ARCHIVED -  Letter

Ottawa, 13 February 2013

File No.: 8663-C12-201215302

BY EMAIL

To: Distribution List

RE: Telecom Notice of Consultation 2012-669 – Requests for disclosure of information designated as confidential in the Modernization Plan

On 23 January 2013, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, on behalf of itself and the Consumers’ Association of Canada (collectively, PIAC/CAC), filed a request for disclosure of certain information designated as confidential in the Modernization Plan filed by Northwestel Inc. (Northwestel) in the above-noted proceeding.

The Commission also received letters regarding the disclosure of this information from the Yukon Government dated 28 and 30 January 2013, the SSi Group of Companies (SSi) dated 28 January 2013, TELUS Communications Company (TCC) dated 31 January 2013, and the Utilities Consumers’ Group dated 31 January 2013. In its letter, TCC made specific requests for the disclosure of information designated as confidential.

By letter dated 4 February 2013, the Commission set out a process to provide all interested persons the opportunity to file requests for disclosure of information designated as confidential in the Modernization Plan. On 6 February 2013, SSi and the Government of Nunavut each filed requests for disclosure.

Northwestel filed a response to the requests by PIAC/CAC and TCC on 4 February 2013, and to the requests of SSi and the Government of Nunavut on 8 February 2013. In its responses, Northwestel agreed to disclose on the public record some of the information requested by parties.

Requests for disclosure of information designated as confidential are addressed in light of sections 38 and 39 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act) and sections 30 and following of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure. In evaluating a request, an assessment is made as to whether the information falls into a category of information that can be designated confidential pursuant to section 39 of the Act. An assessment is then made as to whether there is any specific direct harm likely to result from the disclosure of the information in question and whether any such harm outweighs the public interest in disclosure. In making this evaluation, a number of factors are taken into consideration, including the degree of competition and the importance of the information for the purpose of obtaining a more complete record.
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The factors considered are discussed in more detail in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-961.

Commission staff considers that some of the requests made by SSi are in the nature of requests for information (i.e., interrogatories). Commission staff notes that parties may request information in the form of interrogatories in accordance with the procedure set out in Telecom Notice of Consultation 2012-669. In this letter, Commission staff has only addressed requests for disclosure of information actually contained in Northwestel’s Modernization Plan and which has been designated confidential.

Having regard to all of the above considerations, Northwestel is to disclose the following:

• the information as set out in paragraphs 5, 6, and 10 of its 4 February 2013 letter; and
• the combined network access service (NAS) and the average NAS for the 72 remote communities identified in paragraph 45 of the Modernization Plan.

In addition, requests for disclosure were made regarding Northwestel’s performance commitments for Internet service and its criteria for the modernization of those services, set out in paragraphs 55, 56, and 113 of the Modernization Plan. Commission staff considers that disclosure of this competitive information would cause Northwestel specific direct harm which would outweigh the public interest in disclosure. However, Commission staff considers that, to better enable parties to assess the reasonableness of Northwestel’s plan for Internet service deployment and modernization, some degree of disclosure is in the public interest. Accordingly, Northwestel is directed to indicate whether each performance commitment and modernization criterion listed in paragraphs 55, 56, and 113 will achieve, at a minimum, the target speeds for broadband Internet access established in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2011-291.

In each case where disclosure is to occur, it is considered that the specific direct harm, if any, likely to be caused by disclosure would not outweigh the public interest in disclosure.

Further, where Northwestel’s responses to Commission interrogatories disclose on the public record information that has been designated confidential in its Modernization Plan, Northwestel is requested to file revised pages of the Modernization Plan in order to reflect that public disclosure.
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Northwestel is to file with the Commission all information to be disclosed pursuant to this letter, by 15 February 2013, serving a copy on those parties on the distribution list to this letter by the same date. This information must be received, not merely sent, by that date.

Yours sincerely,

Original signed by:

John Macri
Director,
Telecommunications Policy

cc: Christine Bailey, CRTC, (819) 997-4557, christine.bailey@crtc.gc.ca

Distribution List
Dallas Yeullet, Northwestel, regulatoryaffairs@nwtel.ca
John Lawford, PIAC/CAC, lawford@piac.ca; piac@piac.ca
Ted Woodhead, TCC regulatory.affairs@telus.com
Dean Proctor, SSi, regulatory@ssimicro.com
Dean Wells, Government of Nunavut, dwells@gov.nu.ca
Lisa Badenhorst, Yukon Government, lisa.badenhorst@gov.yk.ca
Robert G. Hopkins, UCG, radiorob@openbroadcaster.com

Date modified:

2013-02-13