ARCHIVED - Decision CRTC 2001-356

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Decision CRTC 2001-356

File No. 8643-N31-01/99

Ottawa, 15 June 2001

Mr. William A. Mason
Director, Regulatory and Intercarrier Affairs
Norigen Communications Inc.
180 Dundas Street West
Suite 2500
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1Z8

Dear Mr. Mason:

Re: Interim CRTC approval of the Norigen Communications Inc. PIC/CARE Handbook, with some changes

On 26 November 1999, pursuant to Telecom Order CRTC 99-1110, Norigen Communications Inc. filed its Primary Interexchange Carrier/Customer Account Record Exchange Access Customer Handbook (PIC/CARE Handbook) with the Commission for approval. Norigen's PIC/CARE Handbook was based on a model PIC/CARE Handbook developed by the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC). On 4 April 2001, Norigen filed an amendment to its PIC/CARE Handbook to reflect the changes in the updated model handbook that was released in July 2000.

The Commission considers that certain provisions and sections of Norigen's PIC/CARE Handbook are incomplete or require corrections. In light of the foregoing, Norigen's PIC/CARE Handbook is approved on an interim basis, subject to the company implementing the following amendments:

  1. On the "proprietary warning" page, replace the words "(reference to be made to filed tariffs)" in the last paragraph with "Norigen's General Tariff (CRTC 21310), Part C, Item 302".
  2. Throughout the PIC/CARE Handbook, the term "IXC" should generally be replaced with the term "AC".
  3. Replace Item 1.1, Background, with the following:

"In compliance with Telecom Decisions CRTC 92-12 (Competition in the provision of public long distance voice telephone services and related resale and sharing issues), 93-8 (Trunk-side access for resellers to the public switched telephone network), 95-5 (Disconnection of equal access service providers and transfer of customer base between equal access service providers), 97-6 (Unbundled rates to provide equal access), 97-8 (Local competition) and 97-16 (Quality of service indicators for use in telephone company regulation), Norigen Communications Inc. provides access customers (ACs) with equal ease of access to our local network for the origination and termination of AC network traffic.

Equal access is a trunk-side connection with feature group D capabilities, which allows ACs to connect directly to the local exchange network of an access provider (AP).

Equal access allows end-users to choose a Primary Interexchange Carrier (PIC) and place long-distance phone calls using the chosen carrier by 1+, 01+, or 11+ dialling.

Equal access also provides the end-user with the ability to access the network of other ACs on a per call basis by dialling a 10XXX or 101XXXX access code.

The exchange of data between ACs and APs to establish and update end-user PIC selections follows a telecommunications industry standard known as Customer Account Record Exchange (CARE).

In this handbook, the processing of AC PIC orders and the exchange of related information is referred to as PIC/CARE."

  1. Insert the following as the first sentence in Item 1.4:

"Each access customer is provided with two copies of the Handbook upon establishing a PIC/CARE processing account with Norigen. Additional copies of the Handbook are available and are subject to a charge as specified in Norigen's General Tariff (CRTC 21310), Part C, Item 302."

  1. Replace Item 1.6 with the following:

"Full details on the application of charges to PIC/CARE transactions are provided in Norigen's General Tariff (CRTC 21310), Part C, Item 302."

  1. Replace Item 2.1, Carrier identification code (CIC codes) with the following:
  • "In order for an AC to offer equal access and PIC processing, it must obtain a carrier identification code (CIC). The assignment and management of CIC codes is administered by the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA).
    Canadian applicants shall submit all applications for North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) administered resources directly to the CNA for processing.
  • For further information, refer to the Carrier identification code assignment guidelines developed by the Industry Numbering Committee (INC) and the Canadian adjunct to the INC carrier identification code (CIC) assignment guidelines."
  1. Add the following immediately after the first sentence in Item 2.2:

"An AC must implement feature group D (trunk-side access) facilities prior to start-up of PIC/CARE processing."

  1. In Item 2.3, provide a contact phone number, a facsimile number and/or an email address for information on the switch's equal access capabilities.
  2. Add the following immediately after the second sentence in Item 2.4:

"Any changes to the information on the profile (i.e.; serving areas, processing options, etc.) must be identified and a new profile completed and forwarded to Norigen at least 30 calendar days prior to the requested date of changes."

