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ARCHIVED -  Telecom Order CRTC 97-1491

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Telecom Order

Ottawa, 17 October 1997
Telecom Order CRTC 97-1491
By application dated 7 April 1997, filed under Tariff Notice 30 (TN 30), the Ontario Telephone Association (OTA), also requested the application of the LDA charge to requests for new and out-of-book listings. The OTA stated in its application that it filed TN 30 to ensure that the applicable section of the Ontario Independent Services Tariff remains consistent with the corresponding section of Bell's General Tariff.
File Nos.: Bell TN 5941 and OTA TN 30
1. The Commission, in Bell Canada and Ontario Telephone Association - Tariff Revisions Providing for the Application of the Local Directory Assistance Charge to Requests for New and Out-of-Book Listings, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-12, dated 22 April 1997 (PN 97-12), conducted a process to allow interested parties to comment on the applications by Bell and the OTA.
2. Bell submitted that the proposed change would have minimal impact on individual customers. Bell stated that 80% of residence customers made six or less calls to LDA during the year and that 40% of the same customer sample made no calls, or no more than two calls.
3. Bell further submitted that alternatives to LDA service already exist and are becoming more prevalent. Bell stated that competitive directories, libraries, CD-ROMs, the Internet and Bell's Reference of Calls service are some available options to help consumers obtain local listings. Bell also stated that users of its Electronic Directory Database Access Service and Directory File Service will also add to competition and reduce the requirement for new and out-of-book listings.
4. The application by Bell did not propose to change the current exemptions from Directory Assistance (DA) charges which include the disabled and the elderly.
5. Comments were received from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre on behalf of the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO), Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec inc. (ACTQ) on behalf of its member companies, the Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC) and some 700 individual subscribers.
6. NAPO, CAC and some individual subscribers submitted that LDA, including that for new and out-of book listings, is an essential service and thus should be considered part of basic service. NAPO and CAC also submitted that approval of the application would constitute either a reduction in the level of basic service or a de facto rate increase to that service.
7. NAPO, CAC and certain individual subscribers challenged Bell's statements with regard to the availability of LDA alternatives and suggested that only the LDA's ubiquitousness provides satisfactory customer service.
8. Bell replied that, although access to LDA is integral to the provision of basic service, LDA usage in itself is not included in basic service. Bell noted that in Local Competition, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-8, dated 1 May 1997, the Commission found that DA is not an essential service.
9. Bell therefore submitted that its proposal does not constitute a reduction in the level of basic service or a de facto rate increase to that service and, further, that it would be inappropriate to use basic service revenues for other than to cover basic service cost.
10. Bell also submitted that the wide variance in the use of LDA by customers further supports the notion that LDA is non-essential and that it is therefore reasonable and more appropriate to recover related costs from users than from the general body of subscribers, many of whom never or rarely use the service.
11. Bell reiterated its position that alternatives, while perhaps not as widely available as LDA, do exist at present. Bell also stated that, given the growing availability of these alternatives, the increasingly competitive nature of the local telecommunications market and the fact that the costs for new and out-of-book LDA are borne by all customers, it is in the interest of the general body of subscribers and the company's shareholders to allow it to charge those customers who choose to use this service.
12. Bell stated that competitive telephone directories are already available to many subscribers. In addition, Bell submitted that the Commission's recent rulings on local competition and the availability of Bell's directory listing information to competitors are ensuring the growth of competition in the provision of DA.
13. The Commission notes that, under the Bell proposal, local exchange subscribers maintain a right of access to DA.
14. The Commission is of the view that the pricing of LDA below cost would not facilitate the growth of competition in the provision of DA. Bell's proposal, while not eliminating the short-fall associated with LDA, will bring rates closer to costs.
15. The Commission is also of the view that, considering the wide variance in the use of LDA, it is reasonable that the costs of providing the service should be borne by those who use it.
16. The Commission considers that by providing LDA at no charge for new and out-of-book numbers, there is no incentive for subscribers to reasonably limit their use of the service, for example, by retaining a number once it has been provided, thereby imposing a greater cost on the general body of subscribers.
17. In light of the foregoing, the Commission orders that the applications filed by Bell under TN 5941 and by the OTA under TN 30 are approved effective 1 January 1998.
Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General
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