ARCHIVED -  Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-31

Telecom Public Notice

Ottawa, 27 August 1997

Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-31

RATES FOR UNLISTED NUMBER SERVICE AND RELATED ISSUES

1. In its Report to the Governor in Council on Directory Subscriber Listings and on Unlisted Number Service, 23 December 1996 (the Report), the Commission agreed with parties to the proceeding who submitted that the development of new technologies for collecting, manipulating and disseminating information pertaining to individuals raises threats to personal privacy. The Commission considered that, given the current environment, it is increasingly important that unlisted number service not be priced beyond the financial reach of subscribers. The Commission stated the preliminary view that its past policy of setting unlisted number service rates to maximize revenues to the telephone companies may no longer be appropriate. Accordingly, the Commission stated that it would issue a public notice to re-examine rates for unlisted numbers with the aim of establishing rates based on current costs plus contribution. The Commission indicated that, in doing so, it would consider whether reduced rates should apply to unlisted numbers for both business and residence service.

2. In addition to the above, the Commission expected that an increasing number of subscribers may wish to switch from listed to unlisted number service, and considered that, for such a change to constitute an effective privacy protection, most subscribers would have to change their telephone numbers. The Commission considered that the one-time charge associated with such a change may constitute a deterrent to subscribers who might wish to change to unlisted number service. The Commission stated that it may be appropriate to permit installment payments for the applicable one-time charge, as was decided for connection charges in Local Service Pricing Options, Telecom Decision CRTC 96-10, 15 November 1996 (Decision 96-10), and for which tariffs have now been approved.

3. In the proceeding leading to the Report, Stentor Resource Centre Inc. (Stentor) argued on behalf of member companies that decreases in the monthly rates for unlisted number service would increase demand for the service, with an associated increase in the costs of providing directory assistance. In its Report, the Commission stated that it would examine any such impact on directory assistance costs, and any possible changes to applicable charges.

4. Finally, the Commission indicated in its Report that, in light of growing privacy concerns, it would examine practices that might give subscribers more control over their listings as they appear in the telephone directory; for example, listing their street without having to specify a house number. The Commission stated that such an option might provide a compromise for subscribers between the privacy of an unlisted number and the desire some may feel to have their telephone numbers readily available.

5. The Commission invites comment on the issues identified in this Public Notice, including (1) the appropriateness of the preliminary view that rates for unlisted numbers should be based on Phase II costs plus mark-up, (2) whether rates so established should apply to unlisted numbers for both business and residence service, (3) for companies other than Northwestel Inc., the appropriate treatment for rates for unlisted number service under price cap regulation, (4) the appropriateness of requiring those telephone companies that do not already do so, to permit installment payments for service charges applicable to a change in telephone number when the subscriber switches from listed to unlisted number service; and (5) the degree of flexibility that subscribers should have in specifying how their listings should be included in telephone directories and in directory assistance databases. The Commission also invites comment on issues related to any increase in directory assistance costs associated with increased demand for unlisted number service, including how any increased costs should be recovered.

Procedure

6. BC TEL, Bell Canada, The Island Telephone Company Limited, Maritime Tel & Tel Limited, MTS NetCom Inc., The New Brunswick Telephone Company, Limited, NewTel Communications Inc., Northwestel Inc. and TELUS Communications Inc. (the telephone companies) are made parties to this proceeding.

7. Other 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 17 September 1997. The Commission will issue a complete list of parties and their mailing addresses.

8. The telephone companies are directed to file, by 26 September 1997, the following:

(a) proposed monthly rates for unlisted number service, along with supporting economic studies;

(b) estimates of any increase in directory assistance costs, assuming that proposed monthly rates for unlisted number service are approved for (i) residence and business service, and (ii) residence service only;

(c) the impact on proposed monthly rates for unlisted number service of taking into account any increases in directory assistance costs, assuming proposed rates are approved for (i) residence and business service, and (ii) residence service only;

(d) for telephone companies other than Northwestel Inc., a discussion of the appropriateness under price cap regulation of applying to unlisted number service the treatment prescribed for 9-1-1 and Message Relay Services at paragraph 153 of Price Cap Regulation and Related Issues, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-9, 1 May 1997;

(e) confirmation as to whether or not tariff provisions permitting installment payments for service charges, approved pursuant to Decision 96-10, apply to a change of telephone number when the subscriber switches from listed to unlisted number service (including references to all relevant tariff items); and

(f) a description of practices with regard to the flexibility afforded to subscribers as to how their listings appear in directories and are incorporated into directory assistance databases, and the rationale for those practices, indicating in particular whether and in what circumstances subscribers may request that (i) no address or only a partial address (e.g., only a street name or the name of a district) be included in the listing, and (ii) their numbers be listed under a name (fictitious or otherwise) other than their own.

Copies are to be served on parties to the proceeding by the same date.

9. The Commission will address interrogatories to the telephone companies with regard to the revenue effects of approving alternate rates for unlisted number service, with responses to be filed with the Commission and served on parties by 26 September 1997.

10. The record of this proceeding may be examined at the Commission's offices 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

275 Portage Avenue
Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba

580 Hornby Street
Suite 530
Vancouver, British Columbia

11. Requests for public disclosure of information for which confidentiality has been claimed, setting out the reasons for disclosure, must be filed with the Commission and served on the telephone company or companies in question by 3 October 1997.

12. Written responses to requests for public disclosure must be filed with the Commission and served on the parties making the requests by 10 October 1997.

13. The Commission will issue a determination with respect to requests for disclosure and for further responses as soon as possible. The Commission intends to direct that any information to be placed on the record pursuant to that determination be filed with the Commission and served on parties by 27 October 1997.

14. Parties may file comments on the issues raised by this Public Notice, serving copies on all other parties, by 7 November 1997.

15. Parties may file reply comments, serving copies on all other parties, by 17 November 1997.

16. Persons who wish merely to express their views with regard to the issues raised by this Public Notice, without receiving copies of the various submissions, may do so by writing to the Commission at the address noted above by 7 November 1997. A copy is to be sent to the relevant telephone company or to Mr. D. Palmer, Director, Regulatory Management, Stentor Resource Centre Inc., 160 Elgin Street, Floor 22, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 3J4, fax: (613) 781-3395.

17. Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, and not merely sent, by that date.

18. 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.

19. The Commission expects to issue a determination with respect to this proceeding in the fourth quarter of 1997.

This document is available in alternative format upon request.

Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General

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