ARCHIVED -  Letter

BY COURIER

Kenneth Hosfeld, Vice-President, Carrier Relations
NetTalk.com, Inc.
1080 NW 163rd Drive
Miami Gardens, FL 33169
UNITED STATES
kenneth.hosfeld@nettalk.com

RE: Requirement to participate in the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services Inc.

Dear Sir:

This letter is to inform you that it appears to the Commission that NetTalk.com, Inc. (NetTalk) is not a participating service provider of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services Inc. (CCTS) as required by the Commission.

As described further below, NetTalk is required to respond to the Commission by 22 November 2013. Failure to respond could result in enforcement action against NetTalk.

The requirement to participate in the CCTS

The CCTS is an independent consumer agency with a mandate to facilitate the resolution of complaints relating to services provided by telecommunications service providers (TSPs) to residential and small business consumers.

Pursuant to Telecom Decision 2010-921 and Telecom Regulatory Policy 2011-46, the Commission requires that all Canadian carriers and resellers that provide services within the scope of the CCTS’s mandate become participating service providers in the agency.

As set out in paragraph 18 of Telecom Regulatory Policy 2011-46,

“with respect to TSPs that were not members of the CCTS on 1 December 2010, the Commission determines, under section 24 of the Act, that for a period ending on 20 December 2015

as a condition of providing telecommunications service, all Canadian carriers are required to be members of the CCTS commencing five days after the date on which the CCTS informs the Canadian carrier that the CCTS has received a complaint about the Canadian carrier falling within the scope of the CCTS’s mandate; and

as a condition of providing telecommunications service to any reseller, all Canadian carriers are required to include in their service contracts and other arrangements with such resellers the stipulation that any such reseller is required to be a member of the CCTS commencing five days after the date on which the CCTS informs the reseller that the CCTS has received a complaint about the reseller falling within the scope of the CCTS’s mandate.”
NetTalk’s failure to participate in the CCTS

Based on the Commission’s records, the CCTS has received four in scope complaints about NetTalk and advised you that the company is required to become a participating service provider of the CCTS on at least four separate occasions, by letters received 29 April and 8 May 2013, and by emails dated 24 May and 22 August 2013. In addition, Commission staff sent you a letter dated 24 October 2013 with respect to the company’s requirement to join the CCTS. As of the date of this letter, the Commission has no evidence that NetTalk is a participating service provider of the CCTS.

Action required

Pursuant to section 37 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act), the Commission hereby directs NetTalk to file by 22 November 2013 the following information which it considers necessary for the administration of the Act:

• proof that NetTalk has become a participating service provider of the CCTS, or argument, with supporting documentary evidence, demonstrating that NetTalk does not provide services within the scope of the CCTS’s mandate; and

• the information requested in Appendix A to this letter.

If NetTalk fails to comply with these directions, the Commission intends to take enforcement action in respect of this matter. This could include the issuance of a mandatory order in respect of NetTalk under section 51 of the Act. This order may be registered with the Federal Court or a superior court of a province in accordance with section 63 of the Act, and enforced in the same manner as an order of that court. The Commission may also initiate a proceeding, during which NetTalk will be required to show cause as to why the Commission should not require the Canadian carrier that provides services to NetTalk to disconnect such services, given that NetTalk’s participation in the CCTS is a condition of providing service to NetTalk under section 24 of the Act.

You can contact the CCTS for information on how to become a participating service provider:

Josée Thibault
Director, Inquiries & Complaints, CCTS
P.O. Box 81088
Ottawa, ON K1P 1B1
Tel: 613-688-4752
Toll-Free: 1-888-221-1687
Fax: 613-688-4751
josee.thibault@ccts-cprst.ca

Should you have any questions regarding the above matter, please contact Nanao Kachi at 819-997-4700.

Sincerely,

ORIGINAL SIGNED BY /

John Traversy
Secretary General

c.c.: Nanao Kachi, Director, Social and Consumer Policy
Josée Thibault, CCTS

Encl.
Appendix A

NetTalk is directed to include the following information in its submission to the Commission no later than 22 November 2013:

1. List all the telecommunications services NetTalk provides to its residential and/or business customers in Canada.

2. For each of the telecommunications services that NetTalk provides to its residential and/or business customers in Canada:

a) provide a description of how the service is delivered to customers;
b) indicate whether NetTalk owns or operates any transmission facilities (as defined in section 2 of the Act) used to provide the service to its customers; and
c) indicate whether NetTalk resells the service of another TSP to provide the service to its customers and, if so, identify any such TSP and how the service is obtained (by tariff, contract, etc.).

3. Provide copies of all arrangements with other TSPs that allow NetTalk to interconnect with the networks of other TSPs and to access the public switched telephone network, as well as a description of these arrangements[1].

[1] Pursuant to section 39 of the Act, these agreements may be designated as confidential.

Date modified:

2013-11-07