013) play an essential role.

_______________
1) In this Recommendation only full-time, point-to-point international leased circuits (as defined in Recommendation M.1010 and

specified in Recommendations M.1020, M.1025 and M.1040) are considered. The service availability performance of part-time,
wide-band, multi-terminal, tec. international leased circuits requires further study.

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

Note This approach should be followed when investigations of the service availability performance of
international leased circuits is undertaken by CCITT, as may be required from time-to-time.
3.3

National purposes

The assessment procedure is used for national purposes when an individual Administration wishes to provide
itself with information for its own internal purposes on the performance of the international leased circuits it operates,
for example, to identify adverse trends in performance, or to check the effectiveness of its maintenance procedures. Such
evaluations of international leased circuit performance may be based on information already available to the
Administration (without the need to gather information from other Administrations), and may be carried out for all
circuits whether or not the Administration provides the control station.
Note Assessments of the type mentioned in 3.1 and 3.2 above in no way change the intent that control
stations be informed of all faults detected by a sub-control station see Recommendation M.1013.
4

Description of the assessment procedure

4.1

Collection of basic data

Three fundamental conditions must be taken into account when collecting basic data for assessing the service
availability performance of international leased circuits:
a)

faults, as reported by the customer and confirmed by tests and investigations carried out by the
Administrations;

b)

impairments to normal service, as reported by the customer, where the customer chooses to continue to
use the circuit in a degraded condition;

c)

planned interruptions to service to enable, for example, permanent repair work to be carried out,
maintenance routines to be performed, etc. (see Recommendation M.490 [3]).

In determining if and how downtime is to be included in the assessment procedure, the following principles
should be applied:

if tests or investigations reveal that a fault or impairment exists (or has existed), downtime will be taken
into account;

if no fault or impairment is ever observed by the Administration, no downtime will be taken into account;

the time the Administration returns service to the customer (or the first attempt to do so) is taken as the
end of downtime;

only those planned interruptions which unacceptably disrupt the customers service will be taken into
account.

Note Where the bandwidth of the circuit is divided to provide for simultaneous multiple transmission of
different services (for example, simultaneous speech plus data), only those faults which affect the entire circuit and
partial faults which require the entire circuit to be taken out of service for fault finding and repair should be taken into
account in the assessment procedure.
These principles are embodied in Tables A-1/M.1016 and A-2/M.1016, which define those conditions where
downtime should be taken into account, and the start and end of downtime, for customer reported faults and planned
interruptions of service respectively.
In certain circumstances the assistance of the customer or access to his premises is necessary to locate/clear a
fault or an impairment to service. Where the customer denies such assistance, or denies access to his premises, the extra
downtime which may result should be excluded from the assessment of performance.

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

4.2

Basic data
The basic data required in connection with the assessment procedure are:

the number of international leased circuits involved. Guidance on how to determine this number is given
in Annex B;

the designation of each circuit involved, as agreed between Administrations in accordance with
Recommendation M.140 [4];

for each involved circuit, the number of faults and unacceptable planned interruptions of service within
the observation period (refer to Annex A);

for each fault and planned interruption of service:

i)

the start of downtime (in UTC)2)

ii)

the end of downtime (in UTC)

iii) the duration of downtime;

the address(es) of involved Administrations and, ideally, the name and telephone number of an
appropriate contact person within each Administration.

The additional information specified in 5 below is also considered as basic data for the assessment
procedure.
4.3

Observation period

For the purpose envisaged in 3.2 above, the observation period should be three calendar months. For
practical reasons it is advisable that the observation period start at 00.00 UTC on the first day of a quarter of the year,
and end at 24.00 UTC on the last day of that quarter.
For the purpose envisaged in 3.3 above, Administrations are free to select an observation period which suits
their needs.
4.4

Exchange of information between terminal Administrations

At the end of the observation period, the basic data is recorded on forms, examples of which are shown in
Appendices I and II to this Recommendation. Examples of completed forms are given in Appendices III and IV to this
Recommendation. Appendices I and III relate to information supplied by the control station, while Appendices II and IV
relate to the sub-control station. Forms, completed with information from the sub-control station should be sent to the
Administration which has control station responsibility.
4.5

Elaboration of results

It is the responsibility of the Administration providing the control station to combine the information supplied
by the control and sub-control stations. In practice it is found that this information is often different, and the following
rules should be used to handle such differences:
a)

if a fault (or unacceptable planned interruption) is reported by both control and sub-control stations, then
the start of downtime is the earliest time indicated by the control or sub-control station and the end of
downtime is that recorded by the control station;

b)

if a fault (or unacceptable planned interruption) is reported by only one of the stations, then such a fault is
deemed to have occurred and the corresponding downtime is taken into account.

For rules used for combining the additional information specified in 5 below, reference is made to Annex C.

_______________
2) UTC = Coordinated universal time (UTC is equal to GMT, but replaces it; see Recommendation B.11 [5]).

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

4.6

Presentation of service availability performance information

The methods of calculating and presenting service availability performance information for international leased
circuits are given in detail in Annex B.
When service availability performance information is to be supplied to other Administrations, and when
making international comparisons, the following parameters should be presented:
a)

number of circuits involved in the assessment. (Where this is less than the total number of circuits in
service, the number of circuits in service should also be supplied),

b)

mean downtime per circuit,

c)

mean number of faults per circuit,

d)

mean time to failure (MTTF),

e)

percentage of circuits for which no downtime was recorded,

f)

mean time to restore service (MTRS).

In addition, and at the discretion of Administrations, the following parameters may also be presented:
g)

long-term mean downtime per circuit (over at least four consecutive observation periods),

h)

percentage of circuits with downtime less than the mean,

i)

downtime per circuit not exceeded by 95% of the circuits.

For items a) to i) above, reference is made to Annex B.

4.7

Treatment of events which distort service availability performance figures

Service availability performance figures for international leased circuits can be significantly influenced (or
their meaningfulness destroyed) by catastrophic events, for example, destruction of facilities by hurricane or earthquake.
In view of this, the following procedure should be adopted:
Events which, based on previous experience, have noticeably influenced the performance figures should not be
excluded. However, in this case, a second calculation should be made to present the performance figures with the
catastrophic event(s) excluded.
This procedure attempts to maximize the possibility of all events being included in the performance figures in
some manner.
5

Considerations for comparing service availability performance information internationally

5.1
Administrations are encouraged to exchange service availability performance information on international
leased circuits on a regular basis.
5.2
In order to assist the interpretation of service availability performance information, particularly when
exchanged between Administrations, relevant additional information should also be supplied. Such additional
information should cover the following aspects:
a)

priority maintenance attention to international leased circuits;

b)

duplicated circuit sections;

c)

fault clearance service;

d)

transmission limits which define whether or not a fault exists;

e)

information to customers about planned interruptions to service.

Annex C specifies the above information in greater detail, while Appendices III and IV show how the
information is to be exchanged between Administrations.
5.3
Detailed maintenance procedures and the methods by which Administrations confirm the existence of faults on
international leased circuits are different. Such differences may lead to differences in the service availability
performance results obtained by Administrations.

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

ANNEX A
(to Recommendation M.1016)
Rules for determining the number of faults and the downtime
to be taken into account in assessments of the service
availability performance of international leased circuits

A.1
Detailed principles for the determination of the number of faults and impairments affecting service availability
performance, and their resulting downtime, are given in Table A-1/M.1016.

d01-sc

TABLE A-1/M.1016...[D01]

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

A.2

Principles to determine the downtime due to planned interruptions of service are given in Table A-2/M.1016.

d02-sc

TABLE 2/M.1016...[D02]
A.3
If a circuit is in a downstate at the beginning of the observation period, the fault or planned interruption of
service causing the downstate is not taken into consideration. However, downtime is deemed to start at the beginning of
the observation period.
A.4
If a circuit is in a downstate at the end of the observation period, the fault or planned interruption of service
causing the downstate is taken into consideration. The downstate is deemed to end at the end of the observation period.

ANNEX B
(to Recommendation M.1016)
Presentation of service availability performance
information for international leased circuits

Note This annex contains additional explanations and rules of calculation for the performance parameters
specified in 4.6. B.1 to B.9 below relate to items a) to i) in 4.6 respectively.
B.1

Determination of the number of circuits involved in the assessment

The calculation of service availability performance figures for international leased circuits requires that the
exact number of circuits, n involved in the assessment be determined.

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

For the assessment purposes envisaged in 3.1, only those circuits existing throughout the observation period
should be considered. Thus, circuits provided or ceased within an observation period should be ignored.
For the purpose envisaged in 3.2, the number of circuits existing at the end of the observation period can be
used in the calculation of service availability performance figures.
For both the purposes mentioned above, all full-time, point-to-point international leased circuits should be
included in the assessment. However, should the effort and cost of this approach be too great, Administrations may use a
randomly selected sample of circuits of suitable size.
B.2

Mean downtime per circuit

Mean downtime per circuit should be calculated using the following formula:
Mean downtime per circuit (DT) =

1
n Downtime in observation period

where
n is the number of circuits involved (cf. B.1)

B.3

downtime

is in hours

DT

is in hours.

Mean number of faults per circuit

The mean number of faults per circuit should be calculated using the following formula:

1
Mean number of faults per circuit = n Faults
where
n is the number of circuits involved (cf. B.1).
B.4

Mean time to failure

Mean time to failure (MTTF) should be calculated using the following formula:

MTTF =

(n observation period) ( Downtime)

Events that contribute to downtime

where
n is the number of circuits involved (cf. B.1)
MTTF

is in days

Observation period is in days

Downtime

is in days

Note The right hand side of the equation above is sometimes called mean time between failures (MTBF).
B.5

Percentage of circuits for which no downtime was recorded

Percentage of circuits for which no downtime was recorded =

Number of circuits with no downtime

100
n
where
n is the number of circuits involved (cf. B.1)
This percentage corresponds to the point marked y1 in Figure B-1/M.1016.

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

B.6

Mean time to restore service

Mean time to restore service (MTRS) should be calculated using the following formula:

MTRS =

Downtime
Events that contribute to downtime

where

B.7

Downtime

is in hours

MTRS

is in hours

Long-term mean downtime per circuit

Long-term mean downtime per circuit should be calculated on the basis of the results of at least four
consecutive observation periods, weighted for the number of circuits involved, from the following formula:
(In the case of 4 observation periods)
4

Long-term mean downtime per circuit (DT) =

(ni DTi)

i=1

ni
i=1

where

B.8

ni and DTi

are the values corresponding to each observation period

DTi

is in hours

DT

is in hours

Percentage of circuits with downtime less than the mean value (DT)

The percentage of circuits with a total downtime less than the mean downtime per circuit (DT) should be
determined, for example, by preparing a cumulative frequency distribution graph as shown in Figure B-1/M.1016. (The
required percentage of circuits is shown by point y2 of Figure B-1/M.1016).

d03-sc

FIGURE B-1/M.1016...[D03]

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

B.9

Downtime per circuit not exceeded by 95% of circuits

The downtime not exceeded by 95% of circuits is shown by the point marked x(95%) in Figure B-1/M.1016.

ANNEX C
(to Recommendation M.1016)
Additional information to be exchanged between
Administrations concerning service availability performance

C.1

Types of information

Where service availability performance information is exchanged between Administrations, it should be

supported by the following additional information:
a)

b)

c)

d)

International leased circuits are given priority maintenance attention over public circuits:
i)

YES

ii)

NO

Duplicated circuit sections (circuit level only):

i)

SUBSCRIBER LINE (TERMINAL NATIONAL SECTION) AND/OR NATIONAL LINE

(WHOLLY OR PARTLY) AND/OR INTERNATIONAL LINE

ii)

NO DUPLICATION

Fault clearance service:

i)

OFFICE HOURS ONLY

ii)

24 HOURS / 7 DAYS PER WEEK

Limits applied to determine if a fault exists:

i)

Recommendation M.1040

ii)

Recommendation M.1040 type, but with more stringent limits/additional parameters

iii) Recommendation M.1040 type, but with less stringent limits/fewer parameters
iv) Recommendation M.1020
v)

Recommendation M.1020 type, but with more stringent limits/additional parameters

vi) Recommendation M.1020 type, but with less stringent limits/fewer parameters
vii) Recommendation M.1025
viii) Recommendation M.1025 type, but with more stringent limits/additional parameters
ix) Recommendation M.1025 type, but with less stringent limits/fewer parameters
e)

Customer informed about planned interruptions of service:

i)

IN PRINCIPLE ALWAYS

ii)

IN PRINCIPLE NEVER

iii) SOMETIMES
This additional information should be recorded on the forms shown in Appendices I and II of this
Recommendation. Appendices III and IV of this Recommendation show examples of these forms filled out by the
control and sub-control stations respectively.

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

C.2

Rules for the combination of additional information coming from the control and sub-control stations

C.2.1

Rule for priority maintenance [ C.1a) above]

Where a circuit gets priority maintenance attention by one terminal Administration and not the other, priority
maintenance attention shall be deemed to exist on the circuit as a whole.
C.2.2

Rule for duplicated circuit sections [ C.1b) above]

Where at least one Administration states that the circuit is (partly) duplicated, the circuit is considered to be
(partly) duplicated. Otherwise, the circuit is not duplicated.
C.2.3

Rule for fault clearance service [ C.1c) above]

Where one terminal Administration provides office hours only fault clearance services while the other
provides 24 hours/day service, the circuit shall be deemed to have office hours only service.
C.2.4

Rule for limits/parameters [ C.1d) above]

Where different limits/parameters are applied by the terminal Administrations, the information from the
control station Administration will prevail.
C.2.5

Rule for planned interruptions [ C.1e) above]

The rules for combining information on whether or not customers are advised about planned interruptions of
service are shown in Table C-1/M.1016.

