ARCHIVED - Order CRTC 2000-257

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Order CRTC 2000-257

Ottawa, 6 April 2000
ISP Telecom Inc.'s proposed General Tariff

Tariff Notice 1

This order approves on an interim basis ISP Telecom's proposed General Tariff covering general terms and conditions and access services.

1.

ISP Telecom filed an application for approval of its proposed General Tariff (CRTC Tariff 21340). The General Tariff provides for terms, definitions and general services and access services for interconnection with local exchange carriers (LECs), interexchange service providers (IXSPs) and wireless service providers (WSPs). The application was filed on 16 November 1999.

2.

TELUS Communications Inc. and TELUS Communications (B.C.) Inc. (together TELUS) submitted comments on 15 December 1999. Comments were also received from Bell Canada on behalf of itself, Island Telecom Inc., Maritime Tel & Tel Limited, MTS Communications Inc., NBTel Inc. and NewTel Communications Inc. on 17 December 1999.

3.

Bell submitted that the definitions for the terms "CCS7 signalling on trunk-side access", "exchange", "interconnecting circuit", "line-side access" and "trunk-side access" require changes and that definitions for the terms "competitive pay telephone service provider", "interexchange service provider", "resale", "reseller", "sharing" and "sharing group" should be added.

4.

The Commission considers that, with the exception of the definition for "exchange" which is already correct, Bell's proposed changes are appropriate.

5.

ISP Telecom has not included in its terms for "Deposits and Alternatives", a provision stating that ISP Telecom will show the principal amount of the deposit held on each customer's monthly account. The Commission considers that such a provision provides a level of protection to the customer and should be included.

6.

The Commission considers that the definitions for "BLIF Master" and "BLIF Updates" that ISP Telecom has included within its Basic Listing Interchange File (BLIF) service provisions pertain to directory file service rather than to BLIF service and should be amended.

7.

Bell noted that ISP Telecom's tariff refers to the term "IXC" and submitted that this term does not reflect interconnection arrangements with service providers other than carriers (i.e., resellers). Bell suggested that the term "interexchange service provider (IXSP)" would better reflect all types of service providers with which it might interconnect.

8.

By definition, resellers are not interexchange carriers (IXCs). The Commission agrees with Bell that when specific tariff provisions would apply to both IXCs and resellers, the term "IXSP" should be substituted for the term "IXC".

9.

Bell stated that ISP Telecom's proposed contribution charge provisions require a note specifying that contribution charges would also be applicable to ISP Telecom in relation to its interexchange traffic where the interexchange traffic in question is defined by the incumbent local exchange carriers' (ILECs') exchange boundaries.

10.

The Commission considers that a note should be added specifying that the provisions associated with contribution charges would apply to ISP Telecom's switched interexchange services where interexchange services are defined by the ILEC's exchange boundaries.

11.

ISP Telecom's tariff does not include rates and terms for the collection of contribution on line-side access on a per-circuit basis. The per-circuit contribution rates are used when a mechanism for determining contribution on a per-minute basis is not available. The Commission considers that the appropriate provisions should be reflected in the tariff.

12.

Bell submitted that ISP Telecom should be directed to include provisions to reflect the Commission's determinations in Contribution on traffic carried by alternate providers of long distance services over direct access lines, Telecom Decision CRTC 99-9, dated 20 July 1999, with respect to contribution charges associated with the use of direct access lines (DALs).

13.

The Commission notes that it has issued subsequent decisions that also affect the contribution mechanism.

14.

In Review of frozen contribution policy, Telecom Decision CRTC 99-20, dated 15 December 1999, the Commission directed all carriers providing local exchange service to issue amended tariff pages, effective 1 January 2000, reflecting the changes to contribution rates and WSP surcharges resulting from changes in the DAL loading factor.

15.

In a letter decision dated 15 December 1999 with respect to Bell's application regarding contribution on traffic carried by alternate providers of long distance services over DALs, the Commission determined that DAL surcharges apply to contribution assessed on international traffic. It directed all local exchange carriers to ensure that their tariffs reflect its directives and, where necessary, to issue revised tariff pages.

16.

In a second letter decision issued 15 December 1999 regarding the TELUS section 62 application to modify the international contribution regime to introduce a single blended contribution rate for Canada, the Commission determined that, effective 1 January 2000, the contribution rates for each ILEC territory will be set at Bell's rates for the international end of any call. It directed all local exchange carriers to issue revised tariff pages reflecting its directives.

17.

In a letter dated 17 December 1999, the Commission issued its decision with respect to the Final Consensus Report filed on 23 June 1999 by the Industry Task Force on International Contribution Issues. The report had recommended solutions for various international contribution issues arising from Regulatory regime for the provision of international telecommunications services, Telecom Decision CRTC 98-17, dated 1 October 1998. The Commission directed the competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and the ILECs to file by 1 February 2000, proposed tariff revisions to implement its directives.

18.

The Commission considers that ISP Telecom's tariff should be revised to be consistent with Decisions 99-9 and 99-20 and its letter decisions dated 15 and 17 December 1999.

19.

Bell submitted that ISP Telecom should include a provision with respect to contribution exemptions that apply to competitive pay telephone service providers indicating that they are exempt from contribution if they are not directly connected to an interexchange network.

20.

The Commission agrees that ISP Telecom's tariff should reflect its determinations with respect to contribution exemptions for competitive pay telephone service providers.

21.

TELUS submitted that ISP Telecom's tariff requires rates and conditions for the provision of central office (CO) code transfer and CO code administration which are required for transferring telephone numbers from line-side access to trunk-side access connection arrangements. The Commission is of the view that tariff provisions are required only for CO code administration.

22.

The Commission is of the view that ISP Telecom's tariff for access services for WSPs requires provisions and rates for obtaining and reserving telephone numbers with outpulsing.

23.

ISP Telecom has not included provisions in its tariff for the provision of 9-1-1 Emergency Response Service (ERS) to the municipalities. The Commission notes that CLECs are required to enter into agreements with the municipalities for the provision of 9-1-1 ERS. However, in the absence of such agreements, ISP Telecom would have to rely on a tariff to define its relationship with particular municipalities.

24.

The Commission is of the view that, in addition to the above, several items in ISP Telecom's tariff require minor changes for the purpose of correcting and/or clarifying various references and provisions.

25.

In light of the foregoing, the Commission orders that:
1. The proposed tariffs are approved on an interim basis, with the following amendments:
a) in the first paragraph of Item 100, Terms of Service, replace the reference to "Tariff CRTC 29xxx" with "Tariff CRTC 21340";
b) in Item 100, add the following provision as Article 6.5:
ISP Telecom will show the total principal amount of deposits held on each customer's monthly account.
c) in Article 8.3 of Item 100, change the reference to "article 1.1" to "Article 10.1";
d) in Article 14.3 of Item 100, recast the text of sub-article 14.3.6 as a note which applies to Article 14.3 in its entirety and remove the numbering;
e) add the following definitions to Item 101:
i) CCS7 signalling is the digital signalling system used by telecommunications carriers to route telecommunications traffic and to provide other services.
ii) Class B Licensee means a telecommunications service provider who provides international telecommunications service but neither:
a) operates telecommunications facilities used in transporting basic international traffic between Canada and another country; nor
b) operates telecommunications equipment that converts basic international traffic from circuit- switched minutes originating in Canada to non circuit-switched traffic, or from non circuit-switched traffic to circuit-switched minutes terminating in Canada.
Class B licensees include service providers who resell the switched services of other service providers. Such telecommunications service providers shall have obtained from the Commission a Class B license for the provision of basic international services. For more information with respect to licensing requirements refer to the Commission's web site at www.crtc.gc.ca.
iii) Competitive pay telephone service provider means a company or individual which provides competitive pay telephone service for use by the general public. For the purpose of this tariff, the competitive pay telephone service provider is the company's customer.
iv) Direct access line means a network arrangement used to transmit traffic over a dedicated facility between an IXSP's interexchange network and a subscriber's premises.
v) Interexchange service provider is an IXC or reseller which provides interexchange message toll service.
vi) Resale means the subsequent sale or lease on a commercial basis, with or without adding value, of a telecommunications service purchased from the company or interconnecting carrier.
vii) Reseller means a person engaged in resale of local service (local reseller) or interexchange service (IX reseller).
viii) Sharing means the use by two or more persons in an arrangement not involving resale, of a telecommunications service purchased from the company or and interconnecting carrier.
ix) Sharing group means a group of persons engaged in sharing.
f) in Item 101, replace the definition of "class A licensee" with the following:
Class A Licensee means a telecommunications service provider who:
a) operates telecommunications facilities used in transporting basic international traffic between Canada and another country, whether those facilities are owned by the licensee or leased from a separate facilities provider; or
b) operates telecommunications equipment that converts basic international traffic from circuit-switched minutes originating in Canada to non circuit-switched traffic, or from non circuit-switched traffic to circuit-switched minutes terminating in Canada, regardless of whether the licensee is responsible for the international transport; or
c) performs both of the functions described in a) and b) above.
Such telecommunications service providers shall have obtained from the Commission a Class A license for the provision of basic international telecommunications services. For more information with respect to licensing requirements refer to the Commission's web site at www.crtc.gc.ca.
g) replace the definition of "interconnecting circuit" with the following:
Interconnecting circuit means a circuit or path that connects an IXSP's facility to ISP Telecom's facility to provide access to ISP Telecom's local switched network.
h) replace the definition of "line side connection" with the following definition for "line-side access":
Line-side access means any connecting arrangement provided by the company to an IXSP over which dial tone is delivered by means of an interconnecting circuit enabling the IXSP to access the company's network.
i) in Item 102(1.0), replace the definitions for BLIF Master and BLIF Updates with the following:
BLIF Master means the provision of BLIF containing all of the listings for an exchange or those exchanges agreed upon by the company and the licensee from time to time. The BLIF Master reflects end-user listing information as of the last business day prior to the first full weekend of each month.
BLIF Updates means the provision of BLIF containing only updated listings for an exchange, when compared to the BLIF Master for that exchange which the licensee has already received and for which the licensee has requested regular updates. Such listings consist of additions, deletions and revisions resulting from service order activity affecting the BLIF Master and/or previous BLIF Updates. BLIF Updates are available daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, depending on the frequency requested by the licensee.
j) move Item 102(1.1) above Item 102(1.0) and renumber these two sub-items accordingly;
k) in Item 102(1.6), delete the phrase "corresponding to the exchange listing in Bell Canada's General Tariff Item 60";
l) in Item 200(1.1), amend the last sentence to read "Billing would commence one month from the date of notification.";
m) in Part C, replace every occurrence of the term "IXC" with "IXSP" except in Items 300(14) and 300(15) and where there is a reference to the "CLEC – IXC Agreement" in Items 300(3), 300(6), 301(7.5), 302(2) and 302(3);
n) in Item 300(1), put a period after the words "areas" and "operates" and delete the word "and" at the end of the paragraph;
o) in Item 300(15), add the phrase "excluding the ILEC" after the term "IXC";
p) in Item 300(17.2), change the reference to "Article 11" in the last sentence to "Article 10";
q) in Item 301(2) replace the reference to "800, 888, 877" with "1+800/888/877";
r) in the first sentence of Item 301(7.1), insert a comma after "0+" and delete the word "and" that precedes the dialling provision "011+";
s) in the first sentence of Items 302(1) and 303(1), replace the term "feature group D" with "Feature Group D service";
t) amend Item 304(1.1) as follows:
i) in the table, replace the title "Contribution charge, each minute of traffic, other than ILECs" with "Carriers and other service providers that use DALs" and replace the corresponding rates as follows:
Peak period           $0.0075
Off-peak period          $0.0038

