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Telecom Order CRTC 2003-294
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Ottawa, 23 July 2003
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Aliant Telecom Inc.
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Reference: Tariff Notices 83 and 84
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Business standard service charge and Business single-line access service
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The Commission received applications by Aliant Telecom Inc. (Aliant Telecom) under Tariff Notices 83 and 84, dated 23 May 2003 and 26 May 2003 respectively, to revise the Aliant Telecom General Tariff item 205.2, Business Single-line Access Service, and item 255, Standard Service Charges.
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Aliant Telecom proposed the following tariff revisions:
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- increase the Business single-line access service rate in Newfoundland and Labrador in rate band A by 9.4%;
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- increase the Business standard service charge rates by approximately 10%; and
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- revise the section and item titles on the tariff pages to make them more consistent with the format used elsewhere in the tariff.
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Aliant Telecom requested that the increases to the Business standard service charge rates be effective 1 August 2003 and that the increases to the Business single-line access service rates be effective 1 October 2003.
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Aliant Telecom submitted that the proposed tariff revisions complied with all of the pricing constraints set out in Regulatory framework for second price cap period, Telecom Decision CRTC 2002-34, 30 May 2002 (Decision 2002-34).
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No comments were received with respect to the applications.
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Commission analysis and determinations
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Compliance with pricing constraints in Decision 2002-34
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In Decision 2002-34 the Commission established the price regulation regime that is now applicable to the following incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs): Aliant Telecom, Bell Canada, MTS Communications Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications and TELUS Communications Inc. (collectively, the ILECs).
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In Decision 2002-34, the Commission applied a number of constraints to the rates for services in the single and multi-line business local exchange services basket, in order to provide customers of those services with price protection.
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The pricing constraints which apply to services in the single and multi-line business local exchange services basket include:
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- a basket constraint, operating through the service basket limit (SBL) for that basket, which must be updated annually by the rate of inflation;
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- a rate element constraint limiting rate increases for a service to 10% per year; and
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- a provision, in order to prevent an ILEC from decreasing rates in more competitive areas and increasing rates in less competitive areas of the same band, that rates for business local exchange services would not be permitted to be further de-averaged within a band.
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The Commission notes that the proposed increases to the rates for Business single-line access service and the Business standard service charges do not exceed 10%. The Commission finds that the proposed tariff revisions comply with the basket constraint requirement that the service basket index not exceed the SBL for the single and multi-line business local exchange services basket.
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The Commission also finds that the proposed tariff revisions comply with the Commission's prohibition, set out in Decision 2002-34, against further de-averaging of rates for business local exchange services within a band.
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Accordingly, the Commission finds that the proposed tariff revisions are in accordance with the Commission's determinations in Decision 2002-34.
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In light of the foregoing:
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- the Commission approves the proposed Business standard service charges. The revisions take effect as of 1 August 2003; and
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- the Commission approves the proposed Business single-line access service rates. The revisions take effect as of 1 October 2003.
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Secretary General
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This document is available in alternative format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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Date Modified: 2003-07-23