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ARCHIVED - Telecom Order CRTC 2004-424

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Telecom Order CRTC 2004-424

  Ottawa, 16 December 2004
 

TELUS Communications Inc.

  Reference: Tariff Notice 157
 

Voice Mail Service

1.

The Commission received an application by TELUS Communications Inc. (TCI), dated 1 October 2004, to revise General Tariff item 301, Voice Mail Service (VMS).

2.

TCI stated the majority of its existing voice mail platforms have a "manufacturer discontinued" status and will be phased out over time. TCI stated that it plans to phase in a new voice mail system and coincident with the adoption of this new voice mail system, proposed to offer an expanded ability to send voice messages and two new capabilities to VMS customers. TCI noted that existing voice mail customers who want these new capabilities would be converted, on request, to the new voice mail system.

3.

Specifically, TCI proposed the following revisions to VMS:
 
  • make minor wording changes to clarify the item 301.1, Service Description;
 
  • introduce an expanded ability for VMS subscribers in British Columbia (B.C.) to send network messages to VMS customers in Alberta, or vice versa;
 
  • introduce the ability to send voice messages to people who do not subscribe to TCI's VMS ("non-subscriber messaging") at the per-use rates proposed for Network Messaging;
 
  • reduce the Network Messaging per-use rate for Simple Voice Mail in B.C. to the existing level approved for Enhanced Voice Mail, including the alignment of Network Messaging rates for grandfathered VMS services in B.C. with the rates applicable to Simple Voice Mail and Enhanced Voice Mail;
 
  • introduce a Network Messaging capability in Alberta for VMS services and grandfathered VMS services at the same rates as those applied or proposed for B.C. VMS services;
 
  • add two new capabilities to Enhanced Voice Mail:
 

- access via the Internet to manage messages and features; and

 

- initiate a call to the phone number of a calling party who leaves a message.

 
  • withdraw the System Distribution mailbox offered in B.C., a service that no longer has any customers. (Alberta has no similar service offering.);
 
  • correct two typographical errors in the rates table for VMS grandfathered services in B.C. inadvertently made in the Tariff Notice 145 revisions recently approved in TELUS Communications Inc. - Call Management Features, Telecom Order CRTC 2004-295; 30 August 2004; and
 
  • make other miscellaneous changes to correspond with the revisions proposed in this application.

4.

TCI filed an imputation test in support of its application.

5.

TCI stated that the item 301 - Voice Mail Service (Residential portion) contained in this application has been classified as part of the Residential Optional Services sub-baskets within the non-high-cost serving areas (non-HCSAs) and high-cost serving areas (HCSAs) Basic Residential Services baskets, pursuant to the determinations in Follow-up to Regulatory framework for second price cap period, Telecom Decision CRTC 2002-34 - Service basket assignment, Telecom Decision CRTC 2003-11, 18 March 2003.

6.

TCI stated that the proposed reduction to Voice Mail Network Messaging per-use rates would result in a small negative revenue impact for the company. Further, TCI noted that these changes would not materially affect the revenue totals for the Residential Optional Services sub-baskets within the non-HCSAs and HCSAs Basic Residential Services Baskets.

7.

TCI filed an updated price cap model detailing the reprice impacts of the proposed per-use reductions.

8.

The Commission received no comments with respect to the application.
 

Commission's analysis and determination

 

Costing Issues

9.

The Commission notes that for a new service or a rate decrease, the proposed rates must satisfy the imputation test. The Commission considers that the imputation test is the accepted method, under the current regulatory regime, of determining whether the proposed rates would be anti-competitive.

10.

The Commission finds that the proposed Network Messaging per-use rates pass the imputation test.
 

Compliance with pricing constraints set out in Decision 2002-34

11.

In Regulatory framework for second price cap period, Telecom Decision CRTC 2002-34, 30 May 2002 (Decision 2002-34), the Commission applied a number of constraints to the rates for the residential optional local services in HCSAs and residential optional local services in non-HCSAs sub-baskets, in order to provide customers of those services with price protection. The constraints include:
 
  • a basket constraint for residential local services in non-HCSAs, operating through the service basket limit (SBL), which must be updated annually by the rate of inflation less the productivity offset, and such that the service basket index (SBI) must not exceed the SBL;
 
  • a rate element constraint limiting rate increases to no more than $1.00 per feature per year for residential optional local services in both HCSAs and non-HCSAs; and
 
  • a provision, in order to prevent an incumbent local exchange carrier from decreasing rates in more competitive areas and increasing rates in less competitive areas of the same band, that rates for residential optional local services in both HCSAs and non-HCSAs would not be permitted to be further de-averaged within a band.

12.

The Commission notes that the proposed rate revision is a rate decrease and therefore the rate element constraint for HCSAs and non-HCSAs is not applicable. The Commission finds that the proposed tariff revisions comply with the basket constraint requirement that the SBI not exceed the SBL for the residential local services in non-HCSAs basket.

13.

The Commission also finds that the proposed tariff revisions comply with the Commission's prohibition, set out in Decision 2002-34, of further de-averaging rates for residential optional local services in HCSAs and non-HCSAs within a band.

14.

Accordingly, the Commission considers that TCI's proposal is consistent with the pricing constraints established in Decision 2002-34.

15.

The Commission approves TCI's application. The revisions take effect as of 26 January 2005.
  Secretary General
  This document is available in alternative format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca

 

Date Modified: 2004-12-16

Date modified: