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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-8
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Ottawa, 9 June 2006 |
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Rate ranges for services other than voice over Internet protocol
services
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Reference: 8661-C12-200606965,
Bell Canada Tariff Notices 6946
and 6947, SaskTel Tariff Notice
107 |
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In this Public Notice, the Commission
initiates a proceeding and invites comments on establishing guidelines
for dealing with applications requesting approval of rate ranges for
services other than voice over Internet protocol services. |
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Background
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1. |
The Commission notes that ranges of rates
are allowed under section 25 of the Telecommunications Act (the
Act). Specifically, subsection 25(1) of the Act states that no
Canadian carrier shall provide a telecommunications service except in
accordance with a tariff filed with and approved by the Commission
that specifies the rate or the maximum or minimum rate, or both, to be
charged for the service. |
2. |
The Commission has recently approved ranges
of rates for a number of services: Bell Canada's Bell Digital
Voice Lite, Bell Digital Voice, and Bell Business IP [Internet protocol]
Voice; and Saskatchewan Telecommunications' (SaskTel) SaskTel Centrex
IP and WebCall. The Commission notes that these are all voice over
Internet protocol (VoIP) services as defined in Regulatory framework
for voice communication services using Internet Protocol, Telecom
Decision CRTC 2005-28,
12 May 2005, as amended by Telecom Decision CRTC 2005-28-1,
30 June 2005. |
3. |
The Commission has received three
applications requesting approval of minimum and maximum rates for
certain services other than VoIP services. The three applications are: |
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i) SaskTel Tariff Notice 107 (TN 107), an ex parte
application, dated 29 March 2006;
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ii) Bell Canada Tariff Notice 6946 (TN 6946), dated 9 May 2006,
in which Bell Canada proposed the addition of item 106 – Accelerated
Delivery Interval – Market Trial to its General Tariff (GT); and
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iii) Bell Canada Tariff Notice 6947 (TN 6947), dated 11 May 2006,
in which Bell Canada proposed revisions to item 2180 – PrimeLine
Executive service of its GT.
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4. |
In the Commission's view, there is a need
to set clear guidelines regarding the use of rate ranges in order to
provide greater clarity and regulatory certainty to the industry, and
to assist the Commission in dealing with applications involving rate
ranges for services other than VoIP services in a timely fashion. The
Commission is of the view that the use of rate ranges by the incumbent
local exchange carriers would afford them greater flexibility to
respond to competitive situations. |
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Call for comments
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5. |
With this Public Notice, the Commission
initiates a proceeding to consider the establishment of appropriate
guidelines for the filing of applications involving rate ranges for
services other than VoIP services. The Commission invites parties to
comment on the services or groups of services for which, and the
circumstances under which, rate ranges would be appropriate, and on
any other regulatory issues related to rate ranges. |
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Disposition of SaskTel's and Bell Canada's Tariff Notices
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6. |
Coincident with the release of this
Public Notice, the Commission is disposing, on an interim basis, of
SaskTel TN 107 and Bell Canada TN 6946. The Commission is deferring
consideration of Bell Canada TN 6947. Final disposition of the
applications related to SaskTel TN 107 and Bell Canada TN 6947 will
occur when the decision resulting from this Public Notice is issued. |
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Procedure
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7. |
Bell Canada, Aliant Telecom Inc., MTS
Allstream Inc., SaskTel, Société en commandite Télébec, and TELUS
Communications Company 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 on-line form, or by writing to the Secretary General, CRTC,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, or by faxing at: (819) 994-0218 by 23
June 2006 (the registration date). Parties are to provide 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
interested parties and their mailing addresses (including their email
addresses, if available), identifying those parties who wish to
receive disk versions. |
10. |
Any person who wishes merely to file written
comments in this proceeding, without receiving copies of the various
submissions, may do so by writing to the Commission by 30 June
2006 at the address or fax number noted above or by filling out
the on-line 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. |
All parties may file with the Commission
their comments on any matter within the scope of this proceeding,
serving copies on all other parties, by 14 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. |
All parties may file reply comments with
the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties, by
28 July 2006. |
14. |
The Commission expects to issue a
decision within 120 days after the record closes. |
15. |
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. |
16. |
Parties can file their submissions
electronically or on paper. Submissions longer than five pages should
include a summary. |
17. |
Electronic submissions should be in HTML
format. As an alternative, those making submissions may use "Microsoft
Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for spreadsheets. |
18. |
Each paragraph of all submissions should
be numbered. In addition, please enter the line ***End of document***
following the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify
that the document has not been damaged during transmission. |
19. |
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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20. |
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. |
21. |
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. |
22. |
The personal information you provide will
be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which this
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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23. |
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 |