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Telecom Order CRTC 2003-421
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Ottawa, 15 October 2003
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Saskatchewan Telecommunications
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Reference: Tariff notices 52 and 52A
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Public and semi-public telephone message toll service - Flat rate charge for commercial credit cards
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1.
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The Commission received an application by Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel), dated 21 July 2003 and amended on 15 August 2003, to introduce a flat-rate per minute message toll rate of $0.36 per minute for calls placed to Canada and the United States from public and semi-public telephone service equipment and billed to a commercial credit card. The current $1.00 per call charge for calls billed to a credit card would continue to apply.
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2.
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SaskTel stated that currently these calls are billed at SaskTel's basic toll schedule per minute rates, which vary based on distance and time of day. SaskTel noted that, unlike other call types, billing of calls charged to commercial credit cards must be performed manually. SaskTel submitted that the manual billing of each of these calls is time-consuming and costly.
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3.
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SaskTel provided a comparison of the actual year 2002 credit card revenue for such calls billed using SaskTel's basic toll schedules with the revenue that SaskTel would have received if these calls had instead been billed at the proposed flat rate of $0.36 per minute.
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4.
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The Commission received no comments with respect to the application.
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5.
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In Forbearance - Regulation of toll services provided by incumbent telephone companies, Telecom Decision CRTC 97-19, 18 December 1997 (Decision 97-19), the Commission determined that changes within any of the North American basic toll schedules would be permissible, provided that any rate increases within a schedule be offset by corresponding decreases within the same schedule such that no change to that schedule's weighted average rate would result.
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6.
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In SaskTel - Transition to federal regulation, Decision CRTC 2000-150, 9 May 2000, the Commission forbore from regulating, pursuant to section 34 of the Telecommunications Act, the provision of toll and toll-free services by SaskTel, consistent with the terms and conditions of Decision 97-19.
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7.
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The Commission notes that the comparison provided by SaskTel demonstrates that, at year 2002 levels of demands, the basic toll schedule rates and the proposed flat rate would result in the same amount of revenue for calls to Canada and the United States placed from public and semi-public telephones and billed to a commercial credit card. Accordingly, the Commission is satisfied that the proposed changes are revenue neutral and consistent with the cap on basic toll schedule rates established in Decision 97-19.
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8.
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In light of the above, the Commission approves SaskTel's application. The revisions take effect as of the date of this order.
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9.
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The Commission considers that prospective users of public and semi-public telephones should be advised of the proposed flat-rate charge per minute for message toll calls placed to Canada and the United States.
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10.
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The Commission therefore directs SaskTel to post a notice on its public and semi-public telephones that there is a flat-rate per minute message toll rate of $0.36 per minute for calls placed to Canada and the United States and billed to a commercial credit card, in addition to the $1.00 per call charge.
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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: www.crtc.gc.ca
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Date Modified: 2003-10-15