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Ottawa, 31 August 2010

File Ref.: 8640-S22-201011908

BY EMAIL

Mr. Jim Deane
President & CEO
Access Communications Co-operative Limited
2250 Park Street
Regina, Saskatchewan  S4N 7K7
documents@accesscomm.ca

Dear Mr. Deane,

Re: Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel) – Application for forbearance from the regulation of residential local exchange services in the exchanges of Esterhazy, Estevan, and Weyburn, Saskatchewan

The Commission is in receipt of a letter from Access Communications Co-operative Limited (Access Communications), dated 23 August 2010, stating that it provides coverage in areas containing approximately 75 percent of the population of the exchanges of Esterhazy, Estevan, and Weyburn, Saskatchewan.  However, in order to make a determination on SaskTel’s application for forbearance, the Commission must confirm that there are at least two independent facilities-based telecommunications service providers, including providers of mobile wireless services, each of which offers local exchange services in the market and is capable of serving at least 75 percent of the number of residential local exchange service lines that SaskTel is capable of serving, and at least one of which, in addition to SaskTel, is a facilities-based, fixed-line telecommunications service provider.

Therefore, in order to complete the record of  the above-mentioned application,
Access Communications is to file, by 7 September 2010, the estimated number of residential network access services lines, or the estimated number of households, that it is capable of serving in the exchanges of Esterhazy, Estevan, and Weyburn, or a statement that it offers local exchange services in the market and is capable of serving at least 75 percent of the number of residential local exchange service lines that SaskTel is capable of serving.

In the above-mentioned application, SaskTel also requests that the Commission grant forbearance of local exchange services in these exchanges consistent with paragraph 523 of modified Telecom Decision 2006-15, which states:

If, prior to granting local forbearance, the Commission is informed that the ILEC's application is based on competition in the relevant market from an independent fixed-line telecommunications service provider that, including all of its affiliates, has less than 20,000 local exchange services customers in Canada, the forbearance will not be effective until at least 18 months after the day on which the service provider began providing local exchange services in that market.

Access Communications is to confirm, by 7 September 2010, whether it fits that description and, if so, submit the dates on which it started offering services in the exchanges of Esterhazy, Estevan, and Weyburn, Saskatchewan.

Where a document is to be filed by a specific date, the document must be received, and not merely sent, by that date.

Yours sincerely,

Original signed by

Mario Bertrand
Director, competition implementation and technology
Telecommunications

cc: Alexander Adeyinka, Rogers Communications Inc.
alexander.adeyinka@rci.rogers.com
Robert Hersche, SaskTel
document.control@sasktel.sk.ca

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