ARCHIVED - Public Notice CRTC 2001-119

Public Notice CRTC 2001-119

Ottawa, 30 November 2001

CRTC to review revised loop and primary exchange service cost filings

Reference: 8661-B20-01/01

1.

By letter dated 13 August 2001, Bell Canada asked the Commission to consider the revised primary exchange service (PES) costs it provided in the proceeding initiated by Public Notice CRTC 2001-37, Price cap review and related issues, dated 13 March 2001. Bell Canada submitted its revised PES costs in that proceeding in response to The Companies(CRTC)27Apr01-700.

2.

In Decision CRTC 2001-610, Public Notice CRTC 2001-37 - "Price cap review and related issues" - procedural matters, dated 28 September 2001, the Commission decided that it would be most equitable for all parties, and in the public interest, to deal with Bell Canada's revised PES cost filing in a separate proceeding. Pursuant to the procedure set out in Decision 2001-610, Aliant Telecom Inc., Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS), Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel) and TELUS Communications Inc. (TCI) advised the Commission that they intend to submit new PES cost estimates, based on revised loop make-up methodologies and assumptions. Each telephone company also indicated that it can file its submission on or before 30 April 2002.

3.

The Commission therefore initiates a proceeding to review Bell Canada's revised loop and PES costs submission, and the revised loop and PES cost filings to be submitted by MTS, SaskTel, TCI (separately in respect of its territory served in British Columbia and Alberta) and Aliant Telecom (separately in respect of those parts of its territory served by the former Island Telecom Inc., Maritime Tel & Tel Limited, NBTel Inc. and NewTel Communications Inc.). Bell Canada's submission addresses residential PES costs. However, the proposals of all telephone companies, including Bell Canada, should also contain revised non-residential PES cost information as well as revised Type A and Type B loop cost information. In this proceeding, the Commission will determine the appropriate level of loop and PES costs for regulatory purposes. The proceeding will consider issues raised by the telephone companies' proposals with respect to their loop make-up characteristics, including supporting assumptions and related resource inclusions and costing methodologies used to determine the capital costs associated with the provision of PES and loop services.

4.

Aliant Telecom, Bell Canada, MTS, SaskTel and TCI are to develop their submissions using study period, return on equity (ROE) and expense determinations reflected in Decision CRTC 2001-238, Restructured bands, revised loop rates and related issues, dated 27 April 2001 (the rebanding decision) as well as the capital - costing determinations reflected in that decision with respect to average working fill factors, accounting plant lives, and inclusions of in-building wiring costs. Loop and PES capital costs are to be provided on the basis of the bands that were approved by the Commission in the rebanding decision.

5.

In their submissions, Bell Canada, Aliant Telecom, MTS, SaskTel and TCI also are to provide by 31 May 2002, the following information in respect of loop costs and residential and non-residential PES costs:

a) the information in parts (a) to (c) and (e) to (h) inclusive of interrogatory _______(CRTC)30Oct00-3 PN 2000-27 in the format requested by that interrogatory and reflecting the company's proposed revised capital costs;

b) the information in part (a) of interrogatory _______(CRTC)30Oct00-4 PN 2000-27 in the format requested by that interrogatory and reflecting the company's proposed revised capital costs;

c) a detailed description, with supporting rationale, of the basis on which it developed its proposed loop make-up in each band;

d) a detailed discussion that compares, justifies and quantifies the per-band loop make-up assumptions made in its submission in this proceeding with those the company made in its submission in the proceeding leading to the rebanding decision; and

e) a detailed comparison of the resource inclusions and the input unit costs included in its submission in this proceeding with those the company made in its submission in the proceeding leading to the rebanding decision. This aspect of the submission should include a comparison, in the format used in Attachment 1 of the response to interrogatory The Companies(CRTC)12Oct01-2 PN 2000-27, of the per-metre installed material costs for each of the years 1996, 1999 and 2002 in respect of the seven classes of plant identified in that Attachment.

Procedure

6.

Aliant Telecom, Bell Canada, MTS, SaskTel and TCI (the companies) are made parties to this proceeding.

7.

Other parties wishing to participate in this proceeding must notify the Commission of their intention to do so, by 4 February 2002. These interested parties should contactthe Secretary General by mail at CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2; by fax at (819) 953-0795; or by email at procedure@crtc.gc.ca. They are to indicate in the notice their email address, where available. If parties do not have access to the Internet, they are to indicate in their notice whether they wish to receive disk versions of hard copy filings. The Commission will issue, as soon as possible after the registration date, a complete list of parties and their mailing address (including their email address, if available), identifying those parties who wish to receive disk versions.

8.

Reference to a "party" or "parties" in the process set out below includes both the telephone companies made parties to this proceeding as well as persons who register under this paragraph as interested parties with the Commission.

9.

The companies are to file with the Commission, serving copies on all parties, the material requested in this public notice by 31 May 2002. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary.

10.

Parties may address interrogatories to the companies, filing a copy with the Commission, by 12 July 2002.

11.

Responses to these interrogatories are to be filed with the Commission and served on all parties by 16 August 2002.

12.

Requests by parties for further responses to their interrogatories, specifying in each case why a further response is both relevant and necessary, and requests for public disclosure of information for which confidentiality has been claimed, setting out the reasons for disclosure, must be filed with the Commission and served on the company in question by 6 September 2002.

13.

The companies may file written responses to requests for further responses to interrogatories and for public disclosure with the Commission, serving a copy on the party making the request, by 16 September 2002.

14.

A determination with respect to requests for disclosure and for further responses will be issued as soon as possible. Any information to be provided pursuant to that determination will be required to be filed with the Commission and served on all parties no later than 11 October 2002.

15.

Parties may address further interrogatories to the companies, filing a copy with the Commission, by 28 October 2002.

16.

Responses to these interrogatories are to be filed with the Commission and served on all parties by 18 November 2002.

17.

Parties may file comments with the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties by 2 December 2002.

18.

Parties may file reply comments with the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties, by 16 December 2002.

19.

Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, and not merely sent, by that date.

20.

Parties wishing to file electronic versions of their comments can do so by email at the address shown above, or on diskette.

21.

The electronic version should be in the HTML format. As an alternative, those submitting comments may use "Microsoft Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for spreadsheets.

22.

Please number each paragraph of your submission. In addition, please enter the line ***End of document*** following the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during transmission.

23.

The Commission will make submissions filed in electronic form available on its web site at www.crtc.gc.ca in the official language and format in which they are submitted. This will make it easier for members of the public to consult the documents.

24.

The Commission also encourages interested parties to monitor the public examination file (and/or the Commission's web site) for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submission.

25.

Submissions may be examined or will be made available promptly upon request at the Commission offices during normal business hours:

Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage, Room G-5
Hull, Quebec K1A 0N2
Tel: (819) 997-2429 - TDD: 994-0423
Fax: (819) 994-0218

Bank of Commerce Building
1809 Barrington Street
Suite 1007
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3K8
Tel: (902) 426-7997 - TDD: 426-6997
Fax: (902) 426-2721

405 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East
2^nd Floor, Suite B2300
Montréal, Quebec H2L 4J5
Tel: (514) 283-6607 - TDD: 283-8316
Fax: (514) 283-3689

55 St. Clair Avenue East
Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M2
Tel: (416) 952-9096
Fax: (416) 954-6343

Kensington Building
275 Portage Avenue
Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B3
Tel: (204) 983-6306 - TDD: 983-8274
Fax: (204) 983-6317

Cornwall Professional Building
2125 - 11^th Avenue
Room 103
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3X3
Tel: (306) 780-3422
Fax: (306) 780-3319

Suite 520 - 10405 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3N4
Tel: (780) 495-3224
Fax: (780) 495-3214

530-580 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3B6
Tel: (604) 666-2111 - TDD: 666-0778
Fax: (604) 666-8322

Secretary General

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