ARCHIVED -  Telecom Public Notice CRTC 99-15

Telecom Public Notice

Ottawa, 27 May 1999

Telecom Public Notice CRTC 99-15

TIME-FRAME FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRICE CAP REGULATION AND ANY FURTHER REQUIRED RATE REBALANCING FOR QUÉBEC-TÉLÉPHONE AND TÉLÉBEC LTÉE

File No.: 8678-C12-06/99

I INTRODUCTION

1.In Regulatory Framework for Québec-Téléphone and Télébec ltée, Telecom Decision CRTC 96-5, 7 August 1996, the Commission found that the same basic framework that applies to the Stentor-member companies, including a price cap method of regulation, should apply to Québec-Téléphone and Télébec ltée (Télébec).

2.In Implementation of Regulatory Framework for Québec-Téléphone and Télébec ltée, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-21, 18 December 1997 (Decision 97-21), the Commission approved, effective 1 January 1998, the implementation of a split rate base regime, but found that it was not appropriate to set the date for implementing price cap regulation pending the outcome of the proceeding initiated by Review of the Contribution Regime of Independent Telephone Companies in Ontario and Quebec, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 97-41, 18 December 1997. The Commission, however, recognized the need to implement price cap regulation as soon as practically possible to allow for the anticipated benefits from this form of regulation to be realized. Also, in Decision 97-21, the Commission agreed with Québec-Téléphone and Télébec that rates should be moved closer to costs before the implementation of price cap regulation and noted that this is consistent with the Commission's objectives outlined in Review of Regulatory Framework, Telecom Decision CRTC 94-19, 16 September 1994.

3.In Review of Contribution Regime of Independent Telephone Companies in Ontario and Quebec, Telecom Decision CRTC 99-5, 21 April 1999, the Commission stated that it intended to initiate a proceeding to consider the appropriate level of rate rebalancing for 1 January 2000 as well as the appropriate time-frame for the implementation of price cap regulation for Québec-Téléphone and Télébec.

4.In view of the foregoing, the Commission hereby initiates a proceeding to consider any further required rate rebalancing, effective 1 January 2000, to move rates closer to cost, the need for any subsequent rate rebalancing prior to implementing price cap regulation and the appropriate time-frame for implementing price cap regulation for Québec-Téléphone and Télébec. The scope of this proceeding is set out below.

II SCOPE OF PROCEEDING

5.In light of the above, the Commission invites comments on the following issues:

(1) assuming the current contribution collection mechanism, an appropriate per-
minute target contribution rate to be used for setting the going-in rates for each of Québec-Téléphone's and Télébec's Utility Segment services;

(2) an appropriate transition period prior to implementing price cap regulation for Québec-Téléphone and Télébec; and

(3) any further required rate rebalancing, effective 1 January 2000, to move rates closer to cost and the need for any subsequent rate rebalancing prior to the implementation of price cap regulation for Québec-Téléphone and Télébec.

III PROCEDURE

6.Québec-Téléphone and Télébec are made parties to this proceeding.

7.Other parties wishing to participate in this proceeding must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, fax: (819) 953-0795, by 9 June 1999. Parties are to indicate in the notice their Internet email address, where 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, as soon as possible after the registration date, a complete list of parties and their mailing addresses (including Internet email addresses, if available), identifying those parties who wish to receive disk versions.

8.By letter of 27 May 1999, the Commission has addressed interrogatories to Québec-Téléphone and Télébec. Both are directed to file responses to their respective interrogatories with the Commission, serving copies on all parties, by 23 June 1999.

9.Québec-Téléphone and Télébec are directed to file their respective evidence and submissions in this proceeding, serving copies on all parties, by 23 June 1999.

10.Québec-Téléphone and Télébec are directed to mail, by 20 August 1999, billing inserts notifying their respective subscribers: (i) of specific details regarding the company's proposal on the appropriate level of rate rebalancing/restructuring, if any, during the year 2000; and (ii) that they may provide any comments by writing to the Commission and the company by 16 September 1999.

11.Requests by parties for further responses to the Commission's interrogatories, specifying in each case why a further response is both relevant and necessary, and 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 party or parties in question, by 30 June 1999.

12.Written responses to requests for further responses to interrogatories and for public disclosure must be filed with the Commission and served on the party or parties making the request, by 7 July 1999.

13.The Commission will issue a determination with respect to requests for disclosure and for further responses as soon as possible, and intends to direct that any information to be provided pursuant to that determination be filed with the Commission and served on all parties to the proceeding, by 28 July 1999.

14.All parties may file comments, serving copies on all other parties, by 16 September 1999.

15.Québec-Téléphone and Télébec may file replies to any comments, serving copies on all parties who filed comments, by 23 September 1999.

16.The record of this proceeding may be examined, or will be made available promptly upon request, at the Commission's offices at the following addresses:

Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage
Room G-5
Hull, Quebec

Place Montréal Trust
1800 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1920
Montréal, Quebec

17.Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, 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 procedure.telecom@crtc.gc.ca. Electronically filed documents can be accessed at the Commission's Internet site at http://www.crtc.gc.ca.

Secretary General

This document is available in alternative format upon request.