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Telecom Public Notice
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Ottawa, 26 November 1991
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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 1991-85
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BRITISH COLUMBIA TELEPHONE COMPANY - 1992 CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM REVIEW
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The Commission announces that it will conduct a review of the construction program (CPR) of British Columbia Telephone Company (B.C. Tel). This review will be conducted in accordance with the established procedure for B.C. Tel CPRs.
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I PRELIMINARY MEETING
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In British Columbia Telephone Company - 1990 Construction Program Review, Telecom Decision CRTC 91-7, 28 May 1991 (Decision 91-7), the Commission directed B.C. Tel to provide, at the preliminary meeting of the 1992 CPR, a presentation on its policy and long-term plans for fibre optic facilities, including the installation of fibre in the access network. The Commission also established a process to review fibre utilization measurements under study by the company. Pursuant to Decision 91-7, B.C. Tel submitted a report and interested parties filed comments. Subsequently, in a letter to the company and the parties dated 5 September 1991, the Commission stated, among other things, that it expected B.C. Tel to continue to review the feasibility of developing appropriate measures and that it would review the company's progress in the 1992 CPR.
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In Decision 91-7, the Commission stated that, in light of concerns expressed about the adequacy of the CPR process and the incorporation of a revised CPR reporting format, it would provide an opportunity to discuss further the adequacy of the process at the preliminary meeting of the 1992 CPR. The Commission also stated that it would invite parties to submit specific suggestions or comments in written form, prior to the CPR meeting, and that it would develop a procedure to facilitate discussion and review of this issue. The procedure to be followed is included in the schedule for the 1992 CPR outlined in this Public Notice. The Commission will allocate time at the preliminary meeting for discussion of the CPR process.
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By letter dated 1 October 1991, the Commission directed B.C. Tel to continue to explore options other than the Service Extension Program (SEP), Exchange Area Radiotelephone Service (EARS) and EARS/Autotel for extending service to high cost locations. The Commission stated that certain information regarding these options should be filed with the 1991 View of the company's construction program. To assist the Commission in tracking the effectiveness of SEP, B.C. Tel was also directed to file certain information with the 1991 View. The information required is described in items (13) to (16) below.
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In Telecom Letter Decision CRTC 91-10, 4 November 1991 (Letter Decision 91-10), the Commission directed B.C. Tel to proceed with the implementation of an individual-line service (ILS) standard in rural areas over a ten-year period. The Commission stated that it wished to remain informed about the company's progress and directed B.C. Tel to file relevant information annually in the CPR.
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By letter dated 14 November 1991, B.C. Tel advised the Commission that it proposes to implement the ILS on 1 May 1992. However, B.C. Tel stated that, due to the time required to develop the implementation plan for ILS, it was unable to provide the information requested in Letter Decision 91-10 coincident with its filing for the 1992 CPR. B.C. Tel proposed filing the information by 30 April 1992.
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The Commission approves B.C. Tel's proposal to file the ILS information on 30 April 1992. The company is directed to serve a copy of its submission on all interested parties to the CPR.
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The preliminary meeting is scheduled to be held on 17 March 1992, at 9:30 a.m., in the Ramada Renaissance Hotel, 1133 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.
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II 1992 CPR
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The following schedule has been established for the 1992 review.
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(1) Persons wishing to participate in the 1992 CPR (interested parties) are to file a notice of intention to participate with the Commission, serving a copy on B.C. Tel, by 13 December 1991. The notice should indicate the names of those who will attend the review meeting. The Commission will issue a complete list of parties and their mailing addresses.
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(2) The company must file the 1991 View (1993-1997 capital plan) of its construction program with the Commission, and serve a copy on all parties who have filed a notice of intention to participate (interested parties), by 20 December 1991.
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(3) Interrogatories addressed by interested parties to B.C. Tel must be filed with the Commission and served on the company by 27 January 1992.
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(4) The company and interested parties may file with the Commission comments on the adequacy of the current CPR process, along with any suggested improvements, by 7 February 1992. Copies are to be served on all interested parties by the same date.
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(5) The company's written responses to interrogatories must be filed with the Commission and served on all interested parties by 26 February 1992.
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(6) The company and interested parties may file supplementary comments on the CPR process, serving copies on all interested parties, by 26 February 1992.
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(7) Requests by interested parties for further responses to their interrogatories, specifying in each case why a further response is both relevant and necessary, and requests for public disclosure of information for which confidentiality has been claimed, setting out the reasons for disclosure, must be filed with the Commission and served on the company by 4 March 1992.
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(8) The company's written responses to requests for further responses to interrogatories and requests for public disclosure of information must be filed with the Commission and served on all interested parties by 10 March 1992. Any materials to be used in the company's presentation on fibre provisioning must also be filed with the Commission and served on all interested parties by 10 March 1992.
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(9) All documents are to be received by the dates specified, not merely mailed by those dates.
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(10) The review meeting will be held immediately following the preliminary meeting in the Ramada Renaissance Hotel, 1133 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.
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The company is requested to provide the following information as part of, or with, the 1991 View of its construction program:
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(1) 1991 View-over-1990 View comparison of the company's forecast construction expenditures by usage categories, identifying and explaining the changes between Views attributable to:
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a) inflation,
b) accounting changes,
c) volume, and
d) other;
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(This View-over-View information is to be provided, by year, for the years common to both Views).
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(2) A year-over-year comparison based on the company's 1991 View of its construction program, by usage categories identifying and explaining the changes in expenditures attributable to:
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a) inflation,
b) accounting changes,
c) volume, and
d) other;
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(3) a comparison of the actual expenditures of the company in 1990 to the expenditures forecast by the company in its budget View of that year, by usage categories, identifying and explaining the variances in expenditures attributable to:
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a) inflation,
b) accounting changes,
c) volume, and
d) other;
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(4) updates to the company's Capital Plan Planning and Methods (September, 1990, Revision) and Planning Guidelines (October 1989 Revision) documents, as applicable;
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(5) the reasons, including any economic evaluations conducted, for each new program;
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(6) the reasons, including any economic or quality of service evaluations conducted, for the deletion of any programs since the 1990 View;
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(7) the actual and forecast improvements in efficiency and quality of service for all programs intended to provide such improvements and expected to cost over $1 million;
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(8) the actual utilization for subscriber outside plant, local switching equipment, trunk facilities and toll switching equipment for the year 1990, plus the predicted utilization for the years 1991 to 1993 inclusive;
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(9) an up-to-date version of the company's list of local and toll switches, indicating switching equipment and office types, planned conversion dates where applicable, as well as other additional information as specified in British Columbia Telephone Company - 1988 Construction Program Review, Telecom Decision CRTC 89-13, 6 November 1989, and in Decision 91-7;
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(10) a copy of the company's detailed variance report of 28 March 1991 examining, by category and program, changes from the expected 1990 expenditures identified in the 1990 CPR;
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(11) an updated view of projected 1992 expenditures in accordance with the Commission's letter of 15 February 1991;
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(12) a copy of the Commission's letter of 5 September 1991 regarding the company's evaluation report on fibre utilization measurement;
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(13) information regarding options other than SEP, EARS and EARS/Autotel, including geographic and demographic profiles of the communities involved and the estimated costs of the alternative serving arrangements;
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(14) a list of communities that have received full exchange service or EARS as part of SEP;
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(15) a list of communities to which the company has already proposed a serving option, indicating which option is proposed, the cost and the anticipated date of implementation; and
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(16) geographic and demographic profiles of communities that the company has identified as underserved that would be eligible for service under SEP, specifying possible serving options, the approximate cost and the anticipated serving date, if any.
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The addresses to be used in connection with this review are:
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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General
CRTC
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N2
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and
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CRTC
Suite 1380
800 Burrard Street
P.O. Box 1300
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G7
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and
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Mr. Robert Stuart
Director - Regulatory Matters
British Columbia Telephone Company
18-3777 Kingsway
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5H 3Z7
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Any person wishing to obtain additional information regarding the B.C. Tel - 1992 Construction Program Review may contact Mr. David Robinson of the Commission staff at (819) 997-4604.
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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General
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