[VoiceOps] Tandem Dropping Calls

Mon Oct 3 13:12:53 EDT 2022

I would contact your SS7 provider and have them do a trace on it to 
figure out where it's dropping. If it's with Frontier, then you can put 
in another trouble ticket and tell them you have proof it's a problem 
with their network. You'll need to request it be escalated because they 
keep closing your trouble tickets with no resolution.

If you can't get anywhere with that, just keep contacting them through 
multiple routes. For example, reach out to their NPAC contact for an 
escalation contact for routing issues. Chat with their online 
troubleshooting people to request an escalation. Unfortunately with the 
RBOCs and ILECs, some don't respond until they are about to get their 
hand slapped so if nothing else works file a complaint with the PUC. 
Some people just take joy in making it hard for competitors to fix their 
routing problems but they can only do that so long before they look bad. 
I've found being the consistent squeaky wheel that is firm and 
professional yet won't take no for an answer is what eventually gets you 
where you need to be. You might get called a few names along the way, 
but only by people who didn't want to do their job right in the first 
place.

Frontier's online troubleshooting chat link
https://frontier.com/login?target=2f6163636f756e74#/troubleshooting

MARY LOU CAREY
BackUP Telecom Consulting
Office: 615-791-9969
Cell: 615-796-1111

On 2022-10-03 10:34 AM, Mike Hammett via VoiceOps wrote:
> Calls through Bandwidth were successfuls, the last carriers (Frontier
> and VZW) don't have anything going on with my customer's TN.
> 
> *sigh* Back to Frontier. I called Friday to escalate, but now the
> ticket in VFO is closed, so I'm sure that'll be wonderful to get them
> to act on now.
> 
> It's the same tandem town\CO, but aren't LD tandems and local tandems
> different, or is that separation history and they just all get dropped
> on the same box now?
> 
> -----
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
> 
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
> 
> -------------------------
> 
> From: "Nick Olsen" <Nick at 141networks.com>
> To: "VoiceOps" <voiceops at voiceops.org>, "Mike Hammett"
> <voiceops at ics-il.net>
> Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 3:30:48 PM
> Subject: Re: Tandem Dropping Calls
> 
>  Honestly the reply you got was more then I would've expected from any
> ILEC. This lack of care is par for the course for them.
> 
>  The way I read their reply however is "Trouble isn't in my
> department, go open a ticket elsewhere". And might be indicating that
> the reject is coming from somewhere further downstream. Such as they
> attempted to alert the line but it was busy. And they passed that back
> to you as a CC31 because... reasons. But this is a
> routing/translations guy, not an access guy. So he doesn't know.
> 
>  The ILEC's are so compartmentalized that the person that handled this
> ticket doesn't even know where you'd go from there other than it's not
> his/her problem.
> 
>  If I were you, I'd try sending the call to IQ or some other LD
> carrier and see if you get the same results. Atleast with the Frontier
> called TN's (2 of the 3), you know they're terminating back to that
> same tandem regardless of if it's from you or IQ, or whoever. Try the
> same call with different ANI's, Different results? Maybe the end user
> is subscribed to some service that is blocking the call..etc.
> 
>  Best of luck!
> 
> -------------------------
> 
> From: VoiceOps <voiceops-bounces at voiceops.org> on behalf of Mike
> Hammett via VoiceOps <voiceops at voiceops.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 2:35 PM
> To: VoiceOps <voiceops at voiceops.org>
> Subject: [VoiceOps] Tandem Dropping Calls
> 
>  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?
> 
> -----
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions
> http://www.ics-il.com
> 
> Midwest Internet Exchange
> http://www.midwest-ix.com
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