Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Imran Khan (Northwestel Inc.)
Ottawa, 14 June 2024
Our reference: 8000-C12-202306860
BY EMAIL
Imran Khan
CFO & VP Corporate Services
Northwestel Inc.
10th Floor 5201 Franklin Ave #100
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2P1
regulatoryaffairs@nwtel.ca
Subject: Visible Test Alert – 08 May, 2024
Commission staff noted that during the issuance of a National Public Alerting System (NPAS) bi-annual test alert on Wednesday, 08 May 2024 at approximately 9:55 am MDT in the Northwest Territories, the alert was not observed on the television sets in the offices of the Northwest Territories Emergency Management Organization (NWT EMO).
Commission staff understands that NWT EMO uses the broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) services of Northwestel Inc (Northwestel). Commission staff notes that the Commission’s regulatory framework, in regard to alerting requires that, among other things, licensed and certain exempt BDUs distribute alerts to subscribers or other premised located in an area targeted by the alerts.
Given the information provided above, Commission staff requests that Northwestel respond to the following requests for information, as well as any other comments you may have on the facts and situation identified in this letter:
- Are you aware of any other reports from NWT EMO or any other subscriber to Northwestel’ s BDU services (in Canada) of persons not receiving visible test alerts or receiving alerts with incomplete information, within May 2024? If so, please provide details (for instance, location of BDU serving area, licensed or exempt BDU, date of test alert, and number of reports of premises affected).
- Explain the cause (technical or otherwise) for why alerts were not received and distributed correctly at the premises of the NWT EMO or for any other subscriber identified in response to question 1.
- What actions, if any, has Northwestel taken or plans to take to address the problem(s) identified in response to question 1 to ensure this problem does not reoccur?
Province- and territory -wide NPAS testing is important as it enables alerting stakeholders, including wireless service providers, broadcasting undertakings, EMOs, and the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System Operator to assess whether their systems are fully functional. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation in ensuring the effectiveness of the NPAS.
A copy of this letter and all related correspondence will be added to the public file of the licensee. Please repeat the question before responding.
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 Thursday 04 July 2024 by 5:00 p.m., Vancouver time. If you have any questions or require additional time, please contact Mr. Amjad Iqbal at (819) 360-2891 or via email at amjad.iqbal@crtc.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Michael Crupi
Manager, Network Technology
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission
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