ii) in the table, replace the title "Contribution charge, each minute of traffic, ILEC IX traffic" with "Carriers and other service providers that have attested that they do not use DALs (y)" and replace the corresponding rates as follows:

Peak period           $0.0066
Off-peak period          $0.0033
iii) add the following note after the table and prior to Item 304(1.2):
(y) An attestation that a carrier or other service provider does not use DALs requires that the carrier or other service provider provide an affidavit to ISP Telecom and the Commission, sworn by a senior officer of the company, attesting to the fact that the carrier or other service provider does not use any DALs to originate or terminate traffic in the applicable ILEC's operating territory. The affidavit must be resubmitted on an annual basis and include a statement that if, during the year, the carrier or other service provider uses any DALs, the carrier or other service provider will notify the Commission immediately, serving a copy on ISP Telecom, and the contribution rate applicable to the carriers and other service providers that do use DALs would immediately apply.
u) add the following as Item 304(1.3):
When a mechanism for the measurement of traffic to determine contribution on a per-minute basis is not available, the monthly contribution charges specified below shall apply for each interconnecting circuit with line-side access within a circuit group.
Number of circuits in the circuit group Carriers and other service providers that use DALs
    1-3   $4.00
    4-6 $13.00
    7-9 $19.00
10-14 $24.00
15-19 $28.00
20-29 $31.00
30-39 $34.00
40-49 $36.00
50-74 $38.00
75-99 $40.00
100 and over $43.00
Number of circuits in the circuit group Carriers and other service providers that attest that they do not use DALs (y)
    1-3 $ 3.00
    4-6 $11.00
    7-9 $17.00
10-14 $21.00
15-19 $24.00
20-29 $27.00
30-39 $30.00
40-49 $32.00
50-74 $33.00
75-99 $35.00
100 and over $37.00
(y) An attestation that a carrier or other service provider does not use DALs requires that the carrier or other service provider provide an affidavit to ISP Telecom and the Commission, sworn by a senior officer of the company, attesting to the fact that the carrier or other service provider does not use any DALs to originate or terminate traffic in the applicable ILEC's operating territory. The affidavit must be resubmitted on an annual basis and include a statement that if, during the year, the carrier or other service provider uses any DALs, the carrier or other service provider will notify the Commission immediately, serving a copy on ISP Telecom, and the contribution rate applicable to the carriers and other service providers that do use DALs would immediately apply.
v) replace Items 304(2) and 304(3) with the following:
2. Overseas and Canada-U.S. Circuits
2.1 For each overseas circuit that uses an international interconnection point located in the applicable ILEC's operating territory and for each Canada-U.S. circuit that crosses the border at a point located in the applicable ILEC's operating territory, the contribution charges specified below apply. The determination of whether or not an individual carrier's or other service provider's international traffic is DAL surcharge-exempt is based on the exempt/non-exempt status of the carrier or other service provider that hands off the international traffic directly to or receives such traffic directly from the Class A licensee. Where the originating/terminating carrier or other service provider is also the Class A licensee, it is the status of the originating/terminating carrier or other service provider that applies.
Carriers and other service providers that use DALs
Contribution charge, each minute of traffic:

Peak Period                $0.0075

Off-Peak Period        $0.0038

Carriers and other service providers that have attