ARCHIVED - Telecom Commission Letter - 8638-C12-200512964

Letter

By facsimile

File No.: 8638-C12-200512964

Ottawa, 28 March 2006

To: Carriers - Telephone Companies List; and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers - CLEC List

Dear Sir/Madam

Subject: Telecom Decision CRTC 2005-61, Follow-up to Emergency services obligations for local VoIP service providers, Decision 2005-21 - Customer notification requirements

Pursuant to paragraphs 9 and 15 of Follow-up to Emergency services obligations for local VoIP service providers, Decision 2005-21 - Customer notification requirements, Telecom Decision 2005-61, 20 October 2005 (Decision 2006-61), Canadian carriers offering local VoIP service were directed to submit the proposed text of customer notifications for Commission review within 30 days of the date of Decision 2005-61. The proposed text must adhere to the requirements set out in Implementation of Local Competition, CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee, Report to the CRTC, 21 July 2005 (the Report) (attachment to Decision 2005-61) and in paragraphs 11-13 of Decision 2005-61. In addition, the Commission directed Canadian carriers offering local VoIP service to abide by the customer notification requirements set out in the Report, Decisions 2005-61 and 2005-21, within 90 days of Decision 2005-61 (20 January 2006).

Further, at paragraph 17 of Decision 2005-61, the Commission directed all Canadian carriers, as a condition of providing telecommunications services to local VoIP service providers, to include in their service contracts or other arrangements with these service providers, the requirement that the latter abide by the directions set out in the Decision. This condition applied immediately to all new, amended, and renewed contracts and other arrangements between Canadian carriers and other local VoIP service providers. Furthermore, in order to ensure that all local VoIP service providers offering service abided by the deadlines specified in paragraphs 14 and 15, the Commission required all Canadian carriers to re-open existing contracts and other arrangements with local VoIP service providers, in order to include the above condition, within 10 days of the Decision.

Commission staff has recently been made aware that the directives to provide appropriate customer notification text for Commission review and/or for customer use concerning emergency 9-1-1 service limitations are not being adhered to by local VoIP service providers in all cases.   Consequently, all ILECs and CLECs are requested to provide the following information by 12 April 2006:

•  The name(s) of the local VoIP service providers to whom they provide telecommunications services; 

•  Whether the ILEC/CLEC have revised their contracts or other arrangements with each of the local VoIP service providers listed in a) above, including the requirement to abide by the directions set out in Decision 2005-61.   If the contracts or other arrangements have not been revised, an explanation of why they have not been revised and the expected date of completion; and 

•  A description of actions taken or planned where the ILEC/CLEC finds that a local VoIP service provider is not conforming with a) the emergency 9-1-1 customer notification directives of Decision 2005-61, or b) a local VoIP service provider is found to be not registered with the Commission as a reseller.

Where an ILEC/CLEC is not providing telecommunications services to any local VoIP service providers, please respond to that effect.

Sincerely,

Gerry Lylyk
Director, Consumer Affairs
Telecommunications Branch

c.c: Al Symons, CRTC (819) 997-4604