Methods and Apparatus to Pre-Qualify User Communities for Communication Services

A system comprising:

• a first customer premises associated with a first subscriber line and having a first demarcation point;
• a second customer premises associated with a second subscriber line and having a second demarcation point;
• a first test module to interrogate the first subscriber line to determine a first parameter representative of the first subscriber line;
• a second test module to interrogate the second subscriber line to determine a second parameter representative of the second subscriber line;
• and
• a pre-qualification server to:
• configure the first network demarcation point associated with the first subscriber line to a loop-back state;
• configure the second network demarcation point associated with the second subscriber line to the loop-back state;
• and
• generate a report based on the first and second parameters, the report containing a value that represents a degree to which a communication service can be provided to a user community associated with the first and second subscriber lines.

An article of manufacture storing machine-accessible instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to:

• configure a first remote network demarcation associated with a first loop to a loop-back state;
• interrogate the first loop to determine a first parameter representative of the first loop;
• configure a second remote network demarcation associated with a second loop to the loop-back state;
• interrogate the second loop to determine a second parameter representative of the second loop;
• and
• containing a value that represents a degree to which a communication service can be provided to a user community associated with the first and second loops.