TABLE C-1/M.1016
Rules for combining information on planned interruptions of service
Control station
Administration indicates:

Customer always informed

Customer is sometimes informed

Customer is never informed

10

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

Sub-control station
Administration indicates:

Situation for the circuit

is deemed to be:

Never
Sometimes
Always

Customer is always informed

Never
Sometimes

Customer is sometimes informed

Always

Customer is always informed

Never

Never

Sometimes

Sometimes

Always

Always

(2)

Date
(3)

Time
(UTC)

Contact person for this data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

Circuit designation

Start of downtime

(4)

Date
(5)

Time
(UTC)

End of downtime

(6)

Additional
information
(7)
d

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

Duration
(min)

Circuits between . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Control ADMIN) and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Sub-control ADMIN)

(Observation period:

INVESTIGATION OF INTERNATIONAL LEASED CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE

DATA FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WITH CONTROL STATION RESPONSIBILITY

APPENDIX I
(to Recommendation M.1016)

11

12

(2)

Date

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

Contact person for this data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

Circuit designation

(4)

Date
(5)

Time
(UTC)

End of downtime

APPENDIX III
(to Recommendation M.1016)

(3)

Time
(UTC)

Start of downtime

(6)

Duration
(min)

Additional
information
(7)

Circuits between . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Sub-control ADMIN) and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Control ADMIN)

(Observation period:

INVESTIGATION OF INTERNATIONAL LEASED CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE

DATA FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WITH SUB-CONTROL STATION RESPONSIBILITY

APPENDIX II
(to Recommendation M.1016)

No Faults
No Faults

London-Frankfurt XP2

London-Hamburg DP1

Contact person for this data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No Faults

London-Frankfurt DP9

23 Feb
No Faults

1105

23 Feb

21 Feb

3 March

1 March

17 Jan

4 March

16 Feb

7 Feb

3 Jan

(4)

Date

1120

1815

1000

0910

1410

0810

1030

1610

1100

(5)

Time
(UTC)

End of downtime

London-Frankfurt DP2

1600

21 Feb

0830

3 March

London-Hamburg XP7

0825

1 March

London-Dusseldorf DP6

1700

3 March
1200

0930

16 Feb

17 Jan

1600

7 Feb

London-Dusseldorf DP3

0810

3 Jan

London-Frankfurt DP7

(3)

Time
(UTC)

(2)

Date

(1)

Circuit designation

Start of downtime

15

135

90

45

130

1050

60

10

170

(6)

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

Additional
information
(7)

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

Example only

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

Duration
(min)

Circuits between United Kingdom (Control ADMIN) and Federal Republic of Germany (Sub-Control ADMIN)

(Observation period: 1 Jan 1982 31 March 1982)

INVESTIGATION OF INTERNATIONAL LEASED CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE

DATA FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WITH CONTROL STATION RESPONSIBILITY

13

14

No Faults
No Faults
No Faults

Frankfurt-London DP9

Frankfurt-London XP2

Hamburg-London DP1

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

Contact person for this data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No Faults

21 Feb

Frankfurt-London DP2

1625

7 Feb

No Faults

21 Feb

Hamburg-London XP7

0900

21 March

3 Jan

(4)

Date

1800

0915

1110

1030

(5)

Time
(UTC)

End of downtime

Dusseldorf-London DP6

7 Feb

1100

21 March

Dusseldorf-London DP3

0900

3 Jan

Frankfurt-London DP7

(3)

Time
(UTC)

(2)

Date

(1)

Circuit designation

Start of downtime

95

15

10

90

(6)

Duration
(min)

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

Circuits between Federal Republic of Germany (Sub-control ADMIN) and United Kingdom (Control ADMIN)

(Observation period: 1 Jan 1982 31 March 1982)

INVESTIGATION OF INTERNATIONAL LEASED CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE

DATA FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WITH SUB-CONTROL STATION RESPONSIBILITY

APPENDIX IV
(to Recommendation M.1016)

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

ii

Additional
information
(7)

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

iv

Example only

iii

iii

iii

iii

iii

iii

iii

iii

References
[1]

CCITT Recommendation Quality of service and dependability vocabulary, Vol. II, Rec. E.800.

[2]

CCITT Supplement Terms and definitions for quality of service, network performance, dependability and
trafficability studies, Vol. II, Fascicle II.3, Supplement No. 6.

[3]

CCITT Recommendation Exchange of information for planned outages of transmission systems, Vol. IV.
Rec. M.490.

[4]

CCITT Recommendation Designation of international circuits, groups, group and line links, digital blocks,
digital paths, data transmission systems and related information, Vol. IV, Rec. M.140.

[5]

CCITT Recommendation Legal time; use of the term UTC, Vol. I, Rec. B.11.

Fascicle IV.2 - Rec. M.1016

15