ARCHIVED -  Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-28

 Telecom Public Notice

 Ottawa, 21 July 1997

 Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-28

 TELUS COMMUNICATIONS (EDMONTON) INC. - LOCAL COMPETITION AND RELATED ISSUES

1.  In Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-17, 2 June 1997 (PN 97-17), the Commission called for comments on whether three rulings should apply to TELUS Communications (Edmonton) Inc. (TCEI). Those rulings were:

 1) Unbundled Rates to Provide Equal Access, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-6, 10 April 1997 (Decision 97-6);

 2) Local Competition, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-8, 1 May 1997 (Decision 97-8); and

 3) Responsibility for Carrier Specific Costs for the Provision of Local Number Portability, Telecom Order CRTC 97-591, 1 May 1997 (Order 97-591).

2.  In PN 97-17, the Commission noted that TCEI had commented on the applicability of several other recent Commission rulings.

3.  By letter dated 10 June 1997, TCEI noted the Commission's view, expressed in its letter of 27 May 1997, that price cap regulation could not apply to TCEI before 16 October 1998, owing to the terms of the Directive to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on the Regulation of Edmonton Telephone Corporation and ED TEL Communications Inc., P.C. 1994-1779. TCEI took the view that the several rulings issued on 1 May 1997 are interrelated and that it would be inappropriate to implement local competition in TCEI's territory under traditional rate base/rate of return regulation. TCEI submitted that rate rebalancing and restructuring together with the flexibility that price cap regulation allows are necessary preconditions to introducing local competition.

4.  With regard to Decision 97-6, TCEI noted that on 5 June 1997 AT&T Canada Long Distance Services Company filed an application to review and vary that Decision. TCEI submitted that it requires time to consider the implications of the relief requested noting that its shortfall could be increased substantially.

5.  On 26 June 1997, a letter was issued to parties that had registered pursuant to the process set out in PN 97-17, stating that, in view of TCEI's position, there should be new directions on procedure.

6.  Accordingly, the Commission seeks comments on the request to TCEI to show cause why Decisions 97-6 and 97-8 and Order 97-591 should not apply to TCEI, effective 1 January 1998 or other date in advance of 26 October 1998.

 PROCEDURE

7.  Persons wishing to participate in this proceeding must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by writing to Mrs. Laura M. Talbot-Allan, Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, fax: (819) 953-0795, by 25 August 1997. Parties are to indicate in the notice their Internet email address, if available. If parties do not have access to the Internet, they are to indicate in their notice whether they wish to receive disk version of hard copy filings. The Commission will issue a complete list of parties and their mailing addresses (including Internet email addresses if available), identifying those parties who wish to receive disk version.

8.  TCEI's comments may be examined at any of TCEI's business offices or 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

 580 Hornby Street
Suite 530
Vancouver, British Columbia

9.  TCEI is to file its detailed comments, serving copies on all other parties, by 8 September 1997.

10.  Parties may file comments on TCEI's submissions, serving copies on all other parties, by 6 October 1997.

11.  Parties may file reply comments by 20 October 1997.

12.  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.

13.  In addition to hard copy filings, parties are encouraged to file with the Commission electronic versions of their submissions in accordance with the Commission's Interim Telecom Guidelines for the Handling of Machine-Readable Files, dated 30 November 1995. The Commission's Internet email address for electronically filed documents is public.telecom@crtc.gc.ca. Electronically filed documents can be accessed at the Commission's Internet site at http://www.crtc.gc.ca.

 This document is available in alternative format upon request.

 Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General

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