ARCHIVED - Telecom Commission Letter addressed to Sue Decker (Canadian Administrator of Video Relay Service (CAV), Inc.)

Ottawa, 12 February 2016

Our reference: 8663-C12-201503186

BY EMAIL

Sue Decker
Executive Director
Canadian Administrator of Video Relay Service (CAV), Inc.
sdecker@cav-acs.ca

RE: Review of basic telecommunications services, Telecom Notice of Consultation 2015-134^{Footnote 1} – Requests for information

Dear Ms. Decker:

As you may be aware, the Commission is examining, in the above noted-proceeding, the telecommunications services Canadians use and rely upon to meet their everyday needs and to allow them to meaningfully participate in the digital economy. One of the telecommunications services at issue in the proceeding is the provision of video relay service (VRS).

In Telecom Regulatory Policy 2014-187,^{Footnote 2} the Commission determined that VRS is a basic telecommunications service. Several parties to the above-noted proceeding, including the Deaf Wireless Canada Committee and the Canadian Association of the Deaf - Association des Sourds du Canada, have submitted their views as to the technical requirements for the provision of VRS.^{Footnote 3}

Pursuant to section 37 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act), the Commission may require that persons provide it with information necessary for the administration of the Act. Commission staff considers that the CAV’s input on the technological requirements for VRS would assist the Commission’s and parties’ understanding of the issues under consideration in this proceeding. Accordingly, the CAV is to respond to the attached requests for information by February 22, 2016.

Filing of Information with the Commission

Responses to these 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 Pageˮ)

or

by mail to
CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2

or

by fax to
819-994-0218

The CAV’s responses will become part of the record of the proceeding initiated by Telecom Notice of Consultation 2015-134.

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 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,^{Footnote 4}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 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 by

John Macri
Director, Policy Framework
Telecommunications Sector

c.c.: Christine Bailey, CRTC, (819) 997-4557, christine.bailey@crtc.gc.ca
Sarah O’Brien, CRTC, (819) 635-3217, sarah.obrien@crtc.gc.ca

Attachment

Requests for information addressed to the CAV

1. Indicate, with supporting rationale, the Internet connection speeds (downstream and upstream) required to deliver an appropriate video quality for VRS. Describe the factors that were considered in proposing these speeds.
2. Describe what other technical factors need to be considered to deliver an appropriate video quality for VRS. The CAV’s response should include, but not be limited to, the following:
1. latency; and
2. packet loss.
3. Provide, with supporting rationale, the CAV’s best estimate of how much data a typical VRS user would consume each month (e.g. in megabytes [MB] or gigabytes [GB]).

Date modified:

2016-02-12