Letter
Our file: 8695-C12-06/99
Ottawa, 1 December 2000
BY TELECOPIER
To: Distribution List
Re: Changes to the contribution regime, Decision CRTC 2000-745, 30 November 2000
Decision CRTC 2000-745 enunciates the ground rules for the new revenue-based contribution collection mechanism effective 1 January 2001.
The procedures for the existing central funds, for the remittance of contribution and payout of subsidies, were the result of recommendations agreed to through the
CRTC Industry Steering Committee (CISC) process. The current central fund agreements are based on a per-minute contribution collection mechanism.
The new collection mechanism will bring significant changes to
the existing contribution collection procedures. Commission staff wishes to
consult with members of the Canadian Portable Contribution Consortium Inc. (CPCC),
SaskTel, Québec-Téléphone and Télébec ltée, and expects those parties to
identify implementation issues and propose solutions for Commission
consideration. Various issues need to be addressed and resolved for a smooth
transition to the new mechanism.
Among other things, as indicated in paragraph 121 of Decision
2000-745, central funds and agreements must be established for SaskTel,
Québec-Téléphone and Télébec ltée, effective 1 January 2001, new
agreements must be negotiated to reflect additional participants and new
procedures, and procedures must be developed to report and process a
revenue-based collection mechanism.
Given the short timeline for implementing the new contribution collection mechanism, Commission staff invites SaskTel, Québec-Téléphone, Télébec ltée and the members of CPCC to attend a meeting at which Commission staff will provide overviews of the decision and the current CFA structure and to discuss various tasks that must be accomplished before the new mechanism can be fully implemented.
The meeting will be held on 15 December 2000, in the Outaouais Room of the Conference Centre, Place du Portage, Phase IV, 140 Promenade du Portage, Hull, Quebec and will commence at 9:00 a.m. and run until approximately 4:00 p.m. English and French interpretation services will be available. SaskTel, Québec-Téléphone, Télébec ltée and the members of the CPCC are requested to provide the Executive Director Telecommunications, by 8 December 2000, the names of the spokespersons who will be attending the meeting and the party on behalf of whom they will be speaking.
The purpose of the meeting is to explore implementation issues identified by Commission staff and the CPCC in their analysis of the new mechanism (an appendix is attached to this letter listing key issues). It is important that the parties affected by the new mechanism agree to the tasks and approach required. Parties should be prepared to develop a task list and assign responsibility for those tasks.
It is expected that the CPCC will extend an invitation to attend this meeting to the current Central Fund Administrator (CFA) as the revenue-based mechanism will impact his duties and responsibilities.
Yours sincerely,
Shirley Soehn
Executive Director - Telecommunications
(819) 997-4644
c.c. Mario Bertrand, CRTC (819) 997-4576
Attachment
Distribution List: SaskTel
Québec-Téléphone
Télébec
CPCC members
APPENDIX: LIST OF KEY ISSUES
RELATING TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REVENUE-BASED CONTRIBUTION MECHANISM
New Central Funds and agreements need to be created for SaskTel, Quebec Tel and Télébec for January 2001;
Procedures and methods required for collecting and remitting contribution under a revenue-based contribution mechanism must be developed for April 2001;
System and reporting requirements and reconciliation procedures reflecting the transition from the per-minute contribution collection mechanism to the revenue-based mechanism must be developed for April 2001;
Current agreements between the Local Exchange Carriers, the Canadian Portable Contribution Consortium
(CPCC) and Central Fund Administrator (CFA) will have to be modified to reflect the transition to a revenue based mechanism and each of the respective entity’s responsibilities for April 2001; and
In order to address the expansion of telecommunication service providers required to pay contribution under a revenue-based mechanism, agreements between the respective parties will have to be revisited and documented for April 2001.
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