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CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC)
Report Card 1997-1998
Status of Local Competition
In May 1997, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced that local competition in telecommunications would be introduced in Canada in 1998. Much had to be accomplished before this could become a reality, thus the creation of the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) in 1996.
A year later, it is time to report on the progress of that decision.
While it is too early to declare the introduction of local competition complete, it is, nevertheless, fair to call the initial phase of the introduction a success.
To date, some issues remain unresolved, however, significant progress has been made to introduce Canadians to a truly competitive local telecommunications market. We have already seen, for example, the launch of commercial local competition in several major urban centres across the country. The promise of a much wider rollout in the coming months appears certain. And equally important, the few bottlenecks that remain — whether technical, commercial or regulatory in nature — are in the process of being resolved.
CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC)
Among the most important achievements in establishing Canada-wide local competition in telecommunications was the creation of the CISC.
This Committee is a CRTC and industry working group mandated to identify requirements and develop systems to facilitate local competition.
The processes employed by CISC have worked extremely well in getting the industry players together to resolve technical and administrative issues related to local competition. CISC relies heavily on the consultative process.
It is comprised of 6 key committees. The Steering Committee and the Co-ordinating Committee perform oversight functions; the Operational, Administrative, Network, and Numbering Groups perform detailed work through a number of subcommittees.
Since its formation, CISC has identified a total of 165 tasks. Thirty-nine of these tasks were amalgamated and two have subsequently been deleted as no longer relevant. The remainder are:
- completed (22)
- deferred (17)
- in dispute (9)
- underway (76)
1. Commission decisions completed
Out of these tasks, the CRTC is pleased to report that a total of 11 decisions have been issued between May 1997 and June 1998.
These decisions have clearly defined the ground rules for local competition, established rollout dates and other time tables, and settled a number of contentious issues.
2. Competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC)
Among the most significant milestones in delivering local competition this past year was the regulatory go ahead for Canada’s first Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC).
- In December 1997, the CRTC approved the interim tariffs for MetroNet, which is already operating in Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary.
- The interim tariffs for Videotron have also been received by the CRTC, and they were approved on 3 June 98.
- Twelve other carriers have been authorized to operate as CLEC’s, once they’ve met all of the requirements.
- New entrants have entered into interim intercarrier agreements with BCTel, Bell and TCI on Message Relay Service, 911 Service, Transiting, and CCS7 Interconnection.
3. Underway, disputed and deferred items before the Commission
In the initial stages of competition, some issues remain unresolved. This is to be expected in an undertaking as complex as the launch of local competition where the short-term and long-term interests of many publics are at stake.
Currently, CISC has a total of nine tasks in dispute and 76 underway. These eighty-five tasks are actively being studied and most are expected to be completed in the next few months.
CISC has also deferred 17 tasks of low priority, which will be addressed as time permits.
While all of these issues must be resolved in a timely manner, none are expected to slow the launch of competitive local services in Canada.
CISC Sub-committee/Consortia Work in Progress
Establishing local competition in the Canadian market in a way that delivers maximum benefits to the industry and consumers alike continues to be a work in progress.
Most issues are highly complex which may ultimately have an impact on individual businesses, the Canadian economy as a whole, specific consumer segments, the technology infrastructure of the country, and elsewhere.
They must be addressed in an often rapidly changing, unpredictable environment impacted not only by new technologies and new demands by increasingly sophisticated consumers but also by global forces beyond the control of Canada’s regulatory environment.
During the past year, the CISC Sub-Working Groups (SWG) have been actively working to resolve major bottlenecks and respond to new issues as they arise.
Significant progress has already been made in a number of disputed and underway tasks.
Local Number Portability (LNP). LNP, or the right of a business or consumer to switch to a CLEC, and still retain their current telephone number, is important. If LNP is not available, it could produce a disincentive to many customers who might otherwise choose a CLEC over an established Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC).
The Commission has issued five Orders and six letter decisions dealing with LNP and local competition since May 1, 1997.
The LNP consortium also faced a dilemma over the past year when the Perot-Nortel technology arrangement proved to be unworkable, forcing it to choose between delaying competition until number portability was available or permitting the launch of competition before it was fully viable.
