ARCHIVED - Telecom Commission Letter addressed to various parties interested in the empowering Canadians to protect themselves from unsolicited and illegitimate telemarketing calls, Compliance and Enforcement Notice of Consultation CRTC 2015-333 - Requests for information

Ottawa, 23 July 2015

Our reference: 8665-C12-201507576

BY EMAIL

To:  Distribution List (Attached)

RE: Empowering Canadians to protect themselves from unsolicited and illegitimate telemarketing calls, Compliance and Enforcement Notice of Consultation CRTC 2015-333 - Requests for information

Today, the Commission launched a public proceeding^{Footnote 1} to gather information from Canadians and the telecommunications industry to enhance the protections for Canadians from unsolicited telecommunications and illegitimate telemarketing calls delivered on all telephony platforms by telecommunication service providers. The Commission also recognized that the collaboration of a number of stakeholders is vital to properly examine, develop, and implement technical solutions that will help Canadians manage unsolicited and illegitimate calls. 

Pursuant to section 37 of the Telecommunications Act (Act), the Commission may require that persons provide it with information necessary for the administration of the Act.

Since your organization offers technologies to consumers to help manage calls, you are requested to respond to the attached request for information by 4 September 2015. If the information requested in a specific question does not apply to your organization, indicate “not applicable” in your response. These submissions must be received, not merely sent, by that date.

Filing of Information with the Commission

Responses to requests for information must 1) refer to the file number noted above and 2) be sent to the Secretary General of the Commission using only one of the following means:
via My CRTC Account (at the following link: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/cover.htm and click on “Proceed to Broadcasting and Telecom Cover Page)

or

by mail to

CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2

or

by fax to

819-994-0218

Your responses will become part of the record of this proceeding.  However, please note that your responses to these requests for information will not make you a party to this proceeding. Interested persons who wish to become parties are to consult Compliance and Enforcement Notice of Consultation 2015-333 for more information.

Confidentiality

Sections 30 to 34 of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure and sections 38 and 39 of the Telecommunications Act set out a process by which persons who submit information to the Commission may designate it as confidential. As set out in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-961, a company that designates certain information as confidential must provide an abridged version of the document involved, accompanied by a note explaining how the information in question is confidential. Any requests to designate information ^{Footnote 2}as confidential must be supported by detailed rationale that is specific to the issue at hand; generic statements such as ‘the release of this information to competitors would result in specific, direct harm to the company’ are not sufficient. Further details are available in the above-mentioned Information Bulletin.

Yours sincerely,

Original signed

Manon Bombardier
Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer
Compliance and Enforcement Sector, CRTC

c.c.: Kathleen Taylor, CRTC, (819) 743-9738, kathleen.taylor@crtc.gc.ca
All Incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) (including the large ILECs, small ILECs and Northwestel) and Competitive local exchange carriers

Distribution List

Attachment

For each option available to help a customer manage unsolicited and illegitimate calls (e.g. calling features, applications, or devices), provide the following information:

• Name of service or feature
• Name of service provider
• Delivery platform (i.e. traditional wireline, wireless, VoIP)
• Service description (What does this service do for the customer?)
• Service setup (How does a customer access/enable the service? Include or reference specific instructions)
• Service price (What is the cost of the service to the customer? Include if it forms part of a bundled price)
• How is the service marketed and/or promoted?  Provide examples.
• Number of subscribers to the service
• Is the service dependant on subscribing to any other service or calling feature (e.g. Call Display)?  If so, explain. 
• Are there any discerning features of the service? Specify, for example, if
  • it selectively block calls from a user-defined list of numbers (e.g. a blacklist)?
  • it selectively block anonymous calls or calls that may withhold the presentation of the Caller-ID (e.g. Anonymous Call Rejection)
  • it selectively accepts calls from a user-defined list of numbers (a whitelist)?
  • it requires a user to manually configure the option (e.g. enter a list of numbers) or is it performed through analytical means?
• Does the option provide callers with a mechanism to report calls that were missed? Are these reports shared with law enforcement?
• How does the option address false negatives or allow callers who may have been inadvertently blocked with call completion?

Date modified:

2015-07-23