Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Simon-Pierre Olivier (Rogers Communications Canada Inc.)
Ottawa, 11 June 2024
Our reference: 8000-C12-202306860
BY EMAIL
Simon-Pierre Olivier
Director, Regulatory and Economics
Rogers Communications Canada Inc.
333 Bloor St. East
Toronto, ON, M4W 1G9
Simon-Pierre.Olivier@rci.rogers.com
Subject: Request for information regarding distribution of public test alert on May 15, 2024
On Wednesday, 15 May 2024 at approximately 12:55 pm EST, Emergency Management Ontario (EMO) issued a visible test alert for the province of Ontario through the National Public Alerting System (NPAS) as part of its participation in bi-annual public alerting tests. During testing, EMO staff observed that some cell phones using Rogers and Fido as their service provider did not receive the test alert. This observation has been further confirmed through other inputs such as correspondence with Rogers staff.
Commission staff notes that as part of its public alerting regulatory framework, Canadian Wireless Service Providers (WSPs) must ensure at a minimum that WPA is provided on their networks (excluding pre-LTE networks or mobile satellite services).
Commission staff requests that Rogers respond to the following request for information, and provide any other comments concerning the matters addressed in this letter:
- How did Rogers become aware of its subscribers not receiving the visible test alert issued on Wednesday, 15 May 2024 at approximately 12:55 pm EST in Ontario?
- Can Rogers describe the issue that prevented its customers in Ontario (including Fido customers) from not receiving this test alert? Please provide the following information:
- A description of the problem (technical or otherwise).
- Areas affected by the problem (e.g. impacted regions in Canada).
- The estimated number of customers that were impacted (whether they be customers of Rogers, Fido, or other cellular providers).
- What actions, if any, has Rogers taken or plans to take to address the problem(s) identified in response to question 2 and ensure that this problem does not reoccur in Ontario or in any other part of Canada? Describe the actions taken as well as the way in which any implemented solutions have been tested and validated to be effective at preventing recurrence of this issue.
The NPAS enables emergency management organizations across Canada to warn the public about imminent or possible dangers to life and property such as floods, tornados, hazardous materials, fires, and other disasters. Therefore, staff considers that the full participation of WSPs is important for ensuring that the NPAS is effective in safeguarding and warning Canadians in emergency situations. Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring the effectiveness of the NPAS.
This letter and any subsequent submissions will be placed on the CRTC’s website. Please repeat the question before responding. As set out in section 39 of the Telecommunications Act and in Procedures for filing confidential information and requesting its disclosure in Commission proceedings, Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-961, 23 December 2010, parties may designate certain information as confidential though must provide a detailed explanation on why the designated information is confidential and why its disclosure would not be in the public interest, including why the specific direct harm that would be likely to result from the disclosure would outweigh the public interest in disclosure. Furthermore, should parties designate information as confidential, they must either file an abridged version of the document omitting only the information designated as confidential or provide reasons why an abridged version cannot be filed.
The Commission requires all confidential documents to be submitted electronically by using the secured service “My CRTC Account” (Partner Log In or GCKey) and filing the “Telecom Cover Page” located on that web page.
Please submit your response no later than 02 July 2024 by 5:00 p.m., Vancouver time. If you have any questions or require additional time, please contact Zohaib Ali at (343) 543-9642 or via email at muhammad.zohaibali@crtc.gc.ca
Sincerely,
Michael Crupi
Manager, Network Technology
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission
c.c. regulatory@rci.rogers.com
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