A Single, Powerful, Nonparametric Statistic for Continuous-data Telecommunications Parity Testing

Abstract

Since the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, extensive expert testimony has justified use of the modified t statistic (Brownie et al., 1990) for performing two-sample hypothesis tests comparing Bell companies’ CLEC and ILEC performance measurement data (known as parity testing). However, Opdyke (Telecommunications Policy, 2004) demonstrated this statistic to be potentially manipulable and to have literally zero power to detect inferior CLEC service provision under a wide range of relevant data conditions. This article develops a single, nonparametric statistic that is easily implemented (i.e., not computationally intensive) and typically provides dramatic power gains over the modified t while simultaneously providing much better Type I error control. The statistic should be useful in a wide range of quality control settings.