Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering: CSCN Mandate

Section 46.1 of the Telecommunications Act grants the CRTC the authority to administer numbering resources in Canada . The Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN) addresses numbering issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the CRTC. Numbering resources allocated to Canada are national public resources managed under numbering guidelines developed or adopted by the CSCN, and approved or mandated by the CRTC. The mandate of the CSCN is defined in the CISC Administrative Guidelines and associated CSCN Adjunct. In general, the CSCN mandate is to undertake tasks related to numbering issues that fall within the scope of the CRTC jurisdiction. Such tasks include:

a) developing number planning and implementation strategies for the Canadian telecommunications industry;

b) ensuring that numbering resources are always available for Canadian telecommunications service providers and customers;

c) ensuring that the administration of numbering resources does not confer an undue advantage upon any entity nor inhibit the timely introduction of new telecommunications services or competition in these services in Canada;

d) ensuring the efficient, effective and equitable administration and use of numbering resources in Canada;

e) providing input on Canadian numbering policies to the CRTC, on request, via the CISC process;

f) promoting CISC agreed positions on numbering issues in North American telecommunications industry fora; and,

g) recommending to the CRTC, via the CISC process, acquisition of numbering resources for the Canadian telecommunications industry.