ARCHIVED -  Letter

Ottawa, 3 February 2012

File number: 8622-C182-201200063

BY E-MAIL

Mr. Phillippe Gauvin
Counsel – Regulatory Law and Policy
Bell Canada
160 Elgin Street, Floor 19
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2C4
bell.regulatory@bell.ca

Re:  Bell companies’ request to revise process for CNOC Part I Application related to implementation of capacity model approved in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2011-703

Dear Mr. Gauvin:

I.  Application

By letter dated 2 February 2012, Bell Canada and Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership (the Bell companies) requested amendments to the process for Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc.’s (CNOC) Part 1 Application dated 4 January 2012.¹  This process provides that interested persons may comment on CNOC’s application and certain related matters by 6 February 2012 and that CNOC may reply by 16 February 2012.

The Bell companies stated they were requesting process amendments related to CNOC’s Part I Application in light of the Commission’s determinations in Telecom Decision 2012-60, issued on 27 January 2012.  In that Decision, among other things, the Commission maintained 1 February 2012 as the date for the Bell companies’ implementation of capacity based billing (CBB) for their wholesale Gateway Access services (GAS) and imposed an interim approach that provides Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with the option of either using realm splitting between their residential and business traffic (traffic splitting) for the Bell companies’ GAS or being billed according to a modified method.

Specifically, the Bell companies’ requested that, in addition to the issues raised in CNOC’s Application, all parties, including CNOC, be permitted to comment by 13 February 2012 on the appropriateness of (a) what they characterized as Telecom Decision 2012-60’s introduction of parallel billing regimes for CBB, and (b) the 10 percent reduction of the access rate for business GAS introduced in that Decision as a longer term solution.  The Bell companies further requested that all parties have a right of reply within a further 10 days. The Bell companies submitted that the requested process amendments would avoid the creation of a parallel proceeding related to the implementation of CBB.

II.  Comments

Comments dated 2 February 2012 were received from CNOC, MTS Allstream Inc. (MTS Allstream) and Vaxination Informatique (Vaxination) on the Bell companies’ proposed procedural amendment.  MTS Allstream disagreed with the Bell companies’ proposal and submitted that an additional process should be established to consider the interim rate approach in Telecom Decision 2012-60 as, in its view, this matter is sufficiently different from the relief requested in CNOC’s Part 1 Application to warrant this approach.

CNOC and Vaxination generally agreed with the Bell companies’ proposal.  However, CNOC submitted that parties should also be able to propose other economic approaches to address traffic splitting, in addition to the approach adopted on an interim basis in Telecom Decision 2012-20.  CNOC supported the Bell companies’ proposed extension, to 13 February 2012, of the comment date for all parties and proposed a reply comment date of 28 February 2012.  CNOC further requested that the Commission permit all parties to submit reply comments only on the issue of economic approaches for CBB that address traffic splitting.

CNOC and Vaxination also addressed the issue of possible interrogatories.  CNOC submitted that it is premature and inefficient to determine, prior to a review of submissions, whether an interrogatory process is appropriate.

III.  Revised process

Commission staff notes that CNOC’s Part 1 Application raises issues that affect many parties. It therefore considers that it is appropriate to revise the process for CNOC’s Part 1 Application to provide parties with the opportunity to comment on the issues under consideration, and that it is most efficient to revise this process as follows:

1. Any interested person may submit comments to the Commission by 13 February 2012 on issues raised by CNOC’s Part 1 Application, on using a single realm to support traffic splitting in conjunction with a 10 percent reduction in the access rate for business GAS as a longer term solution, and may propose other economic solutions that address traffic splitting;
2. ll parties may submit reply comments on all issues to the Commission by 28 February 2012.

Initial comments must be served on all other parties to the proceeding begun by Telecom Notice of Consultation (TNC) 2011-77 and received, not merely sent, by the specified dates.

Further, Commission staff notes its intention to assess, based on submissions received, whether it will address interrogatories to parties.

Yours sincerely,

“Original signed by Y. Davidson”

Yvan Davidson
Director, Costing and Competitor Services
Telecommunications Directorate

cc:  Parties to TNC 2011-77
Tom Vilmansen

[1]  CNOC’s application relates to the implementation of Telecom Regulatory Policy 2011-703.  Among other things, in that decision, the Commission mandated the implementation by 1 February 2012 of capacity based rates for the Bell companies’ wholesale Gateway Access Services.

Parties to TNC 2011-77 

Date modified:

2012-02-03