COMMON LANGUAGE® Equipment Identification:
Equipment Codes for Carriers Announcements
Here are some news items that will be of interest to customers of the COMMON LANGUAGE Equipment Identification product line:
RoHS - Restriction of Hazardous Substances
Posted: July 13, 2006
Effective July 1, 2006, the European Union (EU) directive 2002/95/EC, better known as the "Restriction of
Hazardous Substances in electronic equipment" (or RoHS), bans the sale and/or transportation of
deliverables of electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of the following
identified hazardous materials:
- Cadmium (Cd)
- Mercury (Hg)
- Hexavalent chromium (Cr6+)
- Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB)
- Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) flame retardants
- Lead (Pb)
This law requires manufacturers to restrict the use of these materials for production of not only Telecommunications equipment but also common electronic equipment, including network adapters. Manufacturers are also being requested to contribute to the protection of human health and the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment.
There are 2 informal categories for RoHS product compliance:
- RoHS-6 - Equipment that complies with the restriction of all six listed substances. This category is referred to as RoHS-6
- Equipment that complies with the RoHS Directive but, may use lead in solder (the limits for the other 5 substances must comply) are acceptable until the year 2010. This exemption has been introduced to allow lead in solders for professional, high reliability applications for which viable lead-free alternatives have not been identified. This category referred to as RoHS-5 (European Union will review prior to July 2010).
With the Lead solder exception, there is a need to identify two levels of RoHS compliance. The COMMON LANGAUGE® Equipment Identification Code Set will identify products that are RoHS compliant and the level of compliance (i.e., RoHS-5 or RoHS-6).
The RoHS regulation is specific to the sale of electronic equipment within the European Community. However, other countries are also exploring similar regulations, and it is only a matter of time before such changes are implemented worldwide. COMMON LANGUAGE® Equipment Codes (CLEI™ Codes) allow all interested parties (Carriers, Vendors, etc.) of telecommunications equipment to record and track equipment that meets these new stringent regulations.
New Alpha-Numeric Equipment Catalog Item (ECI) Numbers
Posted: May 19, 2005
The ECI is currently a six-character numeric process identifier. It maintains a one-to-one relationship with the COMMON LANGUAGE CLEI™ Code. ECI
Numbers are also used to create linear bar code labels and support other Operation Support Systems (OSSs).
The new format will allow for either alpha or numeric characters in any of the six positions.
Presently, it will be alphanumeric compliant as of July 2005. Telcordia will start assigning alphanumeric ECIs as soon as the numeric ECIs are exhausted,
estimated around mid-2006.
New Alpha-Numeric Continuing Property Record (CPR) Numbers
Posted: February 18, 2004
The CPR is currently a six-character data field that contains an alpha or numeric character in its first position, followed by five numeric characters. The CPR Number provides accounting and investment related classification data used to manage company asset records required by federal, state and other regulatory agencies. The new format will allow for either alpha or numeric characters in the 4th, 5th and 6th positions. We estimate that we will need to begin using this new format in September 2004.
New Telecom Equipment Accounts Added
Posted: September 24, 2002
In accordance with the recent FCC mandate on Part 32 USOA revisions, a Packet Switching sub-account has been added to the Digital Electronic Switching account, and a Optical Circuit Equipment sub-account has been added to the Circuit Equipment account.
Expense Limit Increase for Tools and Test Equipment
Posted: September 24, 2002
The FCC has agreed to raise the expense limit for Central Office tools and test equipment to $2,000 from $500 in order to reduce the cost of maintaining property records for the acquisition, depreciation and retirement of many low-cost, high-volume assets.
Property Record Coding for Updated Products
Posted: September 24, 2002
COMMON LANGUAGE Equipment Identification Continuing Property Record (CPR) code development is based on function, use and cost of telecom equipment products. PCN products are grouped according to these three criteria.
When an equipment item is affected by a Product Change Notice (PCN), the CPR remains the same in order to keep related assets constant during the life span of a given product offering. Carriers are welcome to inform us of PCN products that have been assigned to different CPRs so that we can explore the possibility of a reconciliation.
For more information, please refer to GR-209-CORE (Generic Requirements for Product Change Notices), which can be purchased through The Information SuperStore.
New Technology Equipment
Posted: September 24, 2002
Vendors and manufacturers usually ask us to analyze, classify and code equipment items prior to their actual deployment in the field. This helps us ensure that the COMMON LANGUAGE Equipment Identification catalog stays current with emerging equipment technologies such as Voice over IP (VoIP), Passive Optical Network (PON), 3G wireless and Photonic Cross-Connect (OXC) equipment.
This process also ensures that equipment items have been catalogued and classified prior to any procurement activity so that you can allocate and start recording assets appropriately.