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Telecom Decision CRTC 2017-34

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Ottawa, 2 February 2017

File number: 8621-C12-01/08

CISC Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering – Consensus report CNRE118A regarding proposed revisions to the Canadian Adjunct to the Industry Numbering Committee Carrier Identification Code Assignment Guidelines

Report

  1. On 7 November 2016, the Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN) of the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) submitted the following consensus report for Commission approval:
    • Proposed Addendum to the Canadian Adjunct to the INC Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Assignment Guidelines (CNRE118A)
  2. The consensus report, dated 30 August 2016, can be found in the "Reports" section of the CSCN page, which is available in the CISC section of the Commission's website at www.crtc.gc.ca.
  3. In the report, the CSCN proposed revisions to the Canadian Adjunct to the Industry Numbering Committee (INC) Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Assignment Guidelines (the Guidelines). The CSCN noted that in the United States, a company is required to have an Access Customer Name Abbreviation (ACNA)Footnote 1 to be eligible for a CIC. In Canada, the ACNA is currently an optional field on the CIC application form. However, when a company with an existing ACNA submits a CIC update application to the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA), the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) AdministrationFootnote 2 will not process the request unless the company name on the CIC update request matches the company name associated with the existing ACNA.
  4. This matter was further discussed by the CISC Business Process Working Group (BPWG), which noted that the ACNA is a required field for the Primary Interexchange Carrier/Customer Account Record Exchange (PIC/CARE) process (i.e. the process that allows consumers to change their long distance service provider). The BPWG recommended that the ACNA become a mandatory field for CIC assignments and that, from now on, the company name on a CIC update request must match the name associated with the ACNA.
  5. The CSCN therefore proposed to modify the Canadian Adjunct to the Guidelines to make the identification of ACNA codes mandatory for CIC assignments and modifications, and to include a process for the CNA to use to verify that the applicant has a valid ACNA.
  6. The CSCN requested that the Commission approve consensus report CNRE118A and the proposed revised Canadian Adjunct to the Guidelines, version 5.1.

Commission's analysis and determinations

  1. The absence of an ACNA or the inclusion of an incorrect ACNA will lead to the rejection of a CIC application, which may cause extra administrative costs to the industry (e.g. processing fees, CNA expenses) and business delays. The Commission considers that making the ACNA a mandatory field in CIC applications is reasonable, as it will ensure that a company's use of its ACNA is consistent within its operations and in applications it submits to the CNA, thus avoiding unnecessary delays and costs due to errors.
  2. The CSCN proposed that, if the CIC applicant does not provide a copy of the assignment or update of its ACNA to the CNA, the CNA could verify the ACNA by looking it up in its copy of the eCoder registry, which lists the ACNA assignments.Footnote 3 If the ACNA is not included in the CNA's copy of the eCoder registry, the CIC applicant would pay for the CNA to obtain a copy of the registry that lists its ACNA. The ACNA assignee name and the CIC assignee name must be the same.
  3. The Commission considers that the verification method proposed by the CSCN provides a simple solution to ensure that the ACNA field is correctly populated in CIC applications. Verification of the ACNA would reduce the likelihood that the CIC application would be rejected. The Commission also considers it reasonable that, if the ACNA is not listed in the CNA's current copy of the eCoder registry, the applicant should be responsible for providing certification, including paying for the purchase of a new version of the eCoder registry, if necessary.
  4. For the reasons mentioned above, the Commission approves the CSCN's consensus report and version 5.1 of the Canadian Adjunct to the Guidelines.

Secretary General

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