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Telecom Public Notice
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Ottawa, 15 August 1984
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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 1984-41
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TARIFFS FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION PROGRAM TRANSMISSION CHANNELS AND APPLICATION TO REVIEW AND VARY PART OF TELECOM DECISION CRTC 81-13
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In Bell Canada, British Columbia Telephone Company and Telesat Canada: Increases and Decreases in Rates for Services and Facilities Furnished on a Canada-Wide Basis by Members of the TransCanada Telephone System, and Related Matters, Telecom Decision CRTC 81-13, 7 July 1981 (Decision 81-13), at page 157, the Commission directed Bell Canada (Bell) and British Columbia Telephone Company (B.C. Tel) to file general tariffs for interprovincial radio and television program transmission channels.
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In response to this directive Bell and B.C. Tel filed tariffs for interprovincial occasional use channels, which were approved by the Commission.
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In a letter dated 25 February 1982, the Commission directed Bell to file tariffs for full-time inter-provincial channels in addition to the approved occasional use channel tariffs.
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In a response dated 15 April 1982, Bell stated:
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"... if the Commission considers that Bell Canada's tariff filing has not met the requirements of
its directive at page 157 of Telecom Decision 81-13, the Company is requesting the
Commission to reconsider its order and to make such modifications as the Commission may
deem appropriate."
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In support of its request for reconsideration, Bell submitted that there was substantial doubt as to the correctness of Decision 81-13. Bell also requested that the Commission regard its letter of 15 April 1982 as an application under section 63 of the National Transportation Act in the event that such an approach was deemed necessary. In a letter dated 23 April 1982, B.C. Tel supported Bell's position.
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In a letter dated 10 January 1983, the Commission advised Bell that its occasional use tariffs did not fully comply with the requirements of Decision 81-13. The Commission further stated:
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"Before making a determination on the Company's request for reconsideration, the Commission
considers it useful to obtain certain additional information from the Company in light of the
points raised in your letter of 15 April 1982. The relevant information requests are set out in an
attachment to this letter. In addition to information on inter-Company channels, the Commission
also considers it appropriate to examine the Company's use of the Special Facility Tariff for
channels provided on a intra-Company basis."
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A similar letter was sent to B.C. Tel on 17 January 1983.
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Most of the material supplied by Bell and B.C. Tel in their responses was subject to claims of confidentiality. Based on the additional information provided by Bell and B.C. Tel, the Commission has decided to review Decision 81-13 and has requested Bell and B.C. Tel to provide abridged versions of their responses for the public record.
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The Commission also requested information relating to radio and television program transmission channels from each of the other federally regulated terrestrial telecommunications common carriers.
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In the Commission's view, the current practice of using special tariffs for radio and television program transmission services gives rise to the potential for undue discrimination among different customers requiring similar services, caused by the aggregate nature of such tariffs and by the widely varying levels of profitability among them. In addition, since Bell has a general tariff for full-time radio program transmission service but uses it only for short-term applications, there is potential for undue discrimination between general tariff and special tariff customers for similar services. Further, because special tariffs are often exempted from general rate increases, there is a risk that subscribers to other services may be cross-subsidizing special tariff customers.
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A further important consideration relating to the use of special tariffs is the position taken by the Commission in CNCP Telecommunications, General Increase in Rates, Telecom Decision CRTC 81-26, 16 December 1981 and subsequently in CNCP Telecommunications - Special Tariffs Covering the Provision of Interconnected Private Line Voice Services, Telecom Decision CRTC 82-9, 29 September 1982. As a result of these decisions, the Commission has determined that fixed-price fixed-term contracts such as those covered by special tariffs are appropriate for transmission services only when the facilities used to provide them are not commercially and economically reusable at the end of a contract period.
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The Commission notes that in response to its questions on the subject of reuse, the opinions of the carriers varied as to the fungibility of the components used to provide radio and television program transmission services.
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Having reviewed the material supplied by the carriers, the Commission proposes a course of action which would, in part, constitute an alteration of Decision 81-13.
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Based on the information before it the Commission has been persuaded that, for radio program transmission services, inter-provincial channels are not essentially different from long-haul inter-exchange channels offered on an intra-provincial basis and that the market for these services is sufficiently large, and the facilities used are sufficiently fungible, to warrant the use of general tariffs. The Commission therefore proposes that general tariffs should cover local and inter-exchange applications as well as the inter-provincial applications referred to in Decision 81-13. In short, the Commission proposes that full-time radio program transmission channels covering all distances should be available under general tariffs and invites comments from interested parties on this proposal.
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Further, the Commission invites comments on how the terms and conditions contained in existing radio program transmission service tariffs might be improved. As an example, comments are invited on whether channel conditioning up to 15 KHz might be an appropriate addition to the present tariffs.
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With regard to television program transmission services, the Commission notes that the broadcast quality television channels currently included in the general tariffs of the federally-regulated carriers are available on an occasional-use basis only.
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The evidence provided by Bell suggests that there may be a lesser degree of fungibility associated with certain components of television channels than is the case with radio channels. In addition, the small size of the television program transmission service market, in particular the inter-provincial market, may warrant alteration of Decision 81-13. The Commission proposes that special facilities tariffs continue to apply to those components of television program transmission services which can be demonstrated to be non-fungible.
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For the same reasons that apply in the case of radio program transmission services, the Commission is of the view that there is little to distinguish inter-provincial from long-haul inter-exchange television program transmission facilities and that similar tariff treatment should be accorded to each. Having considered the evidence available to it, the Commission proposes that general tariffs be applied to the transmission facility components of television program transmission services, including intra-company and inter-provincial facilities.
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The Commission invites comments on its proposals regarding the use of general and special tariffs for television program transmission services and in particular invites interested parties to consider what fungibility criteria might be applied in determining which components should be covered by special tariffs.
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Since 7 January 1983, the Commission has been granting interim approval to special tariffs covering radio or television program transmission services where the rates proposed are compensatory, and will continue to do so until the issues raised in this public notice have been resolved.
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The application and relevant documentation may be examined at the CRTC, Room 561, Central Building, Les Terrasses de la Chaudière, 1 Promenade du Portage, Hull, Quebec or at the following regional offices: Room 428, 4th Floor, Barrington Tower, Scotia Square, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Complex Guy Favreau, East Tower, 200 Dorchester Blvd. West, 6th Floor, Montreal, Quebec; Kensington Building, 275 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba; Suite 1130, 700 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.
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If you wish to comment on the matters raised in this public notice, please write to Mr. Fernand Bélisle, Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, by 17 September 1984. A copy of your letter should be sent to Mr. E.E. Saunders, Q.C., c/o Mr. Peter J. Knowlton, Assistant General Counsel, Bell Canada, 25 Eddy Street, 4th Floor, Hull, Quebec, J8Y 6N4, or to Mr. K.D.A. Morrison, Secretary, British Columbia Telephone Company, 3777 Kingsway, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5H 3Z7, or to Mr. A.G. Duncan, Director, Regulatory Matters - General, CNCP Telecommunications, Suite 1907, West Tower, 3300 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M8X 2W9, or to Mr. J.M. Williamson, Director Marketing, NorthwesTel Inc., 301 Lambert Street, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Y1A 4Y4, or to Mr. B.A. Fulcher, Director Marketing, Terra Nova Telecommunications Inc., 3 Terra Nova Drive, Gander, Newfoundland, A1V 2K6, as appropriate.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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