The LNP consortium chose the latter. It made new arrangements with an alternate technology provider, Lockheed Martin, which has successfully provided the technology to deliver LNP in the U.S. local markets. The consortium members have now signed the Unanimous Shareholder Agreement and have entered into a contract with Lockheed Martin.
Although delayed, LNP in Canada is now about to begin testing and is expected to be available in four markets by October 1998. The result could be a delay in the industry service ready dates for Vancouver and Calgary by not more than one month (of the roll-out plan proposed in Order 98-60). At this writing, the Commission believes that the scheduled Toronto and Island of Montreal rollouts will be achievable with no delays.
Numbering. The assignment of area codes is another area that has been undergoing change. Historically, area code numbers were created and designated by the Stentor companies. In 1997, the Commission recommended that an independent body be established to deal with the assignment of area codes. Bill C-17 ensures that the Commission has full powers to manage the numbering.
Over the past year, the Commission approved the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA) consortium agreement and issued the Request for Proposal for an independent administrator. The proposal process is expected to be concluded shortly and an independent administrator established in early 1999.
Administration. Several key agreements for administering local competition more efficiently are nearing completion.
A master interconnection agreement, which is a model interconnection agreement between a pair of local exchange carriers, has been drafted and will be finalized once a variety of schedules that are being developed by other groups have been completed
The Central Fund agreement should be ready in the fall of 1998. Again, the Commission recommended a neutral third party to manage the Fund. This agreement will help facilitate the administration of the contribution received from interexchange carriers and its distribution to local exchange carriers.
Work on issues related to access to buildings and inside wire is also being carried out.
Operations. A broad range of operating issues is being actively addressed in an effort to ensure the viability of a permanent locally competitive marketplace. These issues include:
-
Service intervals issues. When work is completed, the service interval definition will establish the time taken to transfer a subscriber’s service from a Stentor company to a new local exchange provider.
-
Customer transfer processes. The processes for transferring a subscriber from a Stentor company to a new local exchange provider has been defined. The Commission is also prepared to review these processes and amend them as required by market conditions in the future.
-
Canadian Data Interchange Guidelines (CDIG). The Commission approved these guidelines on April 6, 1998. The CDIG publication contains: (a) a brief description of each data interface and its specifications as well as the Data Interchange Sub-Working Group recommendations for data interchange; (b) a description of the various recommended data interchange options; and; (c) a detailed description of the procedures for establishing and transmitting files using Electronic File Transfer.
-
Other guidelines and revisions. CDIG and other guidelines are living documents and may require future revisions given the dynamic nature of the local exchange market, changing requirements of LECs, and resolutions of pending issues which could further change the market.
- Operator Services/Directory Listings. This Sub-Working Group has work underway in a number of areas. To date, the guidelines for the exchange of directory information has been agreed upon.
Network. Much work has also been completed in the area of networks. The groups will now finalize their work to implement the Commission’s decision on transiting and points of interconnection.
List of Proposed Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECS)
(As at June 1998)
| Proposed CLEC | Market | Proposed launch date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | DACo Telecommunications Inc. | (a) Winnipeg (b) Other Centres |
(a) and (b) Not available |
| 2. | fONOROLA | Various major centres | Not available |
| 3. | Gateway Telephone | North Bay area | 1 November 98 |
| 4. | GT Group telecom Network Inc. | Various major centres | Not available |
| 5. | Maskatel Inc. | St. Hyacinthe area | Not available |
| 5. | Microcell Connexions Inc. | Various major centres | Not available |
| 7. | NORTEC Corporation |
(a) Ottawa-Carleton area, Toronto (b) Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver |
(a) early 1998 (b) Not available |
| 8. | Novus Telecom Inc. |
(a) Vancouver (b) Various major centres |
(a) 1998 (b) Not available |
| 9. | Optel Communications Corp. | Various major centres | Not available |
| 10. | Rogers Telecom Inc. | Not available | Not available |
| 11. | Sprint Canada | Various major centres | Not available |
| 12. | Wispra Tel Co. Ltd. |
(a) Toronto (b) Montreal |
(a) 1998 (b) Not available |
List of Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECS)
(As at June 1998)
| CLEC | Market | Launch date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | MetroNet Communications Group | Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver | 1 January 1998 |
| 2. | Videotron Telecom ltee | Montreal | June 1998 |
Priority 1 Exchanges
| Company | Exchange | LNP Service Ready Date |
|---|---|---|
| BC TEL | Vancouver | 31 July 1998 |
| Vancouver EAS | 31 August 1998 | |
| Bell | Montreal | 31 August 1998 |
| Montreal Island | 31 August 1998 | |
| Montreal EAS | 31 October 1998 | |
| Toronto | 31 August 1998 | |
| Toronto EAS | 31 October 1998 | |
| TCI | Calgary & EAS | 31 July 1998 |
Priority 2 Exchanges
| Company | Exchange | LNP Service Ready Date |
|---|---|---|
| BC TEL | Victoria & EAS | 28 February 1999 |
| Matsqui | 28 February 1999 | |
| Bell | Ottawa/Hull | 31 March 1999 |
| Quebec | 31 March 1999 | |
| Hamilton/Burlington | 31 March 1999 | |
| London | 31 March 1999 | |
| Kitchener-Waterloo | 31 March 1999 | |
| St. Catharines-Niagara Falls | 31 March 1999 | |
| Oshawa | 31 March 1999 | |
| Windsor | 31 March 1999 | |
| Peterborough | 31 March 1999 | |
| Guelph | 31 March 1999 | |
| Barrie | 31 March 1999 | |
| NBTel | Saint John | 31 December 1998 |
| MT&T | Halifax | 31 December 1998 |
| MTS | Winnipeg | 31 December 1998 |
| NewTel | St. John's & EAS | 31 December 1998 |
Local Competition
Commission Public Notices, Orders and Decisions
| Tab | Date | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 Nov. 1995 | P.N. 95-36 | Local Interconnection and Network Component Unbundling |
| 2 | 11 Jul. 1995 | P.N. 95-48 | Local Number Portability and Related Issues |
| 3 | 19 July 1996 | Letter Decision | Various consensus items related to the 14 June 1996 LNP Reports |
| 4 | 25 Oct. 1996 | Letter Decision | Non-consensus items of the 14 June LNP Reports |
| 5 | 1 May 1997 | Decision 97-8 | Local Competition |
| 6 | 1 May 1997 | Order 97-591 | Responsibility for Carrier specific Costs |
| 7 | 5 Sep. 1997 | Order 97-1243 | LNP Funding |
| 8 | 29 Oct. 1997 | Letter Decision | Consensus items in the 2 Sept. 1997 CISC Reports |
| 9 | 19 Dec. 1997 | Letter Decision | Consensus Central Funds Master Agreement |
| 10 | 7 Jan. 1998 | Order 98-1 | NAS eligible for subsidy and whether carriers are required to operate as CLECs in all exchanges they serve |
| 11 | 26 Jan. 1998 | Order 98-40 | Disputes Standards and CCS7 |
| 12 | 29 Jan. 1998 | Order 98-60 | LNP Roll-out schedule |
| 13 | 11 Feb. 1998 | Letter Decision | Consensus Canadian Number Administrator Shareholder agreement and Guidelines |
| 14 | 6 April 1998 | Letter Decision | Disputes on Facilities Build Principles – Default Technology. |
| CLEC Direct Access to Stentor Company 800/888 Database. | |||
| Expansion of ILEC Extended Area Service Boundaries and Extended Flat Rate Calling Areas. | |||
| Network-to-Network Technical Interface For Local interconnection – Call Completion to a Portable Number. (Consensus approved) | |||
| Network-to-Network Technical Interface For Local interconnection – NP Query-Response Network Capability. (Consensus approved) | |||
| Facility Build Principle, Implementation Alternative & Process. (Consensus approved) | |||
| Development of Standard Form Agreement(s) between CLECs and Municipalities/ Associations. (Consensus approved) | |||
| Canadian Data Interchange Guidelines. (Consensus approved) | |||
| 15 | 16 April 1998 | Letter Decision | Dispute on Competitive Winback |
| 16 | 19 May 1998 | Order 98-486 | Disputes - Transiting - Points of Interconnection |
| 17 | 20 May 1998 | Letter Decision | Disclosure of NAS-Related Information by Band |
