ARCHIVED - Telecom - Commission Letter - 8623-C12-03/03 - Monitoring the CanadianTelecommunications Industry - 2003 Data Collection

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Letter

Our file: 8661-C25-200302969


Ottawa, 27 June 2003


By fax and email

Mr. David Palmer
Director Regulatory Affairs
Bell Canada
105, rue Hôtel-de-Ville
Hull, Quebec
J8X 4H7

Dear Mr. Palmer:

Subject: Bell Canada Tariff Notice 6747 – Compensation Per Call

This letter deals with requests dated 14 May 2003 by Call-Net Enterprises Inc. (Call-Net) for public disclosure of information filed under claim of confidence by Bell Canada in connection with the above-noted tariff notice. This letter also amends the deadlines established in the Commission staff’s letter dated 29 May 2003.

Revised Deadlines

By letter dated 9 June 2003, Bell Canada requested a change to the schedule because of reduced staff availability during the summer months. In the circumstances, Commission staff finds it appropriate to amend the filing dates established in its letter dated 29 May 2003 as follows:

1. Parties may address interrogatories to Bell Canada. Any such interrogatories must be filed with the Commission and served on parties by 11 July 2003.

2. Responses to interrogatories are to be filed with the Commission, serving copies on all parties, by 11 September 2003.

3. Requests for further responses to the 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 parties by 22 September 2003.

4. Written responses to requests for further responses to interrogatories and for public disclosure must be filed with the Commission and served on parties by 29 September 2003.

5. 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 is to be filed with the Commission and served on parties by 24 October 2003.

6. Comments may be filed, serving copies on all other parties, by 4 November 2003.

7. Parties may file replies to any comments, serving copies on all parties who filed comments, by 14 November 2003.

Documents must be actually received, not merely sent by the specified dates.

Requests for disclosure of information

Call-Net filed its requests on 14 May 2003 and Bell Canada provided its responses on 9 June 2003.

Requests for disclosure of information for which confidentiality has been claimed are assessed in light of sections 38 and 39 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act) and section 19 of the CRTC Telecommunications Rules of Procedure (the Rules). In the case of each request, the public interest in disclosure is weighed against the specific direct harm, if any, likely to result from disclosure. In doing so, a number of factors are taken into account, including those set out below.

The degree of competition that exists in a particular market is an important consideration in assessing requests for disclosure. All things being equal, the greater the degree of competition in a particular market, the greater the specific harm that could be expected to result from disclosure.

Another factor in assessing the extent of harm is the expected usefulness of the information at issue to parties in furthering their competitive position. In this regard, an important consideration is the degree to which the information at issue is disaggregated. Generally, the more aggregated the information, the less likelihood is that harm would flow from its disclosure.

The expectation that specific direct harm might result from disclosure is not, by itself sufficient to justify maintaining a claim of confidentiality. In certain circumstances, substantial harm from disclosure may still be outweighed by the public interest in disclosure.

Finally, the treatment of confidentiality requests should not be taken as an indication of the manner in which such matters would be dealt with in the future, under different circumstances.

Having regard to the considerations set out above, the information subject to a claim of confidentiality listed in the appendix to this letter is to be placed on the public record of this tariff process. In each case where full or partial disclosure is to occur, it is considered that that specific direct harm likely to be caused by disclosure would not outweigh the public interest in disclosure.

Bell Canada is to file with the Commission all information pursuant to the attachment to this letter by 4 July 2003, serving copies on all parties by the same date. This material should be received, not merely sent, by that date.
This letter reflects the Commission’s objective of ensuring that parties have the benefit of the maximum amount of information placed on the public record at the earliest appropriate stage, in order to facilitate a more efficient and effective process.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Leah Ackerman at leah.ackerman@crtc.gc.ca or (819) 997-4577.

Yours truly,


Original signed by Scott Hutton


Scott Hutton
Director, Contribution & Costing
Telecommunications (819) 997-4573

Attachment


c.c:    Leah Ackerman CRTC (819) 997-4577
         Leon Shufelt CRTC (819) 994-9988
         Peter McCallum CRTC (819) 953-2197
         Don Bowles, Call-Net Enterprises Inc.
         Interested Parties to Public Notice 98-31
         Interested Parties to Public Notice 2001-37

ATTACHMENT


Tariff Notice 6747
Bell Canada’s Access Services Tariff Item 43 - Compensation Per Call
Cost Study filed on 23 April 2003

Average Life Estimate for Payphones

Bell Canada is to disclose on the public record, in paragraph 9, page 5 of 12, the 2002 remaining life of the payphones asset account.

Phase II Cost Study Results

Bell Canada is to disclose on the public record:

1. All line items under the column entitled Average Cost per Toll-Free Call, Table 6-2, Payphone Costs Causal to Toll-Free Calls Only.

2. Line item Total Costs (PWACs) under the column entitled Average Cost per Payphone Call, Table 6-3, Payphone Costs Causal to All Call Types.

3. All line items under the column entitled Average Cost per Call, Table 6-4, Development of the Proposed Compensation per Call Charge.

 

Date Modified: 2003-06-27

Date modified: