Step 4. Provisioning: Off-Net Bandwidth (Estimated time: Variable and dependent on service type)

Your Service Coordinator will call you to review your service criteria and will send you a Welcome email. Please respond and verify your service address and onsite contact information. Your Welcome email contains links to the COGENT Customer User Guide and other important forms.

Behind the scenes, your Service Coordinator is managing the partnership between COGENT and the 3rd party access provider who will be providing connectivity at your service location. This includes a host of activities, including the following 3 milestones:

1. Metro Network Facilities Check: Cogent has your bandwidth allocated and available on our network today. However, your specific address is “Off-Net” for Cogent, and we will employ a 3rd party access provider to connect your location to our network to obtain that bandwidth. The access provider will issue internal orders to determine if metro network facilities are already available to provide the service end-to-end. If such facilities are available, the order will proceed to the provider’s provisioning process. If there are portions of the route across the provider’s metro network that require additional facilities, the provider will issue the appropriate work orders, permits, etc., to construct them and advise a forecasted timeline for the completion.

2. Customer Premises Site Survey: The 3rd party access provider will dispatch a certified Engineer to perform a site visit with your local contact. This site visit will determine the necessary infrastructure within your property to support the service that will be installed. The engineer will review both the infrastructure that is already in place and can be utilized, as well as items that may not be in place and need to be provided. Once the access provider determines these needs and communicates them to your local contact, it is your responsibility to meet these requirements, either via a hired contractor or working with the building property manager. Providing these requirements in a timely manner is one of the best ways to ensure a delivery with minimal delays. These requirements vary by location, but typically involve:

   1. Installation space, such as a regulation plywood backboard on which to mount equipment (or telecommunications relay rack space).

   2. Power for the provider’s equipment in the proximity of where it will be installed.

   3. Pathway for fiber from the property line to the provider’s demarcation or minimum point of entry (MPOE), and possibly internal conduit or riser path from the MPOE to your suite.

3. 3rd Party FOC Date: This is the “Firm Order Commitment” date which the access provider expects to have the network installed at your location. The access provider may be performing physical work at your location on this day, or in the days leading up to this date. Cogent’s activation date will typically be 3 to 5 business days after the 3rd Party FOC date, once the provider and Cogent have established continuity between the newly-installed circuit and the Cogent network.

Once your service is successfully tested for continuity and connectivity, your Service Coordinator will notify you and email you the Customer Acceptance Letter. Your Customer Acceptance Letter includes contact information for Customer Support. Billing of the service commences on the day the Customer Acceptance Letter is sent.