Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2016-206

PDF version

Ottawa, 31 May 2016

File number: 1011-NOC2016-0206

Establishment of a CISC ad hoc committee for relief planning for area code 506 in New Brunswick

The Commission announces the establishment of a CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee ad hoc relief planning committee (RPC) to examine options and make recommendations for providing numbering relief to area code 506 in New Brunswick. The Commission invites members of the public and telecommunications service providers to participate in the RPC’s activities.

Introduction

1. On 11 March 2016, the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA) advised the Commission that, based on the results of the latest numbering resource utilization forecast (NRUF),^{Footnote 1} area code 506 is now projected to exhaust by February 2021. Area code 506 covers the whole province of New Brunswick. You can consult the area code map on the CNA website.
2. In Telecom Decision 2010-784, in response to a request by the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN) to reserve a number of Numbering Plan Area (NPA) codes for future area code relief in Canada, the Commission set aside area code 428 for future relief in New Brunswick. In that decision, the Commission considered that there is a benefit in knowing with some degree of certainty which area codes could be used for relief in the future, and that setting aside certain area codes would provide the planning benefits requested by the industry.
3. The Commission-approved Canadian NPA [Numbering Plan Area] Relief Planning Guideline (the Guideline)^{Footnote 2} provides the framework for addressing area code exhaust in Canada. The Guideline establishes a step-by-step process to be followed by the CNA and relief planning committees (RPCs). The Guideline requires relief planning activities to begin if an area code is projected to exhaust within the next 72 months.
4. The telecommunications industry conducts area code relief planning in a public manner through an ad hoc RPC under the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC). Part of the role of an RPC is to encourage public awareness and participation in the RPC’s activities.

RPC for area code 506

5. With this notice, the Commission establishes the ad hoc RPC for area code 506 (the 506 RPC) under CISC and directs the CNA to chair this committee.
6. The scope of the 506 RPC’s relief planning activities is limited to the consideration of solutions for introducing new numbering resources within the area currently served by area code 506. Since area code relief planning does not affect local or long distance calling patterns or rates, these issues are outside the scope of the 506 RPC’s relief planning activities.
7. In rendering its decision on the relief measures to be adopted, the Commission will consider all relief options identified and recommendations made by the 506 RPC.
8. The Commission directs the 506 RPC, in developing its recommendations, to set aside four central office (CO) codes for initial code assignments for carriers already providing service in the area served by area code 506. The Commission also directs the 506 RPC to set aside three CO codes from area code 506 to be made available for new entrants,^{Footnote 3} and to ensure that those CO codes remain unassigned, other than to new entrants, for a period of two years after the introduction of the new area code in New Brunswick, or until the pool is depleted, whichever comes first. Each new entrant may only request one CO code from the available pool.
9. The Commission notes that the 506 RPC may contemplate relief measures that would require some customers to change their telephone numbers. The Commission therefore encourages members of the public to participate in the 506 RPC’s activities.

Procedure

10. The CNA is to announce the location and time of the 506 RPC’s meetings and is to make all related documentation available on its website at www.cnac.ca. Members of the public who wish to participate in the 506 RPC’s activities may also reach the CNA by telephone at 613-563-7242.

Important notice

11. 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, and telephone and facsimile numbers.
12. The personal information provided 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.
13. 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.
14. The information provided 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.

Commission offices

15. Documents are also available from the following Commission offices, upon request, during normal business hours.

    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

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

Secretary General

Related documents

• CISC Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering – Consensus report CNRE106A, Telecom Decision CRTC 2014-603, 20 November 2014
• CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee consensus item – Reservation of area codes for future area code relief, Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-784, 22 October 2010

Date modified:

2016-05-31