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Telecom Public Notice CRTC 98-41
  Ottawa, 18 December 1998
 

BELL CANADA - FORBEARANCE FROM REGULATION OF THE PROVISIONING OF SINGLE LINE INSIDE WIRE
  File No.: 8640-B2-01/98
  1. On 1 October 1998, Bell Canada (Bell), pursuant to Part VII of the CRTC Telecommunications Rules of Procedure, requested that the Commission forbear wholly and unconditionally from regulating the provisioning by Bell of telephone single line inside wire and jacks (single line inside wire) pursuant to section 34 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act).
  2. Bell requested that the Commission refrain from exercising its powers and performing all its duties under sections 24, 25, 27, 29 and 32 of the Act in relation to the provision of single line inside wire. The service is provided pursuant to Item 75 of Bell's Tariffs.
  3. Bell stated that the single line inside wire market consists of provisioning, rearrangement and repair activities associated with single line inside wire and jacks on the customer side of the demarcation point for all residence and business customers, with the exception of inside wiring and jacks for two and four party-line services as well as "hard-wired" single line services until such time as jacks are installed.
  4. Bell submitted that there is competition in the single line inside wire market, and that the Commission should forbear from regulation of single line inside wire pursuant to subsection 34(2) of the Act. Bell also submitted that, with respect to subsection 34(3), forbearance from regulation would not unduly impair competition in the market for single line inside wire.
  5. Comments were received from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). PIAC stated that some degree of forbearance might be appropriate. However, PIAC suggested that increased competition in the single line inside wire market may be due to the high rates being charged by Bell, and that Bell's market share may increase once these rates come down as a result of forbearance. PIAC also expressed concerns about enforcement of safety standards and system integrity in a forborne environment.
  I BACKGROUND
  6. In BC Tel and Bell Canada - Transfer of Inside Wire to Premises Owners and Introduction of Lineguard Service, Telecom Decision CRTC 94-2, 2 February 1994, among other matters, the Commission denied the proposed transfer of responsibility for single line inside wire to customers. It expressed concerns that the companies' proposed insurance plan for repair and maintenance of single line inside wire would result in additional charges, with no apparent additional benefits to customers.
  7. In Review of Regulatory Framework, Telecom Decision CRTC 94-19, 16 September 1994, the Commission established the criteria it considers relevant to determine the competitiveness of markets for the purpose of forbearing from regulation of a telecommunications service or class of services.
  8. In Telecom Order CRTC 98-856, 27 August 1998 (Order 98-856), the Commission concluded that markets for inside wiring services in the territory served by Télébec ltée (Télébec) are sufficiently competitive to protect the interests of users, and forbore from regulation of inside wire provided by Télébec.
  9. In Order 98-856, the Commission also concluded that, in view of changed market conditions for inside wiring, Télébec would not obtain an undue preference from offering an insurance plan for inside wiring.
  10. In Location of Demarcation Point for Inside Wire in Multi-Tenant Buildings and Associated Issues, Telecom Public Notice CRTC 98-35, 2 December 1998 (PN 98-35), the Commission invited comments on issues related to the location of the demarcation point between the local loop and building inside wiring in multi-tenant buildings.
  II ISSUES
  11. The Commission invites comments on issues relating to the forbearance from regulation of Bell's services relating to the provisioning of single line inside wire. In addition to any general comments, parties are asked to address the following issues:
  (1) whether there is sufficient competition in the market for single line inside wiring services in Bell's service territory to protect the interests of users, and accordingly, whether forbearance pursuant to section 34 of the Act would be warranted;
  (2) whether Bell should be permitted to offer an insurance plan for repair and maintenance of inside wiring;
  (3) whether, if forbearance is appropriate, any conditions should be imposed that would continue to apply to Bell.
  III PROCEDURE
  12. Bell's application may be examined at the company's business offices or at the offices of the Commission at the following locations:
  Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage
Room G-5
Hull, Quebec

Place Montréal Trust
1800 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1920
Montréal, Quebec

55 St. Clair Avenue East,
Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario
  13. Bell is made a party to this proceeding. Other parties wishing to participate in the proceeding must notify the Commission of their intention to do so by writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, fax 819-953-0795, by 11 January 1999. Parties are to indicate in their notice their Internet address, where available. If parties do not have access to the Internet, they are to indicate whether they wish to receive disk versions of hard copy filings. The Commission will issue a complete list of parties and their mailing addresses (including Internet email addresses, if available), identifying those parties who wish to receive disk versions.
  14. Other documents forming part of the record of this proceeding may be examined at the Commission's offices in Hull, or will be made available at the above Regional Offices promptly upon request.
  15. Parties who have already filed comments on Bell's application prior to the issuance of this Public Notice will be added to the list of interested parties and their comments will be added to the record of this proceeding.
  16. All parties may file comments with the Commission, serving copies on all other parties, by 22 January 1999.
  17. Parties may file reply comments with the Commission, serving copies on all other parties, by 12 February 1999.
  18. Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, not merely mailed, by that date.
  19. In addition to hard copy filings, parties are encouraged to file with the Commission electronic versions of their submissions in accordance with the Commission's Interim Telecom Guidelines for the Handling of Machine-Readable Files, dated 30 November 1995. The Commission's Internet email address for electronically filed documents is public.telecom@crtc.gc.ca. Electronically filed documents can be accessed at the Commission's Internet site at http://www.crtc.gc.ca.
  Secretary General
  This document is available in alternative format upon request.
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