ARCHIVED - Public Notice CRTC 2001-53
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Public Notice |
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Ottawa, 15 May 2001 |
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The Commission has received the following applications: |
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1. |
St. Thomas and Woodstock, Ontario |
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Applications by Rogers Cable Inc. for rate deregulation. |
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Rogers Cable Inc. has given the Commission notice of its proposal for rate deregulation, dated March 30, 2001, for its St. Thomas and Woodstock, Ontario cable systems, pursuant to section 47 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations (the Regulations). In order to provide an opportunity for subscribers and interested parties to review the information filed and comment on the proposal, the Commission, pursuant to subsection 47(3) of the Regulations, has suspended these proposals pending the completion of this public process. The Commission has taken this step given that this is the first proposal of this type that has been filed since the Regulations went into force on 1 January 1998. |
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Under section 47 of the Regulations, a licensee can apply to be relieved from the application of Part 5 of the Regulations, as long as the licensee can demonstrate that there is competition in their market, and he has lost 5% or more of his customers, as of a given date. If these tests are met, and the Commission has not suspended or disallowed the proposal, the licensee is relieved of his obligations under Part 5 of the Regulations (sections 45 to 56), which includes the following provisions: |
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- installation and provision of basic service (Section 48). This means that a cable company would no longer have to provide service to a customer even if that customer lives within the licensed area of the cable company and certain other criteria are met. |
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- regulation of increases of the basic rate (sections 50 and 51) and regulation of increases in the basic rate for distribution of specialty services (sections 52, 53, 54 and 55). The cable company would be free to increase its basic rate without Commission approval. Currently, the Commission only allows prescribed increases to the basic rate of a cable company under the following three scenarios: |
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1) if the cable company has met the necessary economic tests and its profitability is below set thresholds; or |
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2) if the cable company has added a specialty service to basic; or |
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3) if the Commission has approved a rate increase for a specialty service that is already carried on basic. |
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Under each of these scenarios, customers must be notified in advance and are provided with an opportunity to comment on the proposed increases. |
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The Commission has already indicated, in Circular No. 427, (22 December 1997), that it would accept 31 August 1997 as the date on which the basic service of another licensed broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) is available to 30% or more subscribers across Canada. Therefore, the first part of the test has been met. Rogers has provided auditors' reports for each of its Woodstock and St. Thomas Class 1 systems confirming that the percentage loss of addresses in both systems is greater than 5%. Percentage losses are 16.3% in Woodstock and 17.0% in St. Thomas. The calculation was based on a comparison of addresses that received basic cable service at 5 September 1997 and which no longer received basic cable service at any time during the 30-day period preceeding 18 October 2000. |
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In this public notice, the Commission seeks comments from subscribers in the affected systems and interested parties on the proposal filed by Rogers. |
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Licensee's address: |
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Rogers Cable Inc. |
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Examination of applications: |
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Rogers Community TV |
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Rogers Video |
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION |
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DEADLINE FOR INTERVENTION |
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The intervention must be received by the CRTC and by the applicant ON OR BEFORE the above-mentioned date. The Commission cannot be held responsible for postal delays. |
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Your intervention will be considered by the Commission, and will form part of the public record of the proceeding without further notification to you, provided the procedure set out below has been followed. You will be contacted only if your submission raises procedural questions. |
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Submit your written intervention to the Secretary General of the Commission in ONLY ONE of the following formats: |
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BY MAIL AT |
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A true copy MUST be sent to the applicant and proof that this has been done must accompany the intervention sent to the Commission. |
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Where the intervention is filed by electronic means, the line ***End of document*** should be entered following the last paragraph of the document, as an indication that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission. |
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Please note, that only the documents (applications and interventions) electronically filed will be available on the Commission's web site. You will be able to access these documents by indicating the public notice or the notice of public hearing number. |
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Each paragraph of the document should be numbered. |
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Your intervention should clearly identify the application and indicate whether you support or oppose the application, or if you propose changes to it, include the facts and grounds for your proposal. |
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In the event that the application is brought to the oral phase of the hearing, and if you wish to appear, you must provide reasons why your written comments are not sufficient and why an appearance is necessary. |
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In exceptional circumstances, the Commission may allow an intervenor to present its intervention by teleconference. At the time of filing its intervention, the intervenor must clearly indicate why the Commission should grant such a request. |
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EXAMINATION OF DOCUMENTS DURING NORMAL OFFICE HOURS |
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Documents are available at the local address provided in this notice and at the Commission offices and documentation centres directly involved with these applications or, upon request, within 48 hours, at any other CRTC offices and documentation centres. |
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Central Building |
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Bank of Commerce Building |
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405 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East |
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55 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 624 |
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Kensington Building |
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Cornwall Professional Building |
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10405 Jasper Avenue, Suite 520 |
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530-580 Hornby Street |
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This document is available in alternative format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: |
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Secretary General |
- Date modified: