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ARCHIVED - Public Notice CRTC 2001-40

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Public Notice CRTC 2001-40

  Ottawa, 28 March 2001
 

Extension of the Cable Capacity Report filing requirements for Class 1 cable distribution undertakings having 20,000 or more subscribers; and notice of the Commission's plans to conduct a one-time survey of other cable distribution undertakings

 

Summary

1. In Public Notice CRTC 1997-33-2, the Commission required licensees of Class 1 cable distribution undertakings having 20,000 or more subscribers to submit quarterly reports concerning their analog channel capacity. The purpose of these reports is to enable the Commission to monitor the capacity of the distribution industry to accommodate new specialty services.
2. In Public Notice CRTC 1999-130, the Commission extended the termination date for the reporting requirements from 31 August 1999 to 31 August 2001, and expanded their scope to include information on digital capacity. At the same time, the Commission reduced the reporting frequency from every three months to every six months.
3. The Commission hereby announces that it intends to maintain the reporting requirements in place for an indefinite period. Class 1 licensees who meet the criteria set out in PN 1997-33-2 are now required to file capacity reports every six months on an ongoing basis. In addition, the Commission has made some changes to the categories of information required in the reports. The revised categories are outlined later in this notice.
4. The Commission also intends to conduct a one-time survey of all remaining licensed cable distribution undertakings this fall. These licensees will be required to submit, by 31 October 2001, summary analog and digital capacity information reflecting the status of their undertakings as of 30 September 2001.
5. A preparation guide and spread sheet form will be sent later this year to all licensees concerned. The one-time survey will be tailored to reflect the size and circumstances of these smaller undertakings. Licensees will also be expected to update this information at renewal time.
 

Background

6. In PN 1997-33-2, Postponement of Public Hearing to Consider New Specialty and Pay Television Applications, the Commission required licensees of all Class 1 broadcasting distribution undertakings having 20,000 or more subscribers to submit reports containing the following information for each such undertaking:
 

· analog channel capacity;

 

· complete channel line-up, indicating the specific channels used for the distribution of each service;

 

· description of proposed analog upgrades to the distribution system, the increase to the analog channel capacity that would result, and the timeframe for implementation and utilization; and,

 

· description of plans and timeframes for the deployment of digital technology, the number of digital households served, progress towards implementation, and projected date for utilization by broadcasting and/or telecommunications services.

7. The Commission required licensees to submit their first reports by no later than 31 January 1998. Each report was to include information that reflected the capacity of the undertaking concerned as of 31 December 1997. The Commission also asked licensees to file updated reports every three months thereafter, with the last report due by no later than 31 August 1999.
8. The Commission advised licensees that they could request confidentiality for the information contained in their reports.
9. In order to facilitate the interpretation and comparison of the data contained in the reports, the Commission developed a spreadsheet form that it placed on the public file. Aggregate summaries of the data for which licensees requested and were granted confidentiality were also placed on the public file.
10. In PN 1997-33-2, the Commission asked licensees also to submit information on the analog and digital upgrades that would be in place as of 1 January 1999. Once this date was reached, it became necessary to establish a new date for planning purposes. As well, several systems were introducing digital services, the details of which were not reflected in the capacity reports. Accordingly, the Commission sent a letter to licensees amending the reporting requirements for 30 April and 31 July 1999. The amendments adjusted the planned capacity reporting dates and expanded the spreadsheet form to encompass the essential elements of the digital deployments.
 

Changes to the categories of information to be included in the Cable Capacity Reports

11. The Commission makes the following changes to the specified categories of information to be included in the reports. These changes will take effect beginning with the 30 April 2001 report.
12. With respect to the analog portion of the report:
 

· Planned Analog System Capacity shall henceforth reflect the projected capacity as of two years from the date of each report.

 

· The new analog categories are: Minority Official Language Canadian Video Services, Total Local Off-Air Radio Services, Out of Market Off-Air Radio Services, Other Audio Services and Vacant Analog Capacity-Audio.

 

· The category Planned Digital System Capacity (formerly column 25 on the old template) has been moved from the analog to the digital portion of the report. Access Calculation (formerly Column 27) and Capacity Calculation (formerly Column 28) have been deleted.

13. With respect to the digital portion of the report:
 

· Planned Digital System Capacity shall now be reported in the digital report. Further, it shall henceforth reflect the projected capacity as of two years from the date of each report.

 

· The categories Number of Distinct Audio Services (formerly Column 13 on the old template) and Number of Distinct Pay Audio Services (formerly Column 20) have been replaced by new audio categories. These categories are: Total Local Off-Air Radio Services, Out of Market Off-Air Radio Services and Other Audio Services.

 

· The Specialty Service category (column 16) has been divided and will now be reported as; Category 1 Services, Category 2 Services and all other Discretionary Specialty Services.

 

· Two categories have been added; namely Percentage of Analog Services Duplicated on Digital, and Minority Official Language Canadian Video Services.

 

· Foreign Specialty Services (column 17) and Authorized Foreign Services (column 26) will be combined as Total Foreign Programming Services.

 

· The two Exempt Service columns have been combined.

14. Further, certain of the category definitions have been clarified on both the analog and digital spread sheets.
 

Indefinite extension to the reporting requirement

15. In order to monitor the ability of the distribution industry to accommodate new services and to track the roll out of digital technology, the Commission extends the termination date of the reporting requirements originally established in Public Notice CRTC 1997-33-2, until further notice.
16. Licensees of Class 1 cable distribution undertakings having more than 20,000 subscribers must henceforth submit cable capacity reports by 31 October and 31 April of each year. These reports must contain the analog and digital capacity information as outlined in PNs 1997-33-2 and 1999-130 and amended herein. The information must reflect the status of the undertakings as of 30 September and 31 March, respectively.
 

Related CRTC documents:

  . Public Notice 1997-33-2 dated 11 December 1997: Postponement of Public Hearing to Consider New Specialty and Pay Television Applications
  . Public Notice 1998-79 dated 30 July 1998: Revised Process for consideration of New English-language Pay and Specialty Television
  . Public Notice 1999-19 dated 3 February 1999: Call for Comments on a Licensing Framework for New Pay and Specialty Services
  . Public Notice 1999-130 dated 9 August 1999: Cable Capacity Reports
  Secretary General
  This document is available in alternate format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca 

Date Modified: 2001-03-28

Date modified: