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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-9
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Ottawa, 16 June 2006 |
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Proceeding to examine whether mobile wireless services should be
considered to be in the same relevant market as wireline local
exchange services with respect to forbearance, and related issues
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Reference: 8640-C12-200607210 |
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In this Public Notice, the Commission
invites comments regarding whether
mobile wireless services, or a subset thereof, should be considered
to be part of the same relevant market as wireline local exchange
services for forbearance analysis purposes and, if so, how wireless
mobile services, or a subset thereof, should be measured for the purpose
of inclusion in the relevant market and calculation of market share
loss. |
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Background
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1. |
In Forbearance from the regulation of
retail local exchange services, Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-15,
6 April 2006 (Decision 2006-15),
the Commission considered that mobile wireless services did not belong
in the same relevant market as wireline local exchange services at
that time. The Commission's conclusion was based on the following
considerations: |
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- While the prices of wireline local exchange services and mobile
wireless services may be similar in some cases, the pricing
methodologies represent a fundamental difference in how the services
are priced;
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- Generally mobile wireless services are not marketed as a
replacement for wireline services;
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- The Statistics Canada Residential Telephone Service Survey,
December 2004, in which Statistics Canada had estimated that, as
of December 2004, only 2.7 percent of all households in Canada had
replaced their wireline services with wireless services; and
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- The Commission's view that while some consumers were
substituting mobile wireless services for their wireline services,
the level of substitution was not significant enough at the time to
provide a constraint on the market power of the incumbent local
exchange carrier.
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2. |
The Commission notes that on 5 April
2006, Statistics Canada released its Residential Telephone Service
Survey, December 2005 (the 2005 Survey). In the accompanying
official release bulletin, Statistics Canada indicated that as of
December 2005, the estimated percentage of households in Canada that
had replaced their wireline services with wireless services had
increased to 4.8 percent. It also indicated that British Columbia, at
approximately 7.1 percent, and Alberta, at approximately 5.8 percent,
led the way in growth. In the 2005 Survey, Statistics Canada estimated
that the percentage of households that had replaced their wireline
services with wireless services was approximately 9.6 percent in
Vancouver, approximately 6.2 percent in Victoria, and approximately
6.4 percent in Calgary. |
3. |
In light of this more recent information,
which was not available to be taken into account in the proceeding
leading to Decision 2006-15,
the Commission considers that the issue of whether mobile wireless
services are in the same relevant market as wireline local exchange
services should be re-examined. |
4. |
In Decision 2006-15
the Commission determined that market share loss should be measured
based on total local wireline connections. If, as a result of this
proceeding, a determination is made that mobile wireless services,
or a subset thereof, should be considered to be part of the same relevant
market as wireline local exchange services, the Commission notes that
wireless mobile services, or a subset thereof, will need to be measured
for the purposes of inclusion in the relevant market and calculation
of market share loss. |
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Call for comments
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5. |
Accordingly, the Commission invites
comments regarding whether mobile wireless services, or a subset
thereof, should be considered to be part of the same relevant market
as wireline local exchange services for forbearance analysis purposes.
To the extent that parties consider that a subset of mobile wireless
services should be part of the relevant market, comments are also
invited on the criteria necessary to define the subset. |
6. |
In the event that mobile wireless services,
or a subset thereof, are determined to be part of the same relevant
market, comments are also invited as to: (i) how mobile wireless services,
or a subset thereof, should be measured for the purpose of inclusion
in the relevant market, and (ii) what modifications should be
made to the formula set out in paragraph 515 of Decision 2006-15
for the purpose of calculating market share loss. |
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Procedure
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7. |
Aliant Telecom Inc., Bell Canada, MTS
Allstream Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications, and TELUS
Communications Company (the telephone companies) are made parties to
this proceeding. |
8. |
Other parties wishing to participate fully
in this proceeding (including receiving copies of all submissions)
must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by filling
out the online form, or by writing to the Secretary General, CRTC,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, or by faxing at: (819) 994-0218 by 30
June 2006 (the registration date). They are to indicate in the
notice their email address, where available. If parties do not have
access to the Internet, they are to indicate in their notice whether
they wish to receive disk versions of hard-copy filings. |
9. |
The Commission will issue on its website,
as soon as possible after the registration date, a complete list of
parties and their mailing addresses (including their email addresses,
if available), identifying those parties who wish to receive disk
versions. |
10. |
Any party who wishes merely to file written
comments, without receiving copies of the various submissions,
may do so by writing to the Commission by 7 July 2006 at the
