ARCHIVED - Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2014-604

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Ottawa, 20 November 2014

File number: 8690-C12-201411868

Show cause proceeding

Deadline for submission of interventions: 8 January 2015

[Submit an intervention or view related documents]

The definition of subscriber drop wire

The Commission directs the incumbent local exchange carriers that have support structure service tariffs to show cause why they should not revise the definition of subscriber drop wire in their respective tariffs, to be consistent with the revised definition of subscriber drop wire in Bell Aliant’s support structure service tariff as was directed in Telecom Decision 2014-601. As such, this notice should be read in conjunction with Telecom Decision 2014-601.

Introduction

1. In Telecom Decision 2014-601, also released today, the Commission made several determinations with respect to the Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership’s (Bell Aliant) support structure service tariff (Bell Aliant’s Tariff). Specifically, the Commission determined that, where there are multiple poles between the main line and the customer’s premises and the only third-party attachment on those poles is a drop wire used to serve that customer premises, all poles between the main line and the customer’s premises are service poles, not just the last pole. In order to address the discrepancy between the appropriate interpretation of the term “service pole” and the definition of “subscriber drop wire” as set out at that time in Bell Aliant’s Tariff, Bell Aliant was directed to revise its Tariff definition of “subscriber drop wire.”
2. Given the overlap between Bell Aliant’s Tariff and that of Bell Canada,^{Footnote 1} and the fact that other incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) who were not parties to the proceeding that led to Telecom Decision 2014-601 have the same definition of subscriber drop wire in their respective support structure service tariffs, the Commission considers that it is necessary to ensure that these changes are applied consistently across the industry.
3. Therefore, the Commission hereby initiates a proceeding directing all ILECs that have support structure service tariffs to show cause why they should not be required to revise the definition of “subscriber drop wire” in their respective tariffs to reflect the Commission’s findings in Telecom Decision 2014-601.
4. This notice should be read in conjunction with Telecom Decision 2014-601.

Procedure

5. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules of Procedure) apply to this proceeding. The Rules of Procedure set out, among other things, the rules for the content, format, filing, and service of interventions, replies, and requests for information; the procedure for filing confidential information and requesting its disclosure; and the conduct of public hearings, where applicable. Accordingly, the procedure set out below must be read in conjunction with the Rules of Procedure and their accompanying documents, which can be found on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca, under “Statutes and Regulations.” The Guidelines on the CRTC Rules of Practice and Procedure, as set out in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-959, provide information to help interested persons and parties understand the Rules of Procedure so that they can more effectively participate in Commission proceedings.
6. The ILECs listed in Appendix A of this notice are made parties to this proceeding. The ILEC parties may file submissions in response to the issue raised in paragraph 3 above with the Commission by 8 January 2015.
7. Interested persons who wish to become parties to this proceeding must file an intervention with the Commission regarding the above-noted issue by 23 January 2015. The intervention must be filed in accordance with section 26 of the Rules of Procedure.
8. The ILEC parties may file a reply to any submissions and interventions by 2 February 2015.
9. Parties are permitted to coordinate, organize, and file, in a single submission, interventions by other interested persons who share their position. Information on how to file this type of submission, known as a joint supporting intervention, as well as a template for the accompanying cover letter to be filed by parties, can be found in Telecom Information Bulletin 2011-693.
10. All documents required to be served on parties to the proceeding must be served using the contact information contained in the interventions.
11. The Commission encourages interested persons and parties to monitor the record of this proceeding, available on the Commission’s website, for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submissions.
12. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary. Each paragraph of all submissions should be numbered, and the line ***End of document*** should follow the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission.
13. Submissions must be filed by sending them to the Secretary General of the Commission using only one of the following means:

    by completing the
    [Intervention form]

    or

    by mail to
    CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2

    or

    by fax to
    819-994-0218

14. Parties who send documents electronically must ensure that they will be able to prove, upon Commission request, that service/filing of a particular document was completed. Accordingly, parties must keep proof of the sending and receipt of each document for 180 days after the date on which the document is filed. The Commission advises parties who file and serve documents by electronic means to exercise caution when using email for the service of documents, as it may be difficult to establish that service has occurred.
15. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, a document must be received by the Commission and all relevant parties by 5 p.m. Vancouver time (8 p.m. Ottawa time) on the date it is due. Parties are responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of their submissions and will not be notified if their submissions are received after the deadline. Late submissions, including those due to postal delays, will not be considered by the Commission and will not be made part of the public record.
16. The Commission will not formally acknowledge submissions. It will, however, fully consider all submissions, which will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedure for filing set out above has been followed.
17. The Commission expects to publish a decision on the issue raised in this notice within four months of the close of record.

Important notice

18. All information that parties provide as part of this public process, except information designated confidential, whether sent by postal mail, facsimile, email, or through the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca, becomes part of a publicly accessible file and will be posted on the Commission’s website. This includes all personal information, such as full names, email addresses, postal/street addresses, telephone and facsimile numbers, etc.
19. The personal information that parties provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Commission, or for a use consistent with that purpose.
20. Documents received electronically or otherwise will be posted on the Commission’s website in their entirety exactly as received, including any personal information contained therein, in the official language and format in which they are received. Documents not received electronically will be available in PDF format.
21. The information that parties provide to the Commission as part of this public process is entered into an unsearchable database dedicated to this specific public process. This database is accessible only from the web page of this particular public process. As a result, a general search of the Commission’s website with the help of either its search engine or a third-party search engine will not provide access to the information that was provided as part of this public process.

Availability of documents

22. Electronic versions of the interventions and other documents referred to in this notice are available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca by using the file number provided at the beginning of this notice or by visiting the “Participate” section of the Commission’s website, selecting “Submit Ideas and Comments,” then selecting “our open processes.” Documents can then be accessed by clicking on the links in the “Subject” and “Related Documents” columns associated with this particular notice.
23. Documents are also available from Commission offices, upon request, during normal business hours.

Commission offices

Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
Toll-free TDD: 1-877-909-2782

Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
Central Building
1 Promenade du Portage, Room 206
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4B1
Tel.: 819-997-2429
Fax: 819-994-0218

Regional offices

Nova Scotia

Metropolitan Place
99 Wyse Road, Suite 1410
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3A 4S5
Tel.: 902-426-7997
Fax: 902-426-2721

Quebec

505 De Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Suite 205
Montréal, Quebec H3A 3C2
Tel.: 514-283-6607

Ontario

55 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M2
Tel.: 416-952-9096

Manitoba

360 Main Street, Suite 970
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3Z3
Tel.: 204-983-6306
Fax: 204-983-6317

Saskatchewan

1975 Scarth Street, Suite 403
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 2H1
Tel.: 306-780-3422
Fax: 306-780-3319

Alberta

220 - 4^th Avenue Southeast, Suite 574
Calgary, Alberta T2G 4X3
Tel.: 403-292-6660
Fax: 403-292-6686

British Columbia

858 Beatty Street, Suite 290
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 1C1
Tel.: 604-666-2111
Fax: 604-666-8322

Secretary General

Related documents

• Bragg Communications Incorporated, operating as Eastlink - Dispute over billed charges for Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership’s support structures, Telecom Decision CRTC 2014-601, 20 November 2014
• Filing of joint supporting interventions, Telecom Information Bulletin
  CRTC 2011-693, 8 November 2011
• Guidelines on the CRTC Rules of Practice and Procedure, Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-959, 23 December 2010

Appendix A

Incumbent local exchange carriers made parties to this proceeding

Amtelecom Limited Partnership

Bell Canada

Bruce Telecom

CityWest Telephone Corporation

CoopTel

La Cie de Téléphone de Courcelles Inc.

DMTS

Groupe Maskatel LP

La Compagnie de Téléphone de Lambton Inc.

Téléphone Milot inc.

MTS Inc.

NorthernTel, Limited Partnership

Northwestel Inc.

NRTC Communications

Ontera

People’s Tel Limited Partnership

Saskatchewan Telecommunications

Sogetel inc.

TBayTel

Télébec, Limited Partnership

Le Téléphone de St-Éphrem inc.

La Compagnie de Téléphone de St-Victor

TELUS Communications Company (TCC)^{Footnote 2}

La Compagnie de Téléphone Upton Inc.

Date modified:

2014-11-20