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Ottawa, 7 October 1998
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Telecom Order CRTC 98-979
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By letters dated 9 July, 23 July, 14 August and 21 August 1998, Call-Net Enterprises Inc. (Call-Net), on behalf of Sprint Canada Inc. (Sprint Canada), submitted four applications requesting contribution exemptions with respect to circuits which are used and provisioned as dedicated Canada-U.S. facilities for single end-customers of Sprint Canada. In support of its applications, Sprint Canada filed affidavits from its end-customers affirming that the cross-border private lines in question are dedicated solely to that end-customer's use. Sprint Canada also requested that the contribution exemptions be effective the date of installation of the circuit.
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File Nos.: 8626-S2-06/98,
8626-C25-05/98, 8626-S2-07/98 and 8626-S2-08/98
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1.By letters dated 15 July, 24 August,
25 August and 28 August 1998, Bell Canada (Bell) stated that it has reviewed the affidavits and noted that they generally appear to satisfy the Commission's evidentiary requirements with respect to such exemptions. Accordingly, Bell agreed with the requested exemptions.
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2.With respect to Sprint Canada's request that the contribution exemptions be effective the date of installation, Bell noted that the Commission provided guidelines regarding the effective dates of contribution exemptions in Effective Date of Contribution Exemptions, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 95-26 dated 12 June 1995 (PN 95-26). Bell noted that at page 5 of PN 95-26, the Commission stated that "...contribution exemptions will generally be granted effective the later of the date of the application or the date of installation, absent special circumstances". Bell noted that Sprint Canada has not suggested, in its applications, that any special circumstances exist. In light of this, Bell submitted that, should the Commission approve Sprint Canada's applications, the effective date should be consistent with the guidelines established in PN 95-26.
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3.The Commission is of the view that Call-Net has satisfied the evidentiary requirements for exemptions for dedicated circuits and notes that Bell agrees.
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4.Given that Call-Net has not submitted evidence that special circumstances exist to justify the effective date being the date of the installation, the Commission considers that the effective date should be the date of affidavit unless there is a significant difference between the date of the application and the date of the affidavit.
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5.The Commission also notes that in Telecom Order CRTC 98-886 dated 3 September 1998 (Order 98-886), the Commission stated that "...in the future, Call-Net may file a single application every 120 days covering a number of customers provided the single application is filed within 120 days of the date of execution of the affidavits of the customers in question".
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6.The Commission notes that the intervals between date of affidavit and date of application range from two days to four months.
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7.Consistent with Order 98-886, the Commission is of the view that these delays are acceptable and that it is appropriate that the dates of the affidavits be the effective date.
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8.In light of the foregoing, Call-Net's applications are approved effective the dates of the affidavits as noted above.
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Secretary General
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This document is available in alternative format upon request.
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