ARCHIVED - Order CRTC 2001-136

Order CRTC 2001-136

Ottawa, 14 February 2001

Bell Canada
Tariff Notice 6549

Local link package

The Commission approves the Winback promotion for Local link package with a promotional period shortened by two weeks; denies the Business line promotion and Voice local promotion; and approves the proposed corrections to a reference to a system capacity for Local link package locals as well as the name of the service in Item 680.2(d).

Under the Winback promotion for Local link package (General Tariff Item 680), customers who return to Bell Canada from an alternate provider of local exchange service and commit to one-year minimum contract period (MCP) will receive a one-time credit equivalent to the applicable monthly rate for each Local link package local that they have installed upon their return. In addition, the service connection charge will not apply to the installation of these locals.

On 19 January 2001, AXXENT Corp. on behalf of AT&T Canada Telecom Services Company, C1.com Inc., Combined Xchange Telecom Inc., Futureway Communications Inc., GT Group Telecom Services Corp., and Norigen Communications Inc. (the competitors) filed comments objecting to Bell Canada's application. The competitors stated that TN 6549 contains the same discriminatory terms and conditions the Commission objected to in Order CRTC 2000-1049, dated 24 November 2000, with respect to TN 6485.

The competitors also believed that this application is contrary to the Commission's winback guidelines.

On 25 January 2001, Bell Canada filed a reply to the competitors' comments. Bell Canada stated that there is an important distinction between TNs 6485 and 6549 in that the former proposed a permanent winback offer while the latter proposes one of limited duration. Bell Canada noted that the Commission has approved numerous winback promotions with similar service charge waivers and/or one-month credits to those proposed in TN 6549. Moreover, many of the previous winback promotions were not available to other new customers, similar to the proposal in TN 6549. Bell Canada submitted that this clearly demonstrates that, in the Commission's view, the provision of such terms and conditions in the context of promotional winback offers is not unjustly discriminatory. Bell Canada further noted that in its letter it clearly acknowledges the company's awareness of and intent to adhere to the three-month "winback" rule , as directed by the Commission in its letter of 16 April 1998.

The Commission's determination

The Commission has allowed winback promotions in the past. In Order 2000-1049, based on the record of that proceeding and considering that the application was for a permanent winback offer, the Commission denied the application.

The Commission notes that, as it has stated in its 16 April 1998 letter setting out the winback guidelines, asymmetrical winback guidelines will not prevent incumbent local exchange carriers from advertising to the general public.

Local link winback promotion

The Commission notes that the Winback promotion for the Local link package is a continuation, with revisions, to the promotions approved in Orders CRTC 2000-763 dated 15 August 2000, 2000-517 dated 7 June 2000 and 99-669 dated 15 July 1999. The Commission notes that, with the proposed three-month promotional period, the combined enrolment and benefit period of the winback promotion would exceed 12 months. In this context, as no imputation test was filed in support of the application, the Commission considers that it would be appropriate to shorten the promotional period by two weeks.

Business line and voice local promotions

The Commission considers that, in developing the proposed promotions for business line and voice locals, Bell Canada targeted essentially the same customers that were targeted in the proposed promotion that was denied in Order CRTC 2000-547, dated 16 June 2000. In Order 2000-547, the promotion was targeted at customers who returned to Bell Canada from an alternate provider of local exchange service offering a one-time credit per voice local, provided on a monthly basis or under the terms of a 1-year MCP, (Item 675) or per individual business line (Item 70) that they have installed upon their return. The Commission denied the proposed promotion as it would be an extension of the promotion approved in Order CRTC 2000-100, dated 8 February 2000, resulting in a combined enrolment and benefit period exceeding 12 months.

For the reasons stated in Order 2000-547, the Commission considers that, with the proposed three-month extension under TN 6549, the promotions for business line and voice locals would exceed the 12-month period and therefore it would not be appropriate to approve the proposed promotion without the support of an imputation test.

Bell Canada is directed to issue forthwith tariff pages reflecting the determinations in this order and the effective date.

Bell Canada filed the application on 20 December 2000 to revise General Tariff Items 70, 675, and 680.

Secretary General

This document is available in alternative format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca