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Telecom Public Notice
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Ottawa, 11 October 1989
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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 1989-48
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ACCESS STUDIES: PRELIMINARY TERMS OF REFERENCE
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In Bell Canada and British Columbia Telephone Company - Phase III Manuals: Compliance with CRTC Telecom Public Notice 1986-54 and Telecom Order CRTC 86-516, Telecom Decision CRTC 88-7, 6 July 1988 (Decision 88-7), the Commission concluded that there was a need for detailed information concerning the costs associated with the access arrangements provided by Bell Canada (Bell) and British Columbia Telephone Company (B.C. Tel). Decision 88-7 indicated that, in order to acquire this information, it would be necessary to develop the capability to disaggregate Phase III Access category costs into subcategories representing specific types of service and specific groups of users. Development of this capability is warranted because of the growing need for the recognition of costs in the setting of rates, including the possibility of distinctive rates for access arrangements.
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Decision 88-7 also announced the Commission's intention to establish terms of reference for studies that would provide relevant breakdowns of the Phase III Access category costs. To commence the establishement of these terms of reference, meetings were held between Commission staff and representatives of Bell and B.C. Tel. The preliminary terms of reference resulting from these meetings, which are set out below, take the form of preliminary study guidelines, preliminary study objectives and questions relating to definitional and process issues.
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Using the preliminary terms of reference as a starting point, the Commission hereby announces a proceeding to determine the final terms of reference for the access studies to be undertaken by Bell and B.C. Tel.
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A. Preliminary Study Guidelines
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The development and documentation of the information systems and methods pertinent to the companies' respective studies should be governed by certain guidelines. The Commission invites comments with respect to the following study guidelines.
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1. The study approach may extend or alter the definition of access used for Phase III purposes because that definition, for particular customer classes, may capture only a subset of the required access facilities.
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2. The information systems and study methods shall be designed to identify both economic and embedded costs associated with the provision and maintenance of access arrangements.
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3. The information systems and study methods shall have sufficient flexibility to address questions, both now and in the future, concerning the physical characteristics and costs of the company's access arrangements.
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4. To the extent that any additional study methods to identify economic costs are required, those methods shall complement and be consistent with existing Phase II economic study methods.
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5. The information systems and study methods shall be designed and maintained in a manner that permits the production of study results on a periodic basis.
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B. Preliminary Study Objectives
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The companies' respective studies should be directed towards the fulfilment of certain objectives. The Commission invites comments on the following study objectives.
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1. To enhance the information systems that identify the physical characteristics (e.g. technology employed, band width, geography/topography, length and density of loops) of the company's access arrangements.
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2. To document how the study's information systems can be employed to identify the economic costs of the company's access arrangements by class of customer (e.g., residential/ business, urban/rural) and by type of service (e.g., public switched telephone network/dedicated/facilities leased by competitors).
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3. To develop, document and employ study methods that identify, for access subcategories specified by the Commission, the embedded costs associated with the provision and maintenance of access arrangements.
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4. To provide a basis for a comparative analysis of the relative values and the factors that contribute to differences in economic versus embedded costs, particularly for the specified access subcategories.
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5. To provide a basis for assessment of the cost impact of deploying new technologies for access arrangements.
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6. To develop information systems that can be used, in conjunction with Phase II study methods, as a basis for the ongoing development and rationalization of cost-related rates for those access arrangements required by subscribers to the company's competitive network services and by other service providers.
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7. To provide a basis for the identification of stranded investment (e.g. resulting from developments in technology or changes in market structure).
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C. Definitional and Process Questions
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The Commission also invites comments in the form of answers to the following questions.
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1. With reference to objective 3 in section B above, what access subcategories should be specified?
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2. With reference to objective 3 in section B above, what general approach should be adopted as the basis for the study methods required to identify embedded costs for the access subcategories?
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3. Taking into account the preliminary objectives, how many months will be required, once final terms of reference are announced, to complete the development of the necessary information systems and study methods and submit to the Commission documentation of these methods together with initial embedded cost results for the specified access subcategories?
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4. Whether a procedure to monitor each carrier's study efforts (i.e., provision for periodic progress reports and the means to resolve implementation questions) is desirable and, if so, what procedure should be adopted?
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PROCEDURE
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(1) Bell and B.C. Tel are made parties to this proceeding.
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(2) Others wishing to participate in this proceeding (interveners) must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by writing to the Secretary General by 9 November 1989. The Commission will issue a complete list of parties and their mailing addresses.
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(3) Bell and B.C. Tel are each to file with the Commission responses to the questions posed in section C, along with comments on the preliminary study guidelines and objectives, by 24 November 1989. Bell and B.C. Tel are to serve copies of their submissions on each other and on interveners by the same date.
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(4) Interveners may file comments on the preliminary terms of reference and on the carriers' submissions, serving copies on Bell, B.C. Tel and each other by 27 December 1989.
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(5) Bell and B.C. Tel may file replies, serving copies on each other and on interveners, by 25 January 1990.
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(6) Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, not merely mailed, by that date.
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(7) The address to be used in connection with notification to participate in this proceeding is:
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Mr. Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
CRTC
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N2
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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