ARCHIVED - Telecom - Commission letter

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Letter

Ottawa, 26 August 2008

Email distribution

Dear Sir/Madam:

Re:  Disposition of certain pending wholesale service applications

By letter dated 22 June 2007, the Commission deferred further consideration of certain applications related to wholesale services (previously referred to as competitor services), pending the completion of the proceeding to review Phase II costing issues. In that letter, the Commission expressed the view that the costs under review for the services in question contained significant expense components and therefore raised issues that might be materially affected by the Commission’s determinations as a result of the proceeding to review Phase II costing issues. The tariff applications involving wholesale service cost reviews that were deferred in this letter are set out in Attachment 2.

In Telecom Order 2007-430, the Commission approved Competitor Digital Network (CDN) link service rates for Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership (Bell Aliant), Bell Canada, Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel), and TELUS Communications Company (TCC) on an interim basis. In paragraph 46 of that Order, the Commission stated that it would not be appropriate to dispose of these service rates on a final basis pending the outcome of the Commission’s determinations in two proceedings, the proceeding to review the Phase II costing issues initiated by Telecom Public Notice 2007-4 and the proceeding to review the regulatory framework for wholesale services initiated by Telecom Public Notice 2006-14. These CDN link tariff applications are also set out in Attachment 2.

The Commission notes that the proceeding to review the regulatory framework for wholesale services concluded with the issuance of Telecom Decision 2008-17. In that Decision, the Commission set out a restructured regulatory framework for wholesale services, including a new wholesale service classification and associated pricing principles. The Commission notes that pursuant to this Decision the wholesale services related to the tariff applications identified in Attachment 2 continue to be mandated.  

With respect to the proceeding to review the Phase II costing issues, the Commission notes that it issued Telecom Decision 2008-14. In that Decision, the Commission rendered its determinations with respect to the appropriate expense inclusions and the associated approaches and methodologies to estimate causal expenses for inclusion in regulatory economic studies, and initiated a follow-up proceeding to review the revised costing methodologies and documentation to be filed by Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, MTS Allstream Inc. (MTS Allstream), SaskTel, and TCC (collectively, the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs)) pursuant to Telecom Decision 2008-14. The Commission further indicated that its determinations with respect to the treatment of expenses would come into effect following the ILECs’ proposed submissions required by that Decision.

On 25 August 2008, the Commission issued Telecom Order 2008-237. In that Order, the Commission concluded that each ILEC’s expense methodologies as documented in its revised Regulatory Economic Studies Manual (revised Manual) reflected the determinations of Telecom Decision 2008-14 and were appropriate. 

Having completed this follow-up proceeding, the Commission expects each ILEC to rely on its revised Manual for developing regulatory economic studies in support of tariff applications. The Commission further considers that the cost reviews associated with the applications identified in Attachment 2 contain significant expense components which may be materially affected by the Commission’s determinations in Telecom Decision 2008-14.

In light of the above, each ILEC is requested to submit revised cost studies for the wholesale services related to the tariff applications identified in Attachment 2 in accordance with its revised Manual along with associated proposed tariff pages.

The Commission notes that on 14 March 2008 Yak Communications (Canada) Inc. (Yak) brought an application requesting that the Commission review and update costs associated with the Billing and Collection Service (BCS) processing charge rates of each ILEC within 30 days from the date of the Commission’s decision in the Phase II follow-up proceeding. Subsequently Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, and SaskTel brought an application to defer consideration of Yak’s application, which the Commission denied in a letter dated 11 July 2008.  In its letter, the Commission also indicated that the process for considering Yak’s 14 March 2008 application would be established at the conclusion of the Phase II follow-up proceeding. 

