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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2008-9 |
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Ottawa, 11 June 2008 |
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Notice of consultation |
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Call for comments on TELUS Communications Company's proposed relief from requirements for the expansion of local calling area regulatory framework |
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Reference: 8663-C12-200808082 and 8663-T66-200804288 |
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Introduction |
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The Commission received an application by TELUS Communications Company (TCC), dated 19 March 2008, requesting that the Commission make a determination that the expanded local calling area (LCA) regulatory framework established in Telecom Decision 2002-56 (LCA regulatory framework) should not apply in communities of interest that include at least one local exchange that has been forborne from regulation of local exchange services. |
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TCC argued that, due to current competitive market forces and recent developments in telephony options, customers in communities with forborne local exchanges have the ability to select their LCA. In addition, TCC claimed that the foregone toll compensation mechanism for expanded LCAs, established in Telecom Decision 2002-56, was unworkable and interfered with competitive market forces beyond the minimum extent necessary. |
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TCC submitted that the expanded LCA regulatory framework was inconsistent with the Order Issuing a Direction to the CRTC on Implementing the Canadian Telecommunications Policy Objectives, P.C. 2006-1534, 14 December 2006 (the Policy Direction) in that it did not allow for maximum reliance on market forces, it constituted regulation that was not efficient nor proportionate to its purpose, and it interfered with competitive market forces beyond the minimum extent. |
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Background |
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In the Policy Direction, the Governor in Council requires the Commission to, among other things, rely on market forces to the maximum extent feasible as the means of achieving the telecommunications policy objectives set out in section 7 of the Telecommunications Act and when relying on regulation, use measures that are efficient and proportionate to their purpose and that interfere with the operation of competitive market forces to the minimum extent necessary to meet those objectives. |
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The Governor in Council also stated that the Commission, in order to enable it to act in a more efficient, informed, and timely manner, should adopt practices that are as minimally intrusive and as minimally onerous as possible, and should continue to explore and implement new approaches for streamlining its processes. |
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Call for comments |
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The Commission invites parties to comment on |
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(1) the continued appropriateness, in light of the Policy Direction, of the expanded LCA regulatory framework; and
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(2) whether and how the expanded LCA regulatory framework, if it is appropriate to retain it, should be modified to take into consideration the fact that local residential and business services have been forborne in many exchanges, including TCC's proposal that the expanded LCA regulatory framework should not apply in communities of interest that include at least one local exchange that has been forborne from regulation of local exchange services.
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7. |
The Attachment sets out an interrogatory addressed to the large incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) with regard to pending requests for expanded LCAs and associated forborne exchanges. The large ILECs are to respond to this interrogatory in accordance with the applicable procedures set out below. |
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Procedure |
8. |
TCC, as well as the remaining large ILECs, namely Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership; Bell Canada; MTS Allstream Inc.; Saskatchewan Telecommunications; and Télébec, Limited Partnership, are made parties to this proceeding. |
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Parties interested in participating 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 to: 819-994-0218 by 11 July 2008 (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. |
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The Commission will post 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. |
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Responses to interrogatories issued pursuant to paragraph 7 above are to be filed with the Commission and served on all parties by 11 July 2008. |
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Any party 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 11 August 2008 at the address or fax number noted above, or by filling out the online form. |
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All parties may file with the Commission, serving copies on all other parties, comments with regard to the above-noted issues by 11 August 2008. |
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All parties may file with the Commission, serving copies on all other parties, reply comments by 21 August 2008. |
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The Commission expects to issue a decision on the issues raised in this Public Notice within 120 days after the record closes. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Parties may file their submissions electronically or on paper. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary. |
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Electronic submissions should be in HTML format. As an alternative, those making submissions may use "Microsoft Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for spreadsheets. |
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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. |
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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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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. |
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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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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. |
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Please note that the information you provide to the Commission as part of this public process is entered into an unsearchable database dedicated to this specific public process. This database is accessible only from the webpage of this particular public process. As a result, a general search of our website with the help of either our own search engine or a third-party search engine will not provide access to the information which was provided as part of this public process. |
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Location of CRTC offices |
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Submissions may be examined or will be made available promptly upon request at the Commission offices during normal business hours: |
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Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
Toll-free TDD: 1-877-909-2782 |
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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
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: 204-983-8274
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: 604-666-0778
Fax: 604-666-8322 |
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Secretary General |
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Related document |
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- Framework for the expansion of local calling areas, Telecom Decision CRTC 2002-56, 12 September 2002
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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: www.crtc.gc.ca |
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Attachment |