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Ottawa, 30 December 1993
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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 93-70
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ACCESS TO BILLING AND COLLECTION SERVICES AND RELATED DATABASES BY RESELLERS WITH TRUNK-SIDE ACCESS
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I BACKGROUND
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In Competition in the Provision of Public Long Distance Voice Telephone Services and Related Resale and Sharing Issues, Telecom Decision CRTC 92-12, 12 June 1992, the Commission set out conditions governing both line-side and trunk-side access to the public switched telephone networks (PSTNs) of Bell Canada (Bell), BC TEL, The Island Telephone Company Limited (Island Tel), Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company Limited (MT&T), The New Brunswick Telephone Company Limited (NBTel) and Newfoundland Telephone Company Limited (Newfoundland Tel). The Commission ordered these telephone companies to provide Unitel Communications Inc. (Unitel) and future interexchange carriers (IXCs) with trunk-side access subject to certain conditions, and observed that the nature of resellers' operations had been to obtain line-side access interconnection.
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Some of the terms and conditions established in Decision 92-12 for the provision of trunk-side access to IXCs are based on the entrant being subject to the Commission's jurisdiction and, thus, subject to the requirement to file tariffs. For example, in order to protect consumers, an IXC obtaining trunk-side access must have an approved operator services tariff before it can connect pay telephones or obtain access to billing and collection services or related databases. The entrant must also have an approved general tariff item to protect the confidentiality of subscriber information.
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In Trunk-side Access By Resellers to the Public Switched Telephone Network, Telecom Decision CRTC 93-8, 23 July 1993 (Decision 93-8), the Commission granted resellers trunk-side access to the PSTNs of the above-noted telephone companies. In Decision 93-8, the Commission stated that certain of the safeguards established in Decision 92-12 should apply to resellers obtaining trunk-side access. In anticipation of the coming into force of the Telecommunications Act, the Commission stated that no service provider whose rates were not subject to regulation should be permitted to connect pay telephones. Further, mechanisms to take the place of tariff provisions would have to be developed before unregulated service providers could be granted access to billing and collection services and related databases. The Commission indicated that it would seek comment on the form those mechanisms might take.
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In Exemption of Resellers from Regulation, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 93-62, 4 October 1993, the Commission stated its view that resellers would not be subject to the provisions of the Telecommunications Act applicable to "Canadian carriers", including the requirement to file tariffs for prior Commission approval. The Commission stated that, as of 25 October 1993, the effective date of the new Act, resellers would not be required, among other things, to file tariffs for the Commission's approval; further, any reseller tariffs approved prior to 25 October would cease to have effect on that date.
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In AGT Limited - Interconnection of Interexchange Carriers and Related Resale and Sharing Issues, Telecom Decision CRTC 93-17, 29 October 1993, the Commission permitted the interconnection of interexchange carriers to the PSTN of AGT Limited (AGT) and the resale and sharing of AGT's telecommunications services. In that Decision, the Commission also granted trunk-side access to resellers, reiterating the views set out in Decision 93-8 regarding access by such resellers to billing and collection services and related databases.
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II ISSUES
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In light of the above, the Commission seeks comment on issues related to the following:
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(1) whether, and under what terms and conditions, if any, the telephone companies should provide the billing and collection services contemplated by Decision 92-12 to resellers with trunk-side access;
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(2) the extent of the database access required by resellers with trunk-side access; and
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(3) the appropriate safeguards, such as licence or non-disclosure agreements, for governing access to databases, and, in particular, any provisions that may be required in order to protect the confidentiality of customer information.
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III PROCEDURE
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1. AGT, Bell, BC TEL, Island Tel, MT&T, NB Tel and Newfoundland Tel (the telephone companies) are made parties to this proceeding.
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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
Fax: 819-953-0795
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Mr. James H. Pratt
Vice President
Regulatory Affairs
AGT Limited
31st Floor, 10020 - 100 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 0N5
Fax: 403-493-6577
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Ms. Sandra Hertz
Director
Regulatory Matters
BC TEL
18th Floor
3777 Kingsway
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5H 3Z7
Fax: 604-430-9653
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Mr. B.A. Courtois
Vice-President
Corporate and Legal Affairs
Bell Canada
105 Hôtel-de-Ville Street
6th Floor
Hull, Quebec
J8X 4H7
Fax: 819-778-3437
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Mr. F.D. Morash
President, Chief Operating Officer
The Island Telephone Company Limited
69 Belvedere Avenue
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
C1A 7M1
Fax: 902-566-4665
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Ms. Wendy J. Paquette
Regulatory & Government Relations Manager
Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company Limited
P.O. Box 880, Station M
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 2W3
Fax: 902-421-1538
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Mr. Steve J. Palmer
Manager
Pricing and Regulatory Matters
The New Brunswick Telephone Company Limited
One Brunswick Square (BS19)
P.O. Box 1430
Saint John, New Brunswick
E2L 4K2
Fax: 506-694-2473
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Mr. Donald R. Tarrant
General Manager
Regulatory Matters
Newfoundland Telephone Company Limited
Fort William Building
P.O. Box 2110
St. John's, Newfoundland
A1C 5H6
Fax: 709-739-3122
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3. Persons wishing to file comments in this proceeding (interveners) may do so by writing to the Commission, serving copies on the telephone companies, by 27 January 1994.
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4. The telephone companies may file reply comments with the Commission, serving copies on each other and on interveners, by 10 February 1994.
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5. 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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