ARCHIVED -  Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-37

Telecom Public Notice

Ottawa, 3 November 1997

Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-37

PROPOSED NEW CONTRIBUTION EXEMPTION REGIME FOR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS

1. In Telecom Order CRTC 97-1471, 14 October 1997, the Commission expressed the preliminary view that the current contribution exemption regime should, in the case of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), be replaced by a lighter regime in which the Commission would only be involved to the extent that disputes arise between the parties. The Commission hereby initiates a proceeding to consider the appropriateness of implementing such a regime.

2. More specifically, the Commission invites comments on the following issues: (1) the appropriate evidence to be filed with BC TEL, Bell Canada (Bell), The Island Telephone Company Limited (Island Tel), Maritime Tel & Tel Limited (MT&T), MTS NetCom Inc. (MTS), The New Brunswick Telephone Company, Limited (NBTel), NewTel Communications Inc. (NewTel) and TELUS Communications Inc. (TCI), and with the competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) operating in those companies' territories to support exemptions within a lighter regime; (2) whether telecommunications service providers who provide Internet access as one of several services should be included in this lighter regime; (3) the potential risks of moving to a lighter regime noting, for example, that effective 1 January 1998 (pursuant to Telecom Order CRTC 97-590, 1 May 1997), line-side data interconnections will be subject to contribution while Internet services will continue to be exempt; (4) any methods currently available to determine whether ISP circuits are, in fact, solely carrying contribution-exempt traffic; (5) the current availability of technical devices that could be used to monitor circuits for random audits, if required; and (6) any other issues which parties may wish to address.

Procedure

3. ACC TelEnterprises Ltd., AT&T Canada Long Distance Services Company, Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), fONOROLA Inc., Sprint Canada Inc. and Stentor Resource Centre Inc. (on behalf of BC TEL, Bell, Island Tel, MT&T, MTS, NBTel, NewTel and TCI) are made parties to this proceeding.

4. Other parties 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 18 November 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 versions 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 versions.

5. Parties are to file comments, serving copies on all other parties, by 8 December 1997.

6. Parties may file reply comments, serving copies on all other parties, by 23 December 1997.

7. 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.

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.

This document is available in alternative format upon request.

Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General

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