ARCHIVED - Order CRTC 2000-880
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Order CRTC 2000-880 |
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| Ottawa, 26 September 2000 | |
| CRTC approves contribution exemption for Internet service providers' access lines | |
| Reference:8626-Q7-01/00 | |
| The CRTC approves a contribution exemption for Internet service providers' access lines provided to Québec-Communications by Bell Canada. | |
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1. |
By letter dated 28 March 2000, Québec-Communications Inc., a subsidiary of Le Groupe QuébecTel Inc., sought a contribution exemption with respect to lines used for data and Internet traffic. Québec-Communications provided an affidavit affirming that the access lines listed in the schedule attached to the application are used to route data and Internet traffic of Québec-Communications' customers. Québec-Communications requested that 1 May 1999 be the effective date. |
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2. |
By letter dated 19 April 2000, Bell Canada stated that it has reviewed its files and has determined that the services listed, with a few exceptions, are provided to Québec-Communications. |
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3. |
Bell Canada noted that Québec-Communications, in its affidavit, has affirmed that the lines in question are used solely to route data and Internet traffic of Québec-Communications' customers. However, Bell Canada stated that it is not clear from this description whether the lines should be subject to contribution charges. Accordingly, Bell Canada submitted that Québec-Communications should clarify the exact nature of the use of the lines in question to demonstrate that their use for data and/or Internet purposes satisfies the criteria for an exemption. |
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4. |
Bell Canada noted that Québec-Communications has also requested that the effective date of its application be 1 May 1999. Bell Canada noted that its records indicate that the services in question were not in service on that date, but have been installed since that time. Further, Bell Canada noted that, pursuant to Effective date of contribution exemptions , Telecom Public Notice CRTC 95-26 dated 12 June 1995, the effective date of such applications is normally the date of application, absent special circumstances. Bell Canada submitted that Québec-Communications had not provided any evidence of unusual circumstances that might support an effective date other than the date of application. |
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5. |
By letter dated 29 May 2000, Québec-Communications provided details of the circuits. With respect to its requested effective date of 1 May 1999, Québec-Communications stated that it sought to simplify the administration of the requested exemption by choosing a date that was prior to the individual installation date of the lines in question. |
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6. |
By letter dated 29 June 2000, Bell Canada stated that it had reviewed the aforementioned letter and confirmed that the revised status of the services that were the subject of the original application corresponds with its records. Accordingly, Bell Canada agreed with the list of remaining services that are now the subject of the contribution exemption application. |
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7. |
Bell Canada maintained that it is still not clear from this description whether the lines should be subject to contribution charges. |
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8. |
Bell Canada submitted that there are at least four uses that could be made of the lines in question, some which would attract contribution charges, some which would not: 1) public dial access lines connected to domestic public-switched data services, such as public switched x.25 networks or public-switched facsimile networks, would attract contribution charges and would not be eligible for an exemption; 2) public dial access lines connected to an Internet service provider's (ISP's) network, including an Internet service provided by Québec-Communications would typically be exempt from contribution, with the exception of access lines used to provide public-switched telephone network (PSTN) voice services over the Internet as defined by Telecom Order CRTC 98-929 dated 17 September 1998; 3) access lines used by a single end-customer of Québec-Communications to access its own internal private line data/Internet protocol network would not normally be subject to contribution; and 4) access lines that terminate on end-customers' premises would normally be exempt from contribution. |
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9. |
Pursuant to established processes for obtaining contribution exemptions, Bell Canada submitted that Québec-Communications is required to clarify the exact nature of the use of the lines in question to demonstrate that their use for data and/or Internet purposes satisfies the criteria for an exemption. In the absence of such clarification, it must be assumed that the lines in question should be subject to contribution. |
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10. |
Bell Canada again noted that Québec-Communications has also requested that the effective date of its application be 1 May 1999 even though its application was not submitted until almost a year later on 28 March 2000. Bell Canada noted that its records indicate that the services in question were installed prior to 28 March 2000. Bell Canada stated that Québec-Communications had not provided any evidence of unusual circumstances that might support an effective date other than the date of application. |
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11. |
In light of the above, Bell Canada submitted that Québec-Communications has not satisfied the evidentiary requirements to be eligible for a contribution exemption. |
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12. |
By letter dated 6 July 2000, Québec-Communications stated that the access lines in question were public dial access lines connected to the network of an Internet provider and that they were not used to provide any PSTN voice services over the Internet. |
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13. |
The Commission is of the view that the lines in question are public dial access lines connected to an Internet provider's network and are exempt from contribution. The Commission is of the view that the evidence provided meets the evidentiary requirements for an exemption. |
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14. |
The Commission notes that Québec-Communications has not provided any special circumstances that would support an effective date as the date of installation. Accordingly, the Commission is of the view that the effective date should be the date of application. |
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15. |
In light of the foregoing, the Commission approves Québec-Communications's application effective the date of application. |
| Secretary General | |
| This document is available in alternative format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca |
- Date modified: