This object indicates which Synchronization Status Message (SSM) quality-level standard the device is using to interpret clock-quality signaling: option1 follows the ITU-T international standard and option2 follows the ANSI/Telcordia North American standard, and the two use different numeric quality-level codes for the same physical clock qualities. An admin integrating this device into an existing synchronization network must confirm this matches the standard used by upstream and downstream equipment, since a mismatch here would cause quality-level values elsewhere in this MIB to be misinterpreted even though the underlying clock signal itself is fine. For example, a device deployed in a North American SONET network should show option2 to correctly interpret received SSM codes from adjacent equipment.