ARCHIVED - Telecom Order CRTC 2010-707
This page has been archived on the Web
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. Archived Decisions, Notices and Orders (DNOs) remain in effect except to the extent they are amended or reversed by the Commission, a court, or the government. The text of archived information has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Changes to DNOs are published as “dashes” to the original DNO number. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats by contacting us.
Ottawa, 23 September 2010
Télébec, Limited Partnership – Business primary exchange service and Centrex service
File numbers: Tariff notices 416, 416A, and 416B
1. The Commission received an application from Télébec, Limited Partnership (Télébec), dated 11 June 2010 and amended on 22 June 2010 and 3 August 2010, in which the company proposed modifications to its business primary exchange service (PES) and Centrex service. In its application, Télébec indicated that the proposed rates reflect the price cap regime established in Telecom Decision 2007-27.[1]
2. Télébec indicated that, in Tariff Notices 414 and 414A, it had proposed to reduce the monthly business PES rate on 1 June 2010 in the G1-e rate sub-band. Télébec also indicated that, in Tariff Notice 415, it had proposed increasing the monthly Centrex service rates on 1 June 2010 in four rate sub-bands.
3. Télébec submitted that, for marketing reasons, it had not applied the above-mentioned tariff revisions in the following five exchanges: Daveluyville, Mistissini, Princeville, St-Ours, and St-Sylvère, Quebec. Télébec therefore proposed to introduce new rate sub-bands for these five exchanges in order to be able to distinguish them from the exchanges in which the revised tariffs are in effect. Télébec also proposed to apply the monthly rates that were in effect in the existing rate sub-bands of these five exchanges prior to approval of Tariff Notices 414, 414A, and 415 to the new rate sub-bands.
4. Télébec requested that the Commission ratify, for the period from 1 June 2010 to the effective date of the proposed tariff pages, the rates it had billed for business PES in the Mistissini exchange and for Centrex service in the Daveluyville, Princeville, St-Ours, and St-Sylvère exchanges. In addition, Télébec proposed to introduce a rate sub-band for the Shawville, Quebec exchange and to increase the monthly Centrex service rates in that sub-band.
5. The Commission received no comments regarding this application. The public record of this proceeding, which closed on 3 August 2010, is available on the Commission's website at www.crtc.gc.ca under “Public Proceedings” or by using the file number provided above.
6. The Commission notes that, in Telecom Decision 2007-106, it allowed incumbent local exchange carriers to de-average the rates for business local exchange services and uncapped services, such as Centrex services. The Commission considers that the creation of new rate sub-bands to distinguish certain exchanges in which different rates are in effect is equivalent to de-averaging the rates in a given sub-band.
7. Consequently, the Commission considers that the revisions proposed above are consistent with Telecom Decision 2007-106 and with the price cap regime established in Telecom Decision 2007-27.
8. Regarding Télébec’s ratification request, the Commission notes that the company is continuing to bill, in the Mistissini exchange, the business PES rates that were in effect prior to the approval of Tariff Notices 414 and 414A, and in the Daveluyville, Princeville, St-Ours, and St-Sylvère exchanges, the Centrex service rates that were in effect prior to approval of Tariff Notice 415.
9. The Commission also notes that, in Tariff Notice 414, Télébec had proposed to introduce a new rate sub-band for the Mistissini exchange, in order to maintain the business PES rate that was in effect at that time. However, Télébec was notified that, under Telecom Decision 2008-74, the introduction of a new rate sub-band does not constitute an acceptable change for a Group A retail tariff filing (which may come into effect beginning on the filing date), and that the application would therefore be reclassified as a Group B retail tariff filing (which generally receives interim approval on the 15th calendar day following its receipt). For this reason, and since the tariff revisions associated with the price cap regime were to come into effect a few days after the Commission received the initial notice from Télébec, the company filed Tariff Notice 414A to withdraw its proposal concerning the introduction of a rate sub-band for the Mistissini exchange.
10. The Commission also notes that, in Tariff Notice 415, Télébec had not proposed introducing new rate sub-bands for the Daveluyville, Princeville, St-Ours, and St-Sylvère exchanges for these same reasons.
11. Subsection 25(4) of the Telecommunications Act states that the Commission may ratify the charging of a rate otherwise than in accordance with a tariff approved by the Commission if the Commission is satisfied that the rate was charged because of an error or other circumstance that warrants the ratification. The Commission concludes that, since 1 June 2010, Télébec has billed rates other than those approved for the business PES in the Mistissini exchange and for the Centrex service in the Daveluyville, Princeville, St-Ours, and St-Sylvère exchanges due to an error in its understanding of the acceptable tariff revisions for a Group A retail tariff filing.
12. In light of the above, the Commission approves Télébec’s proposal to introduce new rate sub-bands for the exchanges of Daveluyville, Mistissini, Princeville, St-Ours, St-Sylvère, and Shawville, Quebec, and to apply the monthly rates it proposed for business PES and the Centrex service. In addition, the Commission ratifies the business PES and Centrex service rates billed by Télébec for the period from 1 June 2010 to the date of this order in the exchanges of Daveluyville, Mistissini, Princeville, St-Ours, and St-Sylvère, Quebec.
Secretary General
Related documents
- Approval mechanisms for retail and CLEC tariffs, Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-74, 21 August 2008
- Further rate de-averaging for pay telephone and business services for large incumbent local exchange carriers, Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-106, 9 November 2007
- Follow-up to Decision 2007-27 – Show cause submission related to the application of the price cap regime to Télébec, Limited Partnership, Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-60, 30 July 2007, as amended by Telecom Decision 2007-60-1, 10 August 2007
- Price cap framework for large incumbent local exchange carriers, Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-27, 30 April 2007
- Date modified: