ARCHIVED -  Letter

Ottawa, 16 July 2013

File No.: 8650-C12-201310060

BY EMAIL

TO: Distribution list

Re: Telecom Notice of Consultation 2013-337 - Fact-finding process on the role of payphones in the Canadian communications system – Requests for information

In Telecom Notice of Consultation 2013-337[1], the Commission initiated a proceeding to collect information on the use of payphones by Canadians.
Appendix A contains requests for information addressed to the parties listed in Telecom Notice of Consultation 2013-337.

Appendix B contains requests for information addressed to Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership, Bell Canada, MTS Inc., Northwestel Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications, Télébec, Limited Partnership, and TELUS Communications Company (collectively, the large ILECs) .

Appendix C contains requests for information addressed to all incumbent providers other than the large ILECs (the small ILECs).

Responses to these interrogatories are to be filed with the Commission by 10 September 2013. These responses are to be received, and not merely sent, by this date.
Yours sincerely,

Original signed by

Nanao Kachi
Director, Social and Consumer Policy

cc : Adam Mills, CRTC, adam.mills@crtc.gc.ca; Soniya Mukhedkar, CRTC, soniya.mukhedkar@crtc.gc.ca

Distribution list
ILECs made party to the proceeding
Amtelecom Limited Partnership Stacey.Langley@corp.eastlink.ca
Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership regulatory@bell.aliant.ca;
Bell Canada david.mah@bell.ca bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Brooke Telecom Co-operative Ltd. baron@brktel.on.ca jim@brooketel.ca
Bruce Telecom regulatory@brucetelecom.com
CityWest Telephone Corporation lisa.marogna@cwct.ca heather.bishop@cwct.ca
Cochrane Telecom Services admin@cochranetel.ca;
CoopTel pallard@cooptel.qc.ca
Dryden Municipal Telephone System pgillis@dryden.cam Stace.gander@bell.ca
Execulink Telecom Inc. jonathan.scott@execulink.com
Gosfield North Communications Co-operative Limited gosfield@gosfieldtel.com
Hay Communications Co-operative Limited a.schneider@hay.net
Huron Telecommunications Co-operative Limited- grubb@hurontel.on.ca
KMTS mjboivin@telebec.com
La Cie de Téléphone de Courcelles Inc. jpatry@telcourcelles.qc.ca
La Compagnie de Téléphone de Lambton Inc. infotel@sogetel.net
La Compagnie de Téléphone de St-Victor telvic@telvic.net
La Compagnie de Téléphone Upton Inc. j-fmathieu@telupton.qc.ca
Lansdowne Rural Telephone Co. Ltd. wagrier@1000island.net
Le Téléphone de St-Éphrem inc. telstep@telstep.net
Mornington Communications Co-operative Limited rbanks@mornington.ca
MTS Inc. jane.gagnon@mtsallstream.com
Nexicom Telecommunications Inc. jdowns@nexicomgroup.net
Nexicom Telephones Inc. pdowns@nexicom.net, jonathan.holmespdowns@nexicom.net pdowns@nexicomgroup.net
North Frontenac Telephone Corporation Ltd. Fmantell6229@rogers.com
NorthernTel, Limited Partnership mjboivin@telebec.com
Northwestel Inc. regulatoryaffairs@nwtel.ca
NRTC Communications moverton@nrtco.net
Ontera tracy.cant@ontera.ca
People’s Tel Limited Partnership Stacey.Langley@corp.eastlink.ca
Quadro Communications Co-operative Inc. barry.stone@quadro.net
Roxborough Telephone Company Limited roxboro@ontarioeast.net
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Ron.wagner@sasktel.com
Sogetel inc. sophie.houde@sogetel.com
TBayTel rob.olenick@tbaytel.com
Télébec, Limited Partnership mjboivin@telebec.com
Téléphone Guèvremont inc. gcordeau@maskatel.qc.ca
Téléphone Milot inc. paul.frappier@telmilot.com
TELUS Communications Company tom.woo@telus.com regulatory.affairs@telus.com
Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative Limited regulatory@tcc.on.ca
Wightman Telecom Ltd. kgugan@wightman.ca
WTC Communications steve@wtccommunications.ca

Appendix A

Requests for information addressed to parties listed in Appendix A of
Telecom Notice of Consultation 2013-337

For the following questions, where applicable, actual data is to be provided for each of the calendar years 2008 to 2012, and forecast data is to be provided for each of the calendar years 2013 to 2016.

101. Provide the following information, broken down by high-cost serving areas (HCSAs) and non-HCSAs, for each of the years 2008 to 2016:
a. the total number of payphone removals; and
b. the total number of payphone installations.

102. Provide the general criteria and/or measures, indicating which are most important, used by the company to determine when a payphone should be
a. installed; or
b. removed from service.

103. Provide the information identified in Attachment 1 to this Appendix regarding payphone sets and payphone calls for each of the years 2008 to 2016. In each instance when an average is requested, identify the upper and lower figures. Provide a breakdown, if available, of the number of payphones at year-end by province in the company’s territory, as applicable,

104. Provide the number of unique locations at which the company’s payphones (either a single payphone or a bank of payphones) were located at year-end for the each of the years 2008 to 2012.

Appendix A - Attachment 1

Payphone Sets YEAR
Number of Payphones
Number of TTYs

Payphone Calls YEAR
Local cash calls
Local non-cash calls
Non-local cash calls
Non-local non-cash calls
1-800 payphone calls
Directory assistance calls
9-1-1 calls
Total payphone calls
Average monthly local cash calls per payphone
Average monthly local non-cash calls per payphone
Average monthly non-local cash calls per payphone
Average monthly non-local non-cash calls per payphone
Average monthly 1-800 payphone calls per payphone
Average monthly 9-1-1 calls per payphone
Average monthly calls per payphone
Payphone Revenues
Average monthly local cash revenue per payphone
Average monthly local non-cash revenue per payphone
Average monthly non-local cash revenue per payphone
Average monthly non-local non-cash revenue per payphone
Average monthly 1-800 payphone revenue per payphone
Average monthly revenue per payphone
Average local cash revenue per local cash call
Average local non-cash revenue per local non-cash call
Average non-local cash revenue per non-local cash call
Average non-local non-cash revenue per non-local non-cash call
Average 1-800 payphone revenue per 1-800 payphone call
Average revenue per call

Appendix B

Requests for information addressed to the large ILECs

201. A. Provide a retail service price floor test for the payphone service (including public and semi-private payphones) using the regulatory economic study report format in Appendix D of the company’s Regulatory Economic Studies Manual. The regulatory economic study report should include the Detailed Cost Information Requirements as required by the Commission staff letter dated 12 July 2013[2]. The price floor test should include incremental revenues and costs generated by all types of payphone calls assuming that rates are at their current levels. The study period should be from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2018.

B. Provide the payphone upgrade costs if included in the cost study provided in the response to 201A. above and identify the cost category (i.e. Billing Related, Maintenance, Hardware, Software, Outside Plant, etc.) in which the costs are included.
C. For payphone sets included in the price floor test, indicate whether “installed first cost” or “net book value” is used as the cost for these sets. If installed first cost is used, provide the supporting rationale. If net book value is used, provide the asset life used, with supporting rationale. Confirm that there is no capital replacement included in the price floor test. If there is capital replacement included, explain why.
202. A. Using the format of the economic evaluation report given in the response to 201A. above, provide revised tables based on the following change in assumption:
- Include only local and 9-1-1 revenues and costs.

The local call (including 9-1-1) costs included in this cost study should be obtained from the costs included in the cost study provided in the response to 201A. above. For cost items that are common to more than one call type (i.e. local, toll, and toll-free calls), assign annual costs to local calls (including 9-1-1) based on their respective annual call volumes.

Appendix B

B. Further to the response provided in 202A. above, for each type of call provide the volume of calls for each year of the study period and the last three years. For each cost item that is common to more than one call type (i.e. local, toll, and toll-free calls), provide the annual costs and identify the call-types to which it is common.
C. Complete Attachment 1 of this Appendix. In columns 1 and 2, provide a list of the expense, capital, third-party, and wholesale service component cost items included in the price floor test provided in the response to 201A. above, and the related reporting cost category, respectively. In columns 3 and 4, provide the Present Worth of Annual Costs (PWAC) and cost per payphone per month, respectively, for each of the cost items included in the price floor test provided in the response to 201A. above. In columns 5 and 6, provide the PWAC and cost per payphone per month, respectively, for each of the cost items included in the price floor test provided in the response to 202A. above.

Appendix B –Attachment 1

Payphone Service Cost Items

*Includes expense items, capital items, third-party costs, or wholesale service components

** Reporting Cost Catetory: Identify the cost category (i.e. advertising, billing, maintenance, coin collection, coin mechanism upgrades, etc) in which the cost is included

Appendix C

Request for information addressed to the small ILECs

201. If the company is not electing to use another ILEC’s rate as a proxy for their own payphone service, provide two separate payphone service cost studies (one for total payphone service and the other for local service (including 9-1-1 service) only, using the assumptions and methodology outlined in questions 201 and 202 posed to the large ILECs in Appendix B above. These cost studies[3], at a minimum, should reflect the current incremental costs for the payphone service and include a diagram of the network elements used by the service. These cost studies should also provide the proposed total costs and cost per payphone per month and a breakdown of these costs into capital and expense categories, a description of the various cost components, as well as the methodology, assumptions, and data used to estimate these costs.

[1]Fact-finding process on the role of payphones in the Canadian communications system, Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2013-337, 16 July 2013

[2]Refer to 5c). and Section A in Table 6d of the Detailed Costing Information Requirements. For each of local cash calls, local non-cash calls, non-local cash calls, non-local non-cash calls, 1-8XX payphone calls, Directory assistance calls, and 9-1-1 calls, provide the annual revenue forecast using existing rates, as opposed to proposed rates.

[3]Consistent with the decision in paragraph 100 of Regulatory framework for the small incumbent local exchange carriers and related matters, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2013-160, 28 March 2013

Date modified:

2013-07-16