ARCHIVED -  Public Notice CRTC 1999-199

Public Notice
CRTC 1999-199

Ottawa, 21 December 1999

Bell ExpressVu – Interest in serving multiple unit dwellings under its direct-to-home licence

Summary

Bell ExpressVu Inc. and BCE Inc., the partners in a limited partnership known as Bell/ExpressVu (Bell ExpressVu) have informed the Commission that they intend to serve multiple unit dwellings under its current direct-to-home licence using a variety of technical configurations. The Commission is providing interested parties with an opportunity to comment on Bell ExpressVu's proposal to provide service to these types of dwellings using any or all of these configurations.

1. In a letter to the Commission dated 8 September 1999, Bell ExpressVu informed the Commission that it intends to provide service to multiple unit dwellings (MUDs) under its current direct-to-home (DTH) licence, potentially using three different technical configurations. At the request of the Commission, Bell ExpressVu provided additional information with respect to its plans to serve MUDs in a letter dated 21 October 1999.

2. The three configurations described by Bell ExpressVu include: 1) serving residents of a single building using a common dish antenna located on the premises of the MUD, 2) serving residents located in neighbouring buildings using common equipment located on one building connected via common facilities to the
neighbouring building; and 3) serving residents of neighbouring buildings using common equipment that is located on a third building or remotely from the buildings being served.

3. In each of the configurations, Bell ExpressVu is planning to provide its complete DTH service to subscribers residing in MUDs and will establish a separate commercial relationship with each subscriber who selects a Bell ExpressVu programming package.

4. In its 21 October 1999 letter, Bell ExpressVu noted that its DTH licence (Decision CRTC 95-901, dated 20 December 1995) describes the service as one that would be provided "exclusively to individual subscribers on a DTH basis." Bell ExpressVu considers that its licence does not limit it to offering its service to residents of a single family dwelling and that it is authorized to serve subscribers in MUDs under any of the technical configurations described above.

5. The Commission wishes to provide the opportunity for interested parties to comment on Bell ExpressVu's proposal to provide service to multiple unit dwellings in any or all of the configurations set out in its letters to the Commission.

Call for comments

6. The Commission invites written comments that address the issue set out in this notice. The Commission will accept comments that it receives on or before 10 January 2000. Bell ExpressVu will have until 20 January 2000 to file a written reply to any comments received.

7. The Commission will not formally acknowledge written comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments and they will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedure set out below has been followed.

Procedures for filing comments

8. Interested parties should send their comments to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, K1A ON2.

• Parties must file all submissions in "hard copy format" (i.e. on paper).

• Comments longer than five pages should include a summary.

The Commission also encourages parties to file electronic versions of their comments by e-mail or on diskette. The Commission’s e-mail address for electronically filed documents is procedure@crtc.gc.ca

• Electronic submissions should be in the HTML format. As an alternative, those making submissions may use "Microsoft Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for spreadsheets.

• Please number each paragraph of the comment. In addition, please enter the line ***End of Document*** following the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during transmission.

9. The Commission will make comments filed in electronic form available on its web site at www.crtc.gc.ca in the official language and format in which they are submitted. This will make it easier for members of the public to consult the documents.

The Commission also encourages interested parties to monitor the public examination file (and/or the Commission’s website) for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their comments

Examination of public comments and related documents at the following Commission offices during normal business hours

Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage, Room G-5
Hull, Quebec K1A ON2
Tel: (819) 997-2429 - TDD: 994-0423
Telecopier: (819) 994-0218

Bank of Commerce Building
1809 Barrington Street
Suite 1007
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3K8
Tel: (902) 426-7997 - TDD: 426-6997
Telecopier: (902) 426-2721

405 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East
2^nd Floor, Suite B2300
Montréal, Quebec
H2L 4J5
Tel: (514) 283-6607 TDD: 283-8316
Telecopier: (514) 283-3689

Kensington Building
275 Portage Avenue
Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B3
Tel: (204) 983-6306 - TDD: 983-8274
Telecopier: (204) 983-6317

530-580 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3B6
Tel: (604) 666-2111 - TDD: 666-0778
Telecopier: (604) 666-8322

CRTC Documentation Centre
Scotia Place Tower Two
19^th Floor, Suite 1909
10060 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3R8

CRTC Documentation Centre
55 St. Clair Avenue East
Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario
M4T 1M2
Telephone: (416) 952-9096
Telecopier: (416) 954-6343

CRTC Documentation Centre
Cornwall Professional Building
2125 - 11^th Avenue
Room 103
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P 3X3
Telephone: (306) 780-3422
Telecopier: (306) 780-3319

Secretary General

This notice is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be viewed at the following Internet site: : http://www.crtc.gc.ca