(c) Outside Plant 



Where both companies' use is substantial, arrangements are usually made 

 for the joint ownershi]) of the common items of plant. In underground 

 conduit, the ownership is usually divided on the basis of number of ducts 

 required by each company, except that if one company's reciuirements 

 are less than one-half of one duct (occupied by a joint !>■ owned cable), 

 it is customary for that company to rent duct space from the other com- 

 pany. Open-wire pole lines are generally jointly owned where each 

 company has a requirement of one crossarm or more, the cost of the 

 pole line being divided in proportion to the numbers of crossarms required 

 by each company. In cases where the requirements of one company are 

 minor, it may lease space from the other company on an attachment 

 rental basis, using a reciprocal rental rate for the use of the supporting 

 structure which reflects the average carrying charges on both line and right 

 of way. In the case of toll cables, the ownership of certain wires in the 

 cable is generally held by each company, the cost of the cable being 

 divided in proportion to the copper cross-section of the wires owned by 

 each of the companies. 

 In the open-wire plant, each pair or phantom group is generally owned by one 

 company and located in the crossarm space reserved on the pole line for 

 that company. 



Emergency situations arise from time to time in which service may 

 be restored most quickly by a temporary use of spare faciHties of the 

 other company or by a temporary pooHng of the circuits of both 

 companies which remain in service and applying them most equitably 

 to the service demands of both companies. The work of restoring 

 service in such cases is handled without the execution of any formal 

 agreements between the companies involved, and such adjustments as 

 are necessary are worked out later. 



Joint Maintenance Arrangements 



The joint maintenance arrangements are based on the principle of 

 providing the most economical procedure in each case. This results, 

 generally speaking, in the maintenance by employee? of one company 

 of all jointly occupied outside plant on a single route. It is obviously 

 economical, for example, to have such an arrangement for the main- 

 tenance of pole lines, conduit, and cables which are jointly owned by 

 the two companies. 



In the case of central office equipment, it is generally desirable in 

 large cities where a large amount of equipment is owned by each 

 company to have separate maintenance staffs, particularly for the 

 service maintenance work performed by the toll test room forces. At 

 smaller points, a single maintenance force is generally provided by the 

 company having the greater amount of work. 



68 



