ARCHIVED - Telecom Order CRTC 97-399
This page has been archived on the Web
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. Archived Decisions, Notices and Orders (DNOs) remain in effect except to the extent they are amended or reversed by the Commission, a court, or the government. The text of archived information has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Changes to DNOs are published as “dashes” to the original DNO number. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats by contacting us.
Telecom Order |
|
Ottawa, 25 March 1997
|
|
Telecom Order CRTC 97-399
|
|
IN THE MATTER OF an application filed by Bell Canada (Bell) under Tariff Notice 5825 dated 16 September 1996, providing for the introduction of Call Messenger Service (CMS).
|
|
WHEREAS CMS is a pay per-use, calling party controlled call completion service, provided on domestic and U.S. bound inter-exchange calls (except to Alaska and Hawaii), enabling customers to communicate via voice messaging;
|
|
WHEREAS Bell proposed that CMS would be made available on any qualifying calls reaching a busy or no answer condition, by initiating an offer of service, and enabling callers to leave a message up to one minute in length;
|
|
WHEREAS a Phase III Block Diagram attached to Tariff Notice 5825 indicated that the In Service Activation (ISA) feature and messaging platform associated with CMS resides in Bell's local DMS 100 Class 5 switch;
|
|
WHEREAS the Phase III Block Diagram indicated that costs causal to provisioning of the messaging platform and the ISA feature were classified by Bell as Competitive Network;
|
|
WHEREAS Bell indicated in Tariff Notice 5825 that CMS will not be available on calls from customers of alternative providers of long distance service (APLDS) because control of such calls is transferred to the alternate provider before a busy or no answer condition can be detected;
|
|
WHEREAS by intervention dated 16 October 1996, AT&T Canada Long Distance Services Company (AT&T Canada LDS) raised various objections to Bell's proposed introduction of CMS;
|
|
WHEREAS AT&T Canada LDS submitted that because the ISA feature required for the operation of CMS resides on Bell's DMS-100 local network switches, this feature must be included in the Carrier Access Tariff (CAT), and associated charges must be imputed into Bell's retail rate for CMS;
|
|
WHEREAS AT&T Canada LDS also submitted that Bell failed to justify the lack of interoperability of the ISA feature with the networks of APLDS;
|
|
WHEREAS AT&T Canada LDS further submitted that the telephone companies should not be permitted to deploy competitive network features on the local network unless these features are made available to APLDS on an equivalent basis, and therefore requested that Bell's application be denied;
|
|
WHEREAS in reply, Bell disagreed with AT&T Canada LDS, submitting that because ISA is not a bottleneck service, this function need not be tariffed nor imputed into the CMS rate;
|
|
WHEREAS Bell also submitted CMS raises no interoperability concerns and that APLDS may obtain call completion functionality equivalent to CMS utilising software arrangements available from competitive suppliers;
|
|
WHEREAS Bell further submitted that call completion software similar to that utilised in CMS is used by U.S. interexchange providers in their toll switches, and that such an arrangement could be duplicated by APLDS in Canada in their toll switches;
|
|
WHEREAS Bell further submitted that once control of an interexchange call has passed to an APLDS, the APLDS can detect network signals as easily as Bell and would therefore be in an equivalent position to offer a service competitive with CMS;
|
|
WHEREAS the Commission is not persuaded that CMS raises interoperability concerns, given that APLDS could provision similar services resident in their toll switches;
|
|
WHEREAS the Commission considers that it is appropriate to classify the messaging platform and the ISA feature of CMS in the Utility segment given that these features have been deployed in Bell's local network; and
|
|
WHEREAS the Commission finds that the Utility component should be compensated for the use of local network facilities in the provisioning of CMS, and that the cost of CMS reflect this expense -
|
|
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
|
|
1. The proposed tariff to become effective on the date of this Order is granted interim approval.
|
|
2. Bell is directed to develop and file a tariff within 30 days of this Order, reflecting the charge to the Competitive segment for the use of Utility segment facilities used in the provisioning of the messaging platform and ISA features.
|
|
3. Bell is directed to account for the above noted costs to its Utility segment in the period prior to final tariff approval being granted.
|
|
Allan J. Darling
Secretary General |
|
|
- Date modified: