Telecom Order CRTC 2016-477

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Ottawa, 9 December 2016

File number: Tariff Notice 514

TELUS Communications Company – Withdrawal of Business Value Bundle

Application

1. The Commission received an application from TELUS Communications Company (TCC), dated 9 September 2016, in which the company requested approval to withdraw item 304 – Business Value Bundle (item 304) from its General Tariff 21461.
2. TCC indicated that item 304 is available to business customers in either rate band B2 in Alberta or in rate band B7 in British Columbia. Business individual-line and multi-line customers who have TCC as both their primary interexchange carrier and local exchange carrier (LEC) at the time of billing have a choice of two bundle options:
   • individual-line, which consists of one or two individual line(s), plus the customer’s choice of up to three call management service (CMS) features, at a flat monthly rate (priced according to the number of individual lines selected); or
   • multi-line, which consists of a minimum of two and a maximum of six multi-lines, plus the customer’s choice of up to three CMS features, at a flat monthly rate (priced according to the number of multi-lines selected).
3. TCC submitted that it was proposing to withdraw item 304 because the bundle service is already offered in the General Tariff under item 321 – Business Local Access Bundle (item 321). The company indicated that item 321, which is available to business customers in Alberta and British Columbia who have TCC as their LEC, offers the following bundle options, priced within rate ranges:
   • individual-line or multi-line service, plus the customer’s choice of one CMS feature;
   • additional individual-line or multi-line service exchange lines; and
   • additional CMS features (One Feature Option, Two Features Pack, and Unlimited Features Pack).
4. TCC referred to the requirement set out in Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-455-1 that a company proposing to destandardize or withdraw a service must send affected customers a notice regarding the application.^{Footnote 1} TCC submitted that customer notification was not required in this instance, because there is no impact on the customers in question.
5. In support of its position, TCC submitted that
   • the terms of service and rates set out in item 304 are included in item 321;
   • there are no changes to the rate plans, terms of service, or billing statements of these customers. The name of the bundle does not appear on their billing statements, so customers will see the same features at the same price on their statements;
   • TCC has no current intent to increase the rates it charges customers for the Business Local Access Bundle;
   • the existing rates set out in item 304 are not capped,^{Footnote 2} and since they could have been increased through the filing of a tariff notice by the company, they were not guaranteed to remain fixed over the long term; and
   • notifying these customers about tariff changes would confuse them since the changes have no impact on them.
6. The Commission received no interventions regarding TCC’s application. The public record of this proceeding, which closed on 24 October 2016, 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

7. In Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-455-1, the Commission set out its procedures for dealing with applications to destandardize and/or withdraw tariffed services. An application must include, among other things, the number of customers affected by the proposed destandardization/withdrawal. In addition, a notice must be sent to each customer affected by the application. In the notice, the applicant must include clear and detailed information about how an affected customer can participate in the Commission’s process, including the date by which interventions must be received by the Commission.
8. TCC’s proposal involves migrating customers from a flat-rate business bundle service under item 304 to a business bundle service featuring rate ranges under item 321. TCC submitted that the terms of service and rates in item 304 are included in item 321 and that it currently has no intention of increasing the rates charged to customers currently subscribed to item 304. However, if the migration is approved, the company could increase rates charged to these customers within the approved rate ranges for item 321 without obtaining prior Commission approval, as currently required under item 304.
9. Given the above, the Commission is of the view that there are customers who would be affected by TCC’s proposal. As a result, TCC did not meet the requirements for service destandardization/withdrawal noted above, including sending a notice to each customer affected by the application so that they may participate in the Commission’s process. Accordingly, the Commission denies TCC’s application.

Secretary General

Related documents

• Approval processes for tariff applications and intercarrier agreements, Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-455-1, 19 February 2016
• Mandatory customer contract renewal notification and requirements for service destandardization/withdrawal, Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-22, 6 March 2008
• Price cap framework for large incumbent local exchange carriers, Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-27, 30 April 2007

Date modified:

2016-12-09