address or fax number noted above or by filling out the online form. |
11. |
The Commission will not formally
acknowledge comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments
and they will form part of the public record of the proceeding. |
12. |
Parties may file comments with the
Commission on any matter within the scope of this proceeding, serving
copies on all other parties, by 28 July 2006. Parties are to
include with their comments any evidence they consider necessary to
support their arguments. This includes any research studies or other
material that parties wish to refer to in this proceeding. |
13. |
Parties may address interrogatories to
any party that filed comments pursuant to paragraph 12. Any such
interrogatories must be filed with the Commission and served on the
relevant party or parties by 18 August 2006. It is expected
that the Commission will also address interrogatories at the same
time. |
14. |
Interrogatory responses are to be filed
with the Commission and served on all parties by 8 September 2006. |
15. |
Requests by parties for further responses
to their interrogatories, specifying in each case why a further
response is both relevant and necessary, and requests for public
disclosure of information for which confidentiality has been claimed,
setting out in each case the reasons for disclosure, must be filed
with the Commission and served on the relevant party or parties by
15 September 2006. |
16. |
Written responses to requests for further
responses to interrogatories and for public disclosure must be filed
with the Commission and served on the party or parties making the
request by 22 September 2006. |
17. |
Determinations with respect to requests
for further information and for public disclosure will be issued as
soon as possible. Any information to be provided pursuant to that
determination must be filed with the Commission and served on all
parties, by 6 October 2006. |
18. |
All parties may file final comments with
the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties, by 18 October
2006. |
19. |
All parties may file reply comments with
the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties, by 1 November
2006. |
20. |
The Commission expects to issue a
decision on the issues raised in this Public Notice within 150 days
after the record closes. |
21. |
Where a document is to be filed or served
by a specific date, the document must be actually received, not merely
sent, by that date. |
22. |
Parties may file their submissions
electronically or on paper. Submissions longer than five pages should
include a summary. |
23. |
Electronic submissions should be in HTML
format. As an alternative, those making submissions may use "Microsoft
Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for spreadsheets. |
24. |
Each paragraph of all submissions should
be numbered. In addition, the line ***End of document*** should be
entered following the last paragraph. This will help the Commission
verify that the document has not been damaged during electronic
transmission. |
25. |
The Commission also encourages parties to
monitor the record of this proceeding (and/or the Commission's
website) for additional information that they may find useful when
preparing their submissions. |
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Important notice
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26. |
Note that all information that you
provide as part of this public process, except information granted
confidentiality, whether sent by postal mail, facsimile, email or
through the Commission's website at www.crtc.gc.ca, becomes part of a
publicly accessible file and will be posted on the Commission's
website. This information includes your personal information, such as
your full name, email address, postal/street address, telephone and
facsimile number(s), and any other personal information you provide. |
27. |
Documents received electronically or
otherwise will be posted on the Commission's website in their entirety
exactly as you send them, including any personal information contained
therein, in the official language and format in which they are
received. Documents not received electronically will be available in
PDF format. |
28. |
The personal information you provide will
be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information
was obtained or compiled by the Commission, or for a use consistent
with that purpose. |
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Location of CRTC offices
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29. |
Submissions may be examined or will be
made available promptly upon request at the Commission offices during
normal business hours: |
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Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage, Room 206
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4B1
Tel: (819) 997-2429
Toll free: 1-877-249-2782
TDD: 1-877-909-2782
Fax: (819) 994-0218 |
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Metropolitan Place
99 Wyse Road, Suite 1410
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3A 4S5
Tel: (902) 426-7997
Fax: (902) 426-2721 |
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205 Viger Avenue West, Suite 504
Montréal, Quebec H2Z 1G2
Tel: (514) 283-6607 |
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55 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M2
Tel: (416) 952-9096 |
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Kensington Building
275 Portage Avenue, Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B3
Tel: (204) 983-6306 - TDD: 983-8274
Fax: (204) 983-6317 |
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Cornwall Professional Building
2125 - 11th Avenue, Suite 103
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3X3
Tel: (306) 780-3422 |
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10405 Jasper Avenue, Suite 520
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3N4
Tel: (780) 495-3224 |
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580 Hornby Street, Suite 530
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3B6
Tel: (604) 666-2111 - TDD: 666-0778
Fax: (604) 666-8322 |
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Secretary General |
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This document is available in alternative
format upon request, and may also be examined in PDF
format or in HTML at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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