|
Letter
Ottawa, 26 April 2007
File No: 8678-C12-200615578
BY E-MAIL
To: Interested parties to Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-15
Re: Review of proposals to dispose of the funds accumulated in the deferral accounts , Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-15 - Cogeco Request for Extension - Process amendment
Dear Sir or Madam:
In a letter dated 16 April 2007 , Cogeco Cable inc. (Cogeco) requested an extension to the filing deadline for responses to interrogatories by alternative broadband service providers in the above-referenced proceeding from 4 May to 25 May 2007 . Cogeco indicated that in light of its other operational priorities, it needed the additional time to produce and review maps and other related information requested by the Commission and Bell Canada .
Further to Commission staff's letter of 18 April 2007 , Bell Canada, Cochrane Lake Gas Co-op Ltd. ( Cochrane Lake ), MTS Allstream Inc. (MTS Allstream), the Public Interest Law Centre on behalf of Manitoba Keewatinook Okimowin (MKO), Rogers Communications Inc. (Rogers), and TELUS Communications Company (TCC) submitted comments with respect to Cogeco's request.
Commission staff notes that Rogers and TCC supported Cogeco's request, indicating that they too would be unable to respond to the interrogatories addressed to them by 4 May 2007 . Commission staff notes Bell Canada 's comments that, while it was concerned with introducing additional delay, comprehensive responses to the interrogatories regarding geographic coverage are critical to the proceeding. Commission staff also notes that Bell Canada and MTS Allstream proposed that if an extension of time were granted, it should apply to all parties, and Bell Canada proposed that it should apply in regard to interrogatory responses related to both the broadband and accessibility proposals.
Commission staff further notes MKO's comments pertaining to the granting of an extension during this time period in light of important events occurring in the MKO region. Commission staff notes that MKO also submitted that Cogeco's broadband expansion plans were only relevant to some of the proposals under review in the Public Notice (PN) 2006-15 proceeding, and that Cogeco should have the resources, in-house or through outside contract, to efficiently produce the required maps. In this regard, Commission staff also notes Cochrane Lake 's view that current operational obligations are an inherent part of doing business.
Having considered all submissions related to Cogeco's request for an extension, Commission staff is of the view that an extension until 16 May 2007 for the filing of responses to interrogatories by all parties to the PN 2006-15 proceeding in relation to both broadband and accessibility is appropriate. As well, in order to minimize the impact of this extension on the remainder of the PN 2006-15 proceeding, Commission staff has revised the schedule so that the close of record will only be delayed by four business days as a result of this extension.
Accordingly, the procedure set out in PN 2006-15 is modified as indicated in the attachment to this letter. For ease of reference, the paragraph numbers have been maintained as they appear in PN 2006-15, and the revised dates are shown in bold.
Sincerely,
'Original signed by S. Bédard '
Suzanne Bédard
Senior Manager, Tariffs
Telecommunications
Attach.
cc: Michel Murray, CRTC (819) 997-9300, michel.murray@crtc.gc.ca
ATTACHMENT
The procedure established in Public Notice 2006-15, paragraphs 14 to 37, is further revised as follows:
|
|
Procedure
|
|
14.
|
The proposals submitted by the ILECs to use funds accumulated in their deferral accounts to expand broadband services and improve accessibility to telecommunications services for persons with disabilities, pursuant to the determinations in Decision 2006-9, and other relevant information received by the Commission, will be considered part of the public record for this proceeding.
|
|
15.
|
Bell Aliant, Bell Canada , MTS Allstream, SaskTel, and TCC are made parties to this proceeding.
|
|
16.
|
Other parties wishing to participate fully in this proceeding (including receiving copies of all submissions) must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by filling out the on-line form, or by writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, or by faxing to the attention of the Secretary General at: 819-994-0218 by 15 December 2006 (the registration date). Parties are to provide their email addresses, where available. If parties do not have access to the Internet, they are to indicate in their notice whether they wish to receive disk versions of hard-copy filings.
|
|
17.
|
The Commission will issue on its website, as soon as possible after the registration date, a complete list of interested parties and their mailing addresses (including their email addresses, if available), identifying those parties who wish to receive disk versions.
|
|
18.
|
Any person who wishes merely to file written comments in this proceeding, without receiving copies of the various submissions, may do so by writing to the Commission by 12 July 2007 at the address or fax number noted above, or by filling out the online form
|
|
19.
|
The Commission will not formally acknowledge comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments and they will form part of the public record of the proceeding.
|
|
20.
|
Concurrent with the issuance of this Public Notice, the Commission will be issuing interrogatories to the ILECs. Responses are to be filed with the Commission and served on all parties by 19 February 2007 .
|
|
21.
|
As noted above, all alternative broadband service providers who intend to file submissions in this proceeding with respect to the exclusion of any community on the basis that it is already served or is likely to be served, are required to file the information described in paragraph 9 with the Commission and serve it on all other parties by 19 February 2007 .
|
|
22.
|
Any party referenced in paragraph 15, or that has notified the Commission of its intention to participate in accordance with the procedure in paragraph 16, may request the public disclosure of information for which confidentiality has been claimed by an ILEC, as part of its proposals or its responses to the Commission interrogatories described in paragraph 20, or by any other party, including any alternative broadband service provider that has filed in accordance with paragraph 21. Any such request for public disclosure must be submitted to the Commission and served on the relevant party or parties by 26 February 2007 .
|
|
23.
|
Written responses to requests for public disclosure must be filed with the Commission and served on the party or parties making the request by 5 March 2007 .
|
|
24.
|
Determinations with respect to requests for public disclosure will be issued as soon as possible. Any information to be provided pursuant to these determinations must be filed with the Commission and served on all parties by 23 March 2007 .
|
|
25.
|
Parties may also address interrogatories to any party referenced in paragraph 15, any party that notifies the Commission of its intention to participate pursuant to the procedure described in paragraph 16, or any alternative broadband service provider who files information pursuant to paragraph 21. Any such interrogatories must be filed with the Commission and served on the relevant party or parties by 30 March 2007 . It is expected that the Commission will issue additional interrogatories at the same time.
|
|
26.
|
Responses to the interrogatories referenced in paragraph 25 are to be filed with the Commission and served on all parties by 16 May 2007 .
|
|
27.
|
Requests by parties for further responses to their 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 in each case the reasons for disclosure, must be filed with the Commission and served on the relevant party or parties by 24 May 2007 .
|
|
28.
|
Written responses to requests for further responses to interrogatories and for public disclosure must be filed with the Commission and served on the party or parties making the request by 31 May 2007 .
|
|
29.
|
Determinations will be issued with respect to requests for further information and public disclosure as soon as possible. Any information to be provided pursuant to that determination must be filed with the Commission and served on all parties by 20 June 2007 .
|
|
30.
|
All parties may file final comments with the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties, by 12 July 2007 .
|
|
31.
|
All parties may file reply comments with the Commission, serving a copy on all other parties, by 26 July 2007 .
|
|
32.
|
The Commission expects to issue a decision on the issues raised in this Public Notice within 180 days after the record closes.
|
|
33.
|
Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, not merely sent, by that date.
|
|
34.
|
Parties can file their submissions electronically or on paper. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary.
|
|
35.
|
Electronic submissions should be in HTML format. As an alternative, those making submissions may use Microsoft Word for text and Microsoft Excel for spreadsheets.
|
|
36.
|
Each paragraph of submissions should be numbered. In addition, the line ***End of document*** should be entered following the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during transmission.
|
|
37.
|
The Commission also encourages parties to monitor the record of this proceeding (and/or the Commission's website) for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submissions.
|
Date Modified: 2007-04-26
|