Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Philippe Gauvin (Bell Canada)
Ottawa, 24 May 2024
Our reference: 8740-B20-202402056
BY EMAIL
Philippe Gauvin
Assistant General Counsel
Bell Canada
19th Floor – 160 Elgin street
Ottawa, ON K2P 2C4
bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Subject: Bell Canada Tariff Notice (TN) 984 –Digital Network Access (DNA) Low Speed Access and DS-0 Inter-exchange Channels– reclassification as a Group B application
Dear Philippe Gauvin:
On 18 April 2024, the Commission received an application from Bell Canada proposing changes to Bell Canada’s National Services Tariff CRTC 7400, Item 301 – DNA and Item 307 – Inter-Office Digital Channels.
Bell Canada noted that TN 982 proposed to destandardize the Low Speed Access option, including speeds at DS-0 and 112.0 / 128.0 Kbps, for DNA service and the DS-0 Inter-exchange Channels option for Inter-Office Digital Channels. That application was approved in Telecom Order CRTC 2024-61, 19 March 2024 (Telecom Order 2024-61). Bell Canada indicated that when it filed TN 982 it had inadvertently neglected to state that destandardization was intended to apply in its operating territory for Bell Canada only, not in its operating territory for Bell Aliant.
Bell Canada submitted that this current application is a Group A tariff filing since it contains changes that pertain to corrections of typographical errors or administrative errors on approved tariff pages. Specifically, the proposed changes are intended to clarify that destandardization of the services applies only in its Bell Canada operating territory. The company also proposed a minor housekeeping change associated with the effective date of destandardization.
Commission staff is of the view that, while this may have been an administrative error on the part of Bell Cananda, this is important information that the Commission should have been made aware of in making its determinations in relation to Telecom Order 2024-61. As a result the application does not comply with the requirements for Group A applications set out in Approval processes for tariff applications and intercarrier agreements, Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-455-1, 19 February 2016.
For efficiency, the Commission will process this application as a Group B tariff filing rather than close the file and require the company to refile it as a new application. As such, interested parties may file interventions within 30 calendar days of the date of this letter, and Bell Canada may file reply comments within 10 calendar days of the deadline for filing interventions. Accordingly, the application will not come into effect 18 April 2024 as proposed by the company.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Michel Murray
Director, Dispute Resolution & Regulatory Implementation
Telecommunications Sector
c.c.: Christine Brock, CRTC, 873-353-5852, christine.brock@crtc.gc.ca
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