Section 725.105  Definitions

 

In the interpretation of this Part, the following definitions shall be used.

 

"9-1-1 System" – The geographic area that has been granted an order of authority by the Commission to use "9-1-1" as the primary emergency telephone number. [50 ILCS 750/2.19]

 

            "'A' Links" – Message trunks capable of providing ANI connecting the serving central office of the 9-1-1 calling party and the designated 9-1-1 selective router.

 

            "Access Line" – The connecting facility between a customer's premises network interface device and the local exchange carrier's facility that provides access to the switching network for local exchange and interexchange telecommunications service.

 

            "Aid Outside Normal Jurisdiction Boundaries Agreement" – A written cooperative agreement entered into by all participating and adjacent agencies and public safety agencies providing that, once an emergency unit is dispatched to a request through a system, that unit shall render its services to the requesting party without regard to whether the unit is operating outside its normal jurisdictional boundaries.

 

            "Alternate Routing" – Alternate routing allows 9-1-1 calls to be alternatively rerouted to another Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) location in the case of the overflow calls on the "B" link or PSAP failure.

 

            "Audible Signal" – A buzzer, bell, or tone device used to alert an individual that appropriate action is required.

 

            "Automatic Alarm" or "Automatic Alerting Device" – Any device that will access the 9-1-1 system for emergency services upon activation. [50 ILCS 750/2.14]

 

            "Automatic Location Identification" or "ALI" – In an E9-1-1 system, the automatic display at the PSAP of the caller's telephone number, the address/location of the telephone and supplementary emergency services information.

 

            "Automatic Number Identification" or "ANI" – Automatic display of the 9-1-1 calling party's number on the PSAP monitor.

 

            "'B' Links" – The special service circuits between the 9-1-1 selective routers and the PSAP.

 

            "Backup PSAP" – A Public Safety Answering Point that serves as an alternate to the primary PSAP for enhanced systems and is located at a different location than the municipality's/county's primary PSAP providing the service that will accept overflow calls and calls that are rerouted due to "B"-link failure or because the primary PSAP is disabled.

 

            "Basic 9-1-1" – A general term that refers to an emergency telephone system that automatically connects a person dialing the digits "9-1-1" to an established PSAP through normal telephone service facilities. [50 ILCS 750/2.07]

 

            "Busy Hour" – The two consecutive half-hours each day during which the greatest volume of traffic is handled in the central office.

 

            "Busy Tone" – An audible signal indicating a call cannot be completed because the called access line is busy.  The tone is applied 60 times per minute.

 

            "Call Box" – A device that is normally mounted to an outside wall of the serving telecommunications carrier central office and designed to provide emergency on-site answering by authorized personnel at the central office location in the event a central office is isolated from the PSAP.

 

            "Called Party Hold" – A telephone service feature that enables the called party to maintain a connection, even if the calling party has hung up, on any circuit so equipped.

 

            "Call Referral" – A 9-1-1 service in which the PSAP telecommunicator provides the calling party with the telephone number of the appropriate public safety agency or other provider of emergency services.

 

            "Call Relay" – A 9-1-1 service in which the PSAP telecommunicator takes the pertinent information from a caller and relays that information to the appropriate public safety agency or other provider of emergency services.

 

            "Call Transfer" – A 9-1-1 service in which the PSAP telecommunicator receiving a call transfers that call to the appropriate public safety agency or other provider of emergency services.

 

            "Central Office" – A switching office/facility in a telephone system that provides service to the general public, having the capability of terminating and interconnecting subscriber lines and/or trunks.

 

            "Circuit" – The physical connection (or path) of channels, conductors, and equipment between two given points through which an electronic signal may be established.

 

            "Centrex-type Service" – A telecommunications carrier central office based service with characteristics similar to those of private branch exchange type systems.  When making an emergency call from a Centrex phone, it is necessary to dial an outside access code, typically the digit 9, before dialing the 9-1-1 emergency number.

 

            "Commission" – The Illinois Commerce Commission.

 

            "Control Office" – The control office controls the switching of ANI and selective routing information to the appropriate PSAP.  The control office serves as a tandem switch in the 9-1-1 network.

 

            "Dedicated Direct Trunking" – An arrangement where a telephone line connection has no intermediate switching points between the originating central office and PSAP location.  The facilities utilized in this arrangement may be either intra- or inter-exchange.

 

            "Default Routing" – A feature that allows E9-1-1 calls to be routed to a designated default PSAP if the incoming E9-1-1 call cannot be selectively routed due to ANI failure, garbled digits, or other causes that prevent selective routing.

 

            "Direct Dispatch" – A 9-1-1 service that provides for the direct dispatch by a PSAP telecommunicator of the appropriate unit upon receipt of a telephone request for the services and the decision as to the proper action to be taken.

 

            "Diverse Routing" – The practice of routing circuits along different physical paths in order to prevent total loss of 9-1-1 service in the event of a facility failure.

 

            "E9-1-1 Selective Router " – A telecommunications carrier switching office or stand alone selective routing switch equipped with enhanced 9-1-1 service capabilities.  This switch serves as an E9-1-1 selective router for 9-1-1 calls from other local offices in the 9-1-1 service area.

 

            "Emergency Call" – A telephone request for emergency services that requires immediate action to prevent loss of life, reduce bodily injury, prevent or reduce loss of property, and any other situations as are determined by local custom.

 

            "Emergency Service Number" or "ESN" – Sometimes known as emergency service zone (ESZ).  An ESN is a three to five digit number representing a unique combination of public safety agencies (police, fire, and emergency medical service) designated to serve a specific range of addresses within a particular geographical area or ESZ.  The term ESZ refers to the geographic area itself and is generally used only during the ESN definition process to label specific areas.  The ESN facilitates the selective routing of calls to appropriate PSAPs.

 

            "Emergency Telephone System Board" or "ETSB" – A board appointed by the corporate authorities of any county or municipality that provides for the management and operation of a 9-1-1 system within the scope of those duties and powers as are prescribed by the Emergency Telephone System Act (ETSA) [50 ILCS 750].  The corporate authorities shall provide for the manner of appointment, provided that members of the board meet the requirements of the statute.

 

            "English Language Translation" or "ELT" – Database table that provides the names of the public safety agencies associated with an ESN/ESZ number, that is displayed on the ALI screen at the PSAP.

 

            "Enhanced 9-1-1" or "E9-1-1" – A general term that refers to an emergency telephone system with specific electronically controlled features such as ALI, ANI, or Selective Routing and that uses the master street address guide (MSAG) geographic files.

 

            "Error Ratio" – The percentage of database records that is not MSAG valid for a specific 9-1-1 system.

 

            "Exempt Lines" – Exempt lines are lines other than those for which a 9-1-1 surcharge may be imposed under the criteria set forth in Section 15 of the ETSA [50 ILCS 750/15].  Exempt lines include, but are not limited to, telecommunications carrier official lines and federal government lines.

 

            "Forced Disconnect" – A feature that allows the PSAP to release a telephone connection, even though the calling party has not been disconnected, to avoid caller jamming of the incoming trunks.

 

            "Grade of Service" – The probability (P), expressed as a decimal fraction, of a telephone call being blocked.  P.01 is the grade of service reflecting the probability that one call out of one hundred will be blocked.

 

            "Idle Circuit Tone Application" – A feature that applies a distinctive tone toward the PSAP attendant to distinguish between calls that have been abandoned before the attendant answers and calls where the caller is unable to speak for some reason.

 

            "Key Telephone System" – A telephone system in which the telephones have multiple buttons permitting the user to directly select the outgoing line on which to place a call.  These systems are traditionally found in relatively small business environments, typically in the range of 50 telephones.

 

            "Local Loop" – A channel between a customer's network interface and its serving central office.  The most common form of loop, a pair of wires, is also called a line.

 

            "Local Number Portability" or "LNP" – A process by which a telephone number may be reassigned from one local exchange carrier to another.

 

            "Logging Recorder" – A machine that records both sides of telephone and radio transmissions.

 

            "Master Street Address Guide" or "MSAG" – The computerized geographical file that consists of all streets and address data within the 9-1-1 system area.  This database is the key to the selective routing capability of E9-1-1 systems.  It is to match an originating caller to a specific answering point based on the address data.  The MSAG may require updating after the initial file is established.

 

            "Mechanical Dialer" – A device that either manually or remotely triggers a dialing device to access the 9-1-1 system. [50 ILCS 750/2.15]

 

            "Network" – The aggregate of transmission systems and switching systems.  It is an arrangement of channels, such as loops, trunks, and associated switching facilities.

 

            "Network Connections" – A voice grade communication channel directly between a subscriber and a telecommunications carrier's public switched network, without the intervention of any other telecommunications carrier's switched network, that would be required to carry the subscriber's inter-premises traffic.  The connection either:

 

            is capable of providing access through the public switched network to a 9-1-1 system, if one exists; or

 

            if no system exists at the time a surcharge is imposed under Section 15.3 of the ETSA [50 ILCS 750/15.3], would be capable of providing access through the public switched network to the local 9-1-1 system if one existed. [220 ILCS 750/2.12(a)]

 

            "Network Segment" – A portion of the network in which there are no intermediate switching points.  "A" links and "B" links are network segments.

 

            "On-line Date" – A date that is agreed to by all parties as to when a 9-1-1 system is activated for the public.

           

            "Operator Services" – Any of a variety of telephone services that need the assistance of an operator or an automated "operator" (i.e., using interactive voice response technology and speech recognition).  These services include collect calls, third party billed calls, and person-to-person calls.

 

            "Order of Authority" – A formal order of the Commission that authorizes public agencies or public safety agencies to provide 9-1-1 service in a geographical area.

 

            "Originating Switchhook Status Indication" – An audible and/or visual indication of the status of a calling party being held.

 

            "Overflow" – A call or position used when a call is blocked or rerouted due to excessive traffic.

 

            "Primary Point of Contact" or "9-1-1 Contact Person" – The individualdesignated by the 9-1-1 system management as the contact point for the participating telecommunications carriers.

 

            "Private Branch Exchange" or "PBX" – A telephone switchboard with many stations not individually connected to the local exchange carrier switching network.

 

            "Public Agency" – The State or any unit of local government or special purpose district located in whole or in part within this State that provides police, firefighting, medical or other emergency services or has authority to do so. [50 ILCS 750/2.01]

 

            "Public Safety Agency" – A functional division of a public agency that provides police, firefighting, medical or other emergency services. [50 ILCS 750/2.02]

           

            "Public Safety Answering Point" or "PSAP", sometimes called a "Center" or "9-1-1 Center"; the initial answering location of a 9-1-1 call.

 

            "Rate Center" – A geographically specified area used for determining mileage and/or usage dependent rates in the public switched network.

 

            "Rehoming" – A major network change that involves moving a customer's local loop termination from one central office wireless center to another.  Rehoming generally involves the retermination of private line facilities, although it can simply involve local loop termination for purposes of access to switched services.  Rehomes also can be for the purpose of access to switched services.  Rehomes also can be for the purposes of the carrier, perhaps in connection with a switch upgrade or switch move/decommission.

 

            "Ringback" – A feature used in conjunction with "Called Party Hold"  that allows the PSAP telecommunicator to ringback the caller who has disconnected before the necessary emergency data has been obtained.

 

            "Ringback Tone" – A tone returned to the caller to indicate that a central office is providing ringing current to the called party's circuit.

 

            "Secondary PSAP" – A location where a 9-1-1 call is transferred for dispatching purposes.

 

            "Selective Routing" – A switching system that automatically routes calls to predetermined PSAPs, based on the location of the calling telephone number.

 

            "Service Address" – The location of the primary use of the network connection or connections.

 

            "Surcharge" – An amount levied by the corporate authorities of any municipality or county on billed subscribers of network connections for installing and maintaining an Enhanced 9-1-1 system.

 

            "System Management" – The ETSB that provides for the management and operation of a 9-1-1 system within the scope of those duties and powers as are prescribed by the Emergency Telephone System Act.  If no ETSB is established, then those persons given the authority to operate the 9-1-1 system by the local public agencies.

 

            "System Provider" – The contracted  entity that is certified as a telecommunications carrier by the Commission providing 9-1-1 network and  database services.

 

            "Tandem Trunking" – An arrangement whereby an E9-1-1 call is routed from a central office to the 9-1-1 selective router  to the PSAP.

 

            "TDD" – A telecommunications device for the deaf.  See "TTY."

 

"Telecommunications Carrier" – Shall have the same meaning as defined in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/13-202], including those carriers acting as resellers of telecommunications services. For the purpose of 9-1-1 service, this definition shall include telephone systems operating as mutual concerns.  A telecommunications carrier under the Public Utilities Act may provide competitive or noncompetitive local exchange telecommunications services or any combination of the two as defined in Section 13-204 of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/13-204].

 

            "Telecommunications Service" – Shall have the same meaning as defined in Section 13-203 of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/13-203].

 

            "Telecommunications Service Area" – The geographical area served by a telecommunications carrier.

 

            "Telecommunicator" – A person who is trained and employed in public safety telecommunications.  The term applies to complaint telephone operators, radio operators, data terminal operators or any combination of such functions in a PSAP.

 

            "Terminal Equipment" – Telephone station apparatus.

 

            "Transfer" – A feature that allows the PSAP telecommunicator to transfer E9-1-1 calls to a specific location or secondary PSAP.

 

            "Trunk" – The general term for a telecommunications carrier facility that transmits signals between central offices or between a private branch exchange (PBX) and its local central office. 

 

            "TTY" or "Teletypewriter" – A telegraph device capable of transmitting and receiving alphanumeric information over communications channels and capable of servicing the needs of those persons with a hearing or speech disability.

 

            "Uninterruptible Power Supply" – An emergency power source that can detect any change in power line frequency or voltage and automatically compensates for these changes by supplying additional power or converting to an auxiliary power source, without any loss of voltage or frequency.

 

(Note:  Words importing the singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or things, and words importing the plural number may include the singular.)

 

(Source:  Amended at 28 Ill. Reg. 15742, effective December 1, 2004)