Telecom Order CRTC 2016-448

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Ottawa, 10 November 2016

File number: Tariff Notice 37

Bragg Communications Incorporated, operating as Eastlink – Revised interim rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access service

The Commission sets revised interim rates for Eastlink’s aggregated wholesale high-speed access service. The Commission’s revisions to the company’s proposed rates are required to ensure that the interim rates are not based on overstated costs.

The Commission is concerned that Eastlink has not conducted its cost study in accordance with established Phase II costing principles and methodologies set out in previous Commission decisions and documented by the large telephone companies in their respective Regulatory Economic Studies Manuals.

Background

1. In Telecom Order 2016-201, the Commission approved on an interim basis the rates for third-party Internet access (TPIA)^{Footnote 1} service speeds offered by Bragg Communications Incorporated, operating as Eastlink (Eastlink). Eastlink had proposed to use Shaw Cablesystems G.P.’s (Shaw) rates for equivalent service speeds as a proxy.^{Footnote 2} At the time that Eastlink proposed its rates, the company employed a flat-rate billing model to use Shaw’s rates. The Commission also determined in Telecom Order 2016-201 that it would consider final rates for the proposed TPIA service speeds once Eastlink filed supporting cost studies pursuant to Telecom Decision 2016-117.^{Footnote 3}
2. On 9 September 2016, pursuant to Telecom Decision 2016-117, the Commission received a tariff application and a supporting cost study from Eastlink for its wholesale high-speed access (HSA) services. In its application, Eastlink proposed the following:
   • to move from the flat-rate billing model to the capacity-based billing (CBB)^{Footnote 4} model, and to have a minimum of 30 days to transition to the new billing model;
   • banded^{Footnote 5} non-legacy aggregated wholesale HSA service speed rates; and
   • a monthly capacity rate per 100 megabits per second (Mbps) service and associated service charges.
3. The Commission received an intervention from the Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc. (CNOC). CNOC requested that the Commission deny interim approval of Eastlink’s application and suspend the deadline for the filing of interventions. CNOC further requested the Commission treat Eastlink’s application the same way that it has treated the other tariff applications^{Footnote 6} filed by wholesale HSA service providers in response to Telecom Decision 2016-117.
4. The public record of this proceeding is available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca or by using the file number provided above.

Issues

5. The Commission has identified the following issues to be addressed in this order:
   • Is Eastlink’s proposed timeline for the transition from the flat-rate billing model to the CBB model appropriate?
   • On a prima facie basis, are Eastlink’s proposed rates reasonable?
   • Should Eastlink’s current interim aggregated wholesale HSA service rates be revised and approved on an interim basis?

Is Eastlink’s proposed timeline for the transition from the flat-rate billing model to the CBB model appropriate?

6. Eastlink proposed a minimum of 30 days to transition from the flat-rate billing model to the CBB model.
7. The Commission considers that Eastlink should be subject to a defined transition period, and that 90 days is an appropriate time frame for Eastlink’s aggregated wholesale HSA customers to make the transition.
8. Accordingly, the Commission approves Eastlink’s timeline for the transition of its aggregated wholesale HSA service offerings from the flat-rate billing model to the CBB model. This transition is to occur within 30 to 90 days after the date of this order. 

On a prima facie basis, are Eastlink’s proposed rates reasonable?

9. In order to set wholesale HSA service rates, the Commission generally relies on the costing methodologies defined in the Regulatory Economic Studies Manuals (the Manual), whereby service rates are set based on Phase II costs^{Footnote 7} plus a specified markup.
10. The Manual is clear that regulatory economic studies are to be developed in accordance with generally accepted economic concepts and methods and are to incorporate the prospective incremental costing principles and methodologies set out in Telecom Decision 79-16, as amended in subsequent Commission determinations.
11. Preliminary review by the Commission shows that Eastlink’s proposed rates do not comply with the Commission’s determinations in Telecom Decision 2016-117 or with established Phase II costing principles.
12. More specifically, the Commission finds that Eastlink has deviated from the established Phase II capacity costing methodology. This methodology requires dividing the total cost of a shared facility, for which growth technology^{Footnote 8} is used, by its maximum capacity and then dividing this result by the working fill factor.^{Footnote 9} Any deviation from this approach is not in accordance with the Phase II costing principles, and may result in an overstatement of costs.
13. The Commission further identifies the lack of pertinent costing details, including descriptions of input data variables, and modelling assumptions without supporting rationale. Accordingly, the Commission concludes that Eastlink’s proposed monthly rates are, on a prima facie basis, not reasonable.

Should Eastlink’s current interim aggregated wholesale HSA service rates be revised and approved on an interim basis?

14. Consistent with the conclusion for the other wholesale HSA service providers established in Telecom Order 2016-396, the Commission considers that the current interim monthly rates for Eastlink should be revised to more accurately reflect the Commission’s costing principles. Accordingly, the Commission has made a number of adjustments to Eastlink’s proposed costs to set revised interim rates.
15. With respect to the proposed one-time capacity rate service charges that result from the implementation of the CBB model, the Commission finds that these are comparable to the existing Commission-approved rates charged by other wholesale HSA service providers that use the CBB model. However, the one-time capacity rate service charges, along with the remaining rates proposed by Eastlink, require further scrutiny based on the full record, as part of the process underway to set wholesale HSA service rates on a final basis for all incumbent wholesale HSA service providers.
16. In light of the above, the Commission approves on an interim basis Eastlink’s revised monthly capacity rate per 100 Mbps service, capacity rate service charges, and revised banded access rates, as set out in Appendix 1 to this order, effective the date of this order. The cost adjustments, with rationale, are provided in Appendix 2.

Implementation

17. The Commission directs Eastlink to issue tariff pages^{Footnote 10} and update its website, by 12 December 2016, to reflect the determinations in this order.
18. The Commission will assess the extent to which, if at all, retroactivity will apply when Eastlink’s wholesale HSA service rates are set on a final basis.

Related documents

• Tariff notice applications concerning aggregated wholesale high-speed access services – Revised interim rates, Telecom Order CRTC 2016-396, 6 October 2016
• Review of costing inputs and the application process for wholesale high-speed access services, Telecom Decision CRTC 2016-117, 31 March 2016
• Bragg Communications Incorporated and Persona Communications Inc., both operating as Eastlink – Introduction of third-party Internet access services and destandardization of certain third-party Internet access service speeds, Telecom Order CRTC 2016-201, 26 May 2016
• Cogeco, Rogers, Shaw, and Videotron – Third-party Internet access service rates, Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-77, 21 December 2006
• Inquiry into Telecommunications Carriers’ Costing and Accounting Procedures – Phase II: Information Requirements for New Service Tariff Filings, Telecom Decision CRTC 79-16, 28 August 1979

Appendix 1 to Telecom Order CRTC 2016-448

Rates for Eastlink

Appendix 2 to Telecom Order 2016-448

Cost adjustments for Eastlink

Date modified:

2016-11-10