  1. In Item 2.5, replace the first and second sentences with the following:

"A period of testing is provided to validate the PIC/CARE interface between Norigen and the AC. Testing requirements for the exchange of PIC/CARE data are detailed in Appendix H."

  1. In Item 3.4, replace "has acknowledged" with "wishes" and add the following sentence to the end of the paragraph:

"An AC who has previously submitted a subscription request with a future due date, may submit a change and/or cancellation to the original request prior to the time it is released for provisioning."

  1. Add the following to the end of the paragraph in Item 3.5:

"A de-subscription order from the current AC cannot be used for this purpose."

  1. Add the following after the last paragraph in Item 3.7:

"The AC is assessed both bulk transfer charges and a variable charge for each end user access line as per Norigen's General Tariff (CRTC 21310), Part C, Item 304.

It is the responsibility of the AC to notify the affected end user of the change in its PIC selection and of any related billing implications within 90 days of the transfer.

When the AC adjusts any rates, terms or conditions of the end user's service before the conclusion of the 90-day period, the AC must notify the affected end user prior to the effective date of the change."

  1. In Item 4.3:

(i) Add the following as the first sentence in the first paragraph:

"Norigen validates all PIC/CARE transactions."; and

(ii) Add the following bulleted items to the end of the third bulleted list:

  • "Confirmation that a duplicate transaction does not exist; and
  • Validation against conflicting requests from multiple ACs."
  1. In the last sentence in Item 4.6, replace the words "carried over" with "automatically PIC'd" and add the following to the end of the sentence:

"; the AC must submit new subscription requests for each WTN."

  1. Amend Item 4.7 as follows:

(i) Add the following to the end of the second sentence in Item 4.7:

"and on the minimum number of days to complete the provisioning process."

(ii) In the last sentence, add the word "CARE" between the words "AC" and "profile".

  1. Amend Item 5.3 as follows:

(i) In the first sentence, add the words "when accepting billing responsibility, also" immediately after the second occurrence of the words "end user";

(ii) In the second sentence, change the word "choose" to the word "change"; and

(iii) Add the words "in billing responsibility" to the end of the last sentence.

  1. In Item 6.1, delete the bullet symbol that appears in front of the word "cancellations".
  2. In the first sentence of Item 7.3, replace the words "Specifies service intervals for handling" with "For" and replace the period at the end of the sentence with a comma.
  3. Replace Item 7.7 with the following:

"Norigen has the capacity to process a fixed number of PIC change transactions each day. Each access customer will be allocated a percentage of the available capacity. To obtain current allocation information, ACs may contact Norigen.

For large customer subscriptions involving WTNs in excess of the AC allocation, the AC may contact Norigen in advance of the processing of the orders for assistance in expediting the subscription change.

Norigen will monitor AC subscription requests to ensure assigned allocation is not exceeded. If exceeded, Norigen will contact the AC to determine a satisfactory resolution.

In addition, Norigen will be monitoring and updating the switch."

  1. Replace the sentence in Item 7.8 with the following:

"Pursuant to Telecom Decision CRTC 97-16 and Decision CRTC 2000-24, Norigen will ensure that the one-time activation of PICs for alternate providers of long distance service (APLDS) (Indicator 1.7) standard will be achieved on at least 90% of all PIC processing requests."

  1. Add the following to the end of Item 10.2:

"Each AC must have at least one electronic mailbox to which Norigen can send PIC/CARE files."

  1. Add the following to the end of Item 11.2:

"Norigen will not provide customers with long distance service providers' contact numbers or information about service charges, rates, or packages available from these service providers."

  1. Add the following to the end of Item 14.7:

"For more information, see Schedule H, Section B of the Master Agreement for Local Interconnection."

Norigen is directed to file, within 30 days, a revised copy of its PIC/CARE Handbook, which incorporates the changes set out above, for the Commission's final approval.

Sincerely,

Ursula Menke
Secretary General

Date Modified: 2001-06-15

Date modified: