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Telecom Public Notice
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Ottawa, 3 April 1992
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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 92-19
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BRITISH COLUMBIA TELEPHONE COMPANY - TRANSFER OF INSIDE
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WIRE TO PREMISES OWNERSReference: Tariff Notice 2563
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The Commission has received an application from British Columbia Telephone Company (B.C. Tel), dated 14 February 1992, proposing tariff revisions providing for:
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(1) the transfer of ownership of existing single-line business and residence inside wire to premises owners,
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(2) premises owners, at their option, obtaining single-line inside wire from B.C. Tel or from other suppliers,
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(3) single-line inside wire installation rates that reflect associated costs, and
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(4) the introduction of Line Guard, an optional maintenance plan for single-line inside wire.
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B.C. Tel also proposes to transfer ownership of two-party and multi-party inside wire to premises owners, but would continue to maintain such inside wire until terminal attachment for two-party and multi-party service is permitted.
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Under the proposed tariff revisions, B.C. Tel would transfer in-place single-line inside wire beyond its demarcation point to customers free of charge, effective 1 July 1993. Coincident with the transfer date, it would begin to write down the net book value of single-line inside wire. B.C. Tel states that it wishes to complete this process as soon as possible within nine years, and asks that it be permitted to specify the amount to be amortized in any given year. As well, the company proposes to expense all future costs of installing inside wire.
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B.C. Tel stated that, with this application, it seeks to eliminate anomalies in the single-line inside wire market. It stated that there are increasing numbers of residences in which non-B.C. Tel inside wire has been installed, for example, in the course of renovations or because the house has been constructed with inside wire included. B.C. Tel also submitted that alarm and security companies wish to be able to install inside wire and that these companies contend that the current requirement to rely on B.C. Tel increases their costs and decreases their efficiency. B.C. Tel stated that, under such conditions, it must either install its own wire, causing greater expense to the customer, or accept the non-B.C. Tel wire, thus putting itself in the position of not complying with its own tariffs. B.C. Tel submitted that, if customer placement of inside wire is to be permitted, it should be accompanied by customer ownership.
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B.C. Tel submitted that its proposed approach is not new, and that Alberta, Saskatchewan and virtually all of the fifty United States permit customer ownership and competitive supply and maintenance of inside wire.
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B.C. Tel proposes to offer its Line Guard maintenance plan to any eligible customer, whether or not the inside wire is supplied to that customer by B.C. Tel. However, certain classes of customers would not be eligible for Line Guard, such as those in recreational vehicles, marine premises and hazardous locations.
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B.C. Tel submitted that approval of its proposals would reduce its costs and enable it to increase its revenues significantly. It noted that the projected net present value of its proposals is $140 million over the ten-year period of its economic study.
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B.C. Tel has requested approval by 1 September 1992, effective 1 July 1993 or ten months after the approval date.
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In support of its application, B.C. Tel has submitted economic information for which it has claimed confidentiality. An abridged version of this information has been provided for the public record.
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Procedure
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1. B.C. Tel's application may be examined at any of its business offices or at the offices of the CRTC, Room 201, Central Building, Les Terrasses de la Chaudière, 1 Promenade du Portage, Hull, Quebec, or Suite 1380, 800 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia. A copy of the application may be obtained by any interested person upon request directed to the company at the address shown below.
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2. The mailing addresses to be used in connection with this proceeding are:
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Mr. Allan J. Darling,
Secretary General,
CRTC,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N2
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Ms. Dorothy E. Byrne,
Vice-President,
Legal and Corporate Affairs,
British Columbia Telephone Company
21-3777 Kingsway
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5H 3Z7
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3. Persons wishing to participate in this proceeding (interveners) must file a notice of intention to participate with the Commission by 4 May 1992. A copy of that notice is to be service on B.C. Tel by the same date.
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4. The Commission will address interrogatories to B.C. Tel by 4 May 1992. Interveners also may address interrogatories to the company. Any such interrogatories are to be filed with the Commission and served on B.C. Tel by 4 May 1992.
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5. B.C. Tel is to file responses to all interrogatories, serving copies on the interveners, by 25 May 1992.
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6. Interveners may file comments with the Commission, serving a copy on B.C. Tel, by 15 June 1992.
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7. B.C. Tel may file a reply to any comments, serving copies on the interveners, by 25 June 1992.
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8. 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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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General
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