ARCHIVED -  Telecom Public Notice CRTC 95-25

Telecom Public Notice

Ottawa, 25 May 1995

Telecom Public Notice CRTC 95-25

STENTOR - FORBEARANCE FROM REGULATION OF PACKET DATA SERVICES

I BACKGROUND

On 21 April 1995, Stentor Resource Centre Inc. (Stentor), on behalf of AGT Limited, BC TEL, Bell Canada (Bell), The Island Telephone Company Limited, Manitoba Telephone System, Maritime Tel & Tel Limited, The New Brunswick Telephone Company Limited (NB Tel) and Newfoundland Telephone Company Limited (collectively, the companies), filed an application pursuant to section 34 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act) requesting that the Commission forbear from the regulation of packet data services provided by the companies. Specifically, Stentor requested that the Commission forbear from regulating Datapac, Pospac, HyperStream, Custom Packet Network services and any future packet data services developed by the companies.

Stentor noted that Bell and NBTel have already filed applications requesting forbearance with respect to high speed local area network (LAN) connection services, and that those applications are currently before the Commission (see Bell Canada - Forbearance from Regulation of LAN Internetworking Service, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 95-6, 7 February 1995, and NBTel - Forbearance from Regulation of Digital Broadband Service, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 95-18, 13 April 1995). Stentor stated that Bell's proposed service and NBTel's service are not part of the application.

The Commission seeks comment regarding the appropriateness of forbearing pursuant to section 34 of the Act with respect to existing and future packet data services offered by the companies, other than the services that are the subject of the previous applications by Bell and NBTel.

Section 34 of the Act states as follows:

34.(1) The Commission may make a determination to refrain, in whole or in part and conditionally or unconditionally, from the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty under sections 24, 25, 27, 29 and 31 in relation to a telecommunications service or class of services provided by a Canadian carrier, where the Commission finds as a question of fact that to refrain would be consistent with the Canadian telecommunications policy objectives.

(2) Where the Commission finds as a question of fact that a telecommunications service or class of services provided by a Canadian carrier is or will be subject to competition sufficient to protect the interests of users, the Commission shall make a determination to refrain, to the extent that it considers appropriate, conditionally or unconditionally, from the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty under sections 24, 25, 27, 29 and 31 in relation to the service or class of services.

(3) The Commission shall not make a determination to refrain ... if the Commission finds as a question of fact that to refrain would be likely to impair unduly the establishment or continuance of a competitive market for that service or class of services.

Stentor requests that the Commission refrain from exercising all powers and performing all duties under all of the sections noted in section 34. Those sections can be summarized as follows:

(1) section 24: the offering and provision of any telecommunications service by a Canadian carrier are subject to any conditions imposed by the Commission or included in a tariff approved by the Commission;

(2) section 25: among other things, no Canadian carrier shall provide a telecommunications service except in accordance with a tariff filed with and approved by the Commission, specifying the rate or the maximum or minimum rate, or both, to be charged;

(3) section 27: among other things, every rate charged by a Canadian carrier for a telecommunications service shall be just and reasonable, and the Canadian carrier shall not unjustly discriminate or give an undue or unreasonable preference in relation to the provision of a telecommunications service or the charging of a rate for it;

(4) section 29: no Canadian carrier shall, without the prior approval of the Commission, give effect to any agreement or arrangement, whether oral or written, with another telecommunications common carrier respecting the interchange of telecommunications, the management or operation of facilities or the apportionment of rates or revenues; and

(5) section 31: no limitation of a Canadian carrier's liability in respect of a telecommunications service is effective unless it has been authorized or prescribed by the Commission.

The Commission notes that, in Review of Regulatory Framework, Telecom Decision CRTC 94-19, 16 September 1994, it detailed the factors that it will consider when assessing whether a particular market is sufficiently competitive for the Commission to refrain from regulation. Parties are requested to address these factors in their submissions.

II PROCEDURE

1. Stentor's application may be examined at the offices of the CRTC in the following locations:

Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage
Room 201
Hull, Quebec

Bank of Commerce Building
1809 Barrington Street
Suite 1007
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Place Montréal Trust
1800 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1920
Montréal, Quebec

Standard Life Centre 121 King Street West
Suite 820
Toronto, Ontario

275 Portage Avenue
Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba

800 Burrard Street
Suite 1380
Vancouver, British Columbia

A copy of Stentor's application may be obtained by any interested person upon request directed to Mr. Bryce C. Schurr, Director, Rates and Regulatory Support, Stentor Resource Centre Inc., Document Control & Distribution Centre, Floor 22, 160 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 3J4, fax: (613) 781-3514.

2. Persons wishing to comment with regard to Stentor's application (interveners) may do so by writing to Mr. Allan J. Darling, Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario,
K1A 0N2, fax: (819) 953-0795, by 22 June 1995. A copy is to be served on Stentor at the address noted above by the same date.

3. Stentor may file a reply to any comments, serving copies on interveners, by 13 July 1995.

4. 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.

Allan J. Darling
Secretary General