ARCHIVED - Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-803

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Ottawa, 28 October 2010

Call for comments

Usage-based billing for Gateway Access Services and third-party Internet access services

File number: 8661-C12-201015975

Introduction

1. In Telecom Decision 2010-255, the Commission approved a proposal by Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership and Bell Canada (collectively, the Bell companies) to introduce usage-based billing (UBB)[1] for their wholesale Residence Gateway Access Services (GAS).[2] In doing so, the Commission concluded, among other things, that UBB rates and an excessive usage charge[3] that are 25 percent lower than the Bell companies’ comparable retail rates and usage charge would be appropriate for the proposed economic Internet traffic management practice (ITMP).

2. In Telecom Decision 2010-802, the Commission, among other things, concluded that it would be appropriate to vary this aspect of Telecom Decision 2010-255 in order to meet the requirement for regulatory symmetry between the Bell companies’ GAS and the cable carriers’ third-party Internet access (TPIA) services.[4] Accordingly, the Commission approved the Bell companies’ request that the rates for the UBB component and the excessive usage charge of their proposed economic ITMP be set at a level equivalent to the rates imposed on their retail services.

3. Notwithstanding the above, the Commission considers that it would be appropriate to examine whether the UBB components and excessive usage charges of the incumbent local exchange carriers’ (ILECs) GAS or equivalent services and of the large cable carriers’ wholesale TPIA services should be set at levels below their respective comparable retail UBB rates.

Call for comments

4. The Commission calls for comments, including supporting rationale, as to whether or not the UBB components and excessive usage charges of GAS or equivalent services and of TPIA services should be set at levels below the ILECs’ and the cable carriers’ comparable retail UBB rates and, if so, to what extent.

Procedure

5. The Bell companies, Bragg Communications Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc., MTS Allstream Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications, Shaw Cablesystems Ltd., TELUS Communications Company, and Quebecor Media Inc., on behalf of its affiliate Videotron Ltd., are made parties to this proceeding.

6. Parties interested in participating in this proceeding and receiving copies of all submissions must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by filling out the online form or by writing to the Secretary General (by mail: CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2; by fax: 819-994-0218) by 12 November 2010 (the registration date). Parties are to provide their email addresses, where available. If parties do not have access to the Internet, they are to indicate when they notify the Commission whether they wish to receive disk versions of hard-copy filings.

7. As soon as possible after the registration date, the Commission will post on its website a complete list of interested parties, their mailing addresses, and, if available, their email addresses, identifying those parties who wish to receive disk versions.

8. All parties may file comments with the Commission regarding the above-noted issues, serving copies on all other parties, by 29 November 2010.

9. All parties may file reply comments with the Commission, serving copies on all other parties, by 9 December 2010.

10. The Commission expects to publish a decision on the issues raised in this notice of consultation within 120 days of the close of record.

11. The Commission will not formally acknowledge comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments, which will form part of the public record of the proceeding.

12. If a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, not merely sent, by that date.

13. Parties may file their submissions electronically or on paper. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary.

14. Electronic submissions should be in HTML format. Alternatively, Microsoft Word may be used for text and Microsoft Excel for spreadsheets.

15. Each paragraph of all submissions should be numbered. In addition, the line ***End of document*** should follow the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission.

16. The Commission encourages parties to monitor the record of this proceeding and/or the Commission’s website for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submissions.

Important notice

17. Note that all information that parties provide as part of this public process, except information granted confidentiality, whether sent by postal mail, facsimile, email, or through the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca, becomes part of a publicly accessible file and will be posted on the Commission’s website. This includes personal information, such as full names, email addresses, postal/street addresses, telephone and facsimile numbers, and any other personal information parties provide.

18. The personal information that parties provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Commission, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

19. Documents received electronically or otherwise will be posted on the Commission’s website in their entirety exactly as received, including any personal information contained therein, in the official language and format in which they are received. Documents not received electronically will be made available in PDF format.

20. Please note that the information that parties provide to the Commission as part of this public process is entered into an unsearchable database dedicated to this specific public process. This database is accessible only from the web page of this particular public process. As a result, a general search of the Commission’s website with the help of either its search engine or a third-party search engine will not link directly to the information that was provided as part of this public process.

Location of CRTC offices

21. Submissions may be examined or will be made available promptly upon request at Commission offices during normal business hours.



Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782

Toll-free TDD: 1-877-909-2782



Central Building

Les Terrasses de la Chaudière

1 Promenade du Portage, Room 206

Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4B1

Tel.: 819-997-2429

Fax: 819-994-0218



Regional offices



Metropolitan Place

99 Wyse Road, Suite 1410

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3A 4S5

Tel.: 902-426-7997

Fax: 902-426-2721



205 Viger Avenue West, Suite 504

Montréal, Quebec H2Z 1G2

Tel.: 514-283-6607



55 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 624

Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M2

Tel.: 416-952-9096



Kensington Building

275 Portage Avenue, Suite 1810

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B3

Tel.: 204-983-6306

Fax: 204-983-6317



2220 – 12th Avenue, Suite 620

Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 0M8

Tel.: 306-780-3422



10405 Jasper Avenue, Suite 520

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3N4

Tel.: 780-495-3224



858 Beatty Street, Suite 290

Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 1C1

Tel.: 604-666-2111

Fax: 604-666-8322



Secretary General

Related documents

Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership and Bell Canada – Application to review and vary Telecom Decision 2010-255 concerning usage-based billing for Gateway Access Services, Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-802, 28 October 2010

Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership and Bell Canada – Applications to introduce usage-based billing and other changes to Gateway Access Services, Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-255, 6 May 2010



Footnotes:

[1] With UBB, a monthly flat fee is charged for both Internet access and an Internet usage allowance up to a predetermined threshold. Monthly usage above that threshold is subject to further charges. [2] GAS is a wholesale service that the Bell companies are required to provide to Internet service providers (ISPs) so that those ISPs can provide retail Internet services to their own customers. [3] An excessive usage charge is not, at this time, in place for the Bell companies’ retail customers. Such a charge would only be implemented for Residence GAS coincident with the introduction of a comparable retail charge. [4] TPIA is a wholesale service that the major incumbent cable carriers are required to provide to ISPs so that those ISPs can provide retail Internet services to their own customers.