ARCHIVED - Telecom Order CRTC 2014-651

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Ottawa, 16 December 2014

File number: Tariff Notice 606

TELUS Communications Company - Withdrawal of certain local video broadcast services and introduction of a replacement service in Quebec

Application

1. The Commission received an application from TELUS Communications Company (TCC), dated 10 September 2014, in which the company proposed to withdraw from its General Tariff for its operating territory in Quebec three services for which it has no customers: items 4.06 - Local Video Transmission - Digital Service, 4.10 - Local Video Transmission - High Definition (HD) Service, and 4.11 - Full-Time Local Broadcast Quality Video Transmission Service (referred to hereafter as “the three services”). TCC proposed to replace the three services with item 4.14 -Local Broadcast Transmission Service.

2. TCC submitted that the new service would enable it to (i) regroup the three services under a single tariff item, and (ii) provide more up-to-date technology with an autosensing feature that allows the transmission of video in different formats over local facilities.

3. TCC proposed rate ranges for certain rate elements under the new service, and indicated that these rate ranges meet the price floor test criteria. TCC also proposed that only the maximum rates be publicly specified in its tariff. The company requested that the new service be assigned to the Other Capped Services basket under the Commission’s price cap framework.

4. TCC submitted that it had filed its application concurrently with Tariff Notices 482, 657, and 4374, which cover the same services in the company’s operating territories in Alberta and British Columbia. TCC submitted that it did not include a cost study with the present application regarding its proposed minimum rate levels because it had filed a cost study as an appendix to the above-mentioned tariff notices that includes data for its operating territory in Quebec.

5. The Commission received no interventions regarding TCC’s application. The public record of this proceeding, which closed on 23 October 2014, is available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca or by using the file number provided above.

Commission’s analysis and determinations

6. The Commission notes that this application covers the same services as those proposed in TCC’s Tariff Notices 482, 657, and 4374. Further, there are no customers for the three services.

7. In Telecom Decision 2003-11, the Commission assigned the incumbent local exchange carriers’ (ILECs) existing broadcast video services to the Other Capped Services basket. The Commission therefore considers TCC’s request to assign the proposed service to this same service basket to be appropriate.

8. In Telecom Decision 2007-36, the Commission determined that an ILEC may request the Commission’s approval for a rate range where either the maximum rate or the minimum rate, or both, are publicly specified in the tariff. The Commission therefore considers TCC’s proposal to publicly specify in its tariff only the maximum applicable rates under its proposed service to be appropriate.

9. The Commission notes that the proposed new service passes the price floor test, which is required for the introduction of new retail services and certain rate reductions to existing services, as noted in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2009-80.

10. Regarding TCC’s request to withdraw the three services, the Commission notes that TCC’s application meets the requirements in Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-455, in which the Commission set out its procedures for dealing with applications to destandardize and/or withdraw tariffed services.^{Footnote 1} In particular, TCC has offered a reasonable alternative to the three services.  

11. In light of all the above, the Commission approves TCC’s application. TCC is to issue revised tariff pages^{Footnote 2} within 10 days of the date of this order.

Secretary General

Related documents

• Approval processes for tariff applications and intercarrier agreements, Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-455, 5 July 2010
• Review of the price floor test and certain wholesale costing methodologies, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-80, 19 February 2009
• Mandatory customer contract renewal notification and requirements for service destandardization/withdrawal, Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-22, 6 March 2008
• Follow-up to Decision 2006-75 - Range-within-a-range proposal, Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-36, 25 May 2007
• Follow-up to Regulatory framework for second price cap period, Telecom Decision CRTC 2002-34 - Service basket assignment, Telecom Decision CRTC 2003-11, 18 March 2003, as amended by Telecom Decision CRTC 2003-11-1, 23 May 2003

Date modified:

2014-12-16