On 15 May 2008, the Commission received a Part VII application from Bell Canada on behalf of itself, Bell Aliant, SaskTel and Télébec, Limited Partnership (Bell Canada et al.).  Bell Canada et al. requested that the Commission review and vary Telecom Decision 2008-17 to reclassify BCS from the Interconnection to the Conditional Mandated Non-Essential service category and to provide flexibility to establish a mark-up greater than 15% for BCS.  Consistent with Bell Canada et al.’s application, BCS will continue to be a tariffed service if the relief requested is granted. The Commission considers that the BCS processing charges contain significant expense components which may be materially affected by Telecom Decision 2008-14 and that further process on this issue would be appropriate.

With regard to the cost review of the wholesale services identified in Attachment 2 and the Yak application, each ILEC is to file updated cost studies as requested above, and  BCS processing charge cost studies, in accordance with its revised Manual by 27 October 2008, serving a copy on all parties to the applications listed in Attachment 2. Parties may file comments, serving a copy on the relevant ILECs, by 17 November 2008. ILECs may file reply comments, serving a copy on the party that submitted comments, by 1st December 2008. Where material is to be filed by a certain date, the material must actually be received, and not merely sent, by that date. 

With respect to filing proposed tariff pages for BCS, further process will be established after the Commission issues its determinations on Bell Canada et al.’s application to review and vary the wholesale service classification of BCS.

Yours sincerely,

 

Original signed by Alan Rosenzveig

for

Robert A. Morin
Secretary General

Attachment:  Distribution List

                          Tariff Notice Applications

 

Related documents

  • Regulatory Economic Studies Manuals – Follow-up Proceeding to Telecom Decision 2008-14, Telecom Order CRTC 2008-237, 25 August 2008

  • Revised regulatory framework for wholesale services and definition of essential service, Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-17, 3 March 2008

  • Review of certain Phase II costing issues, Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-14, 21 February 2008, as amended by Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-14-1, 11 April 2008

  • Competitor Digital Network service – Competitor link service, Telecom Order CRTC 2007-430, 16 November 2007

  • Review of certain Phase II costing issues, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2007-4, 30 March 2007

  • Review of regulatory framework for wholesale services and definition of essential service, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-14, 9 November 2006, as amended by Telecom Public Notices CRTC 2006-14-1, 15 December 2006; 2006-14-2, 15 February 2007; 2006-14-3, 16 March 2007; and 2006-14-4, 20 March 2007

Attachment 1

Distribution List

Bell Aliant    regulatory@bell.aliant.ca
Bell Canada   bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Cybersurf   marcel.mercia@cybersurf.com
MTS Allstream   iworkstation@mtsallstream.com
Persona   dean@personainc.ca
Primus   regulatory@primustel.ca
Rogers    david.watt@rci.rogers.com
SaskTel    document.control@sasktel.sk.ca
Shaw   Regulatory@sjrb.ca
Télébec    regmat@ntl.sympatico.ca
TCC   regulatory.affairs@telus.com
Vidéotron   regaffairs@quebecor.com
Yak   simonlockie@globealive.com

 

Attachment 2

Tariff Notice Applications

1. Tariff applications involving wholesale services deferred by Commission letter dated 22 June 2007

Aliant Telecom Inc. (now Bell Aliant) Tariff Notice 213       8740-A53-200613423
Bell Aliant Tariff Notice 49                                                  8740-B54-200613499
Bell Canada Tariff Notice 6995                                           8740-B2-200613514
MTS Allstream Tariff Notice 605                                        8740-M59-200613811
SaskTel Tariff Notice 126                                                   8740-S22-200613613
TCC Tariff Notice 576                                                        8740-T42-200613639
TELUS Communications (B.C.) Inc. Tariff Notice 4261      8740-T46-200613647

2. CDN link tariff applications not approved on a final basis in Telecom Order 2007-430

Bell Aliant Tariff Notice 82                                                   8740-B54-200705502
Bell Canada Tariff Notice 7028                                            8740-B2-200705494
SaskTel Tariff Notices 136, 136A, and 136B                       8740-S22-200706955
TCC Tariff Notices 168B and 168C                                     8740-T66-200503096

Date Modified: 2008-08-26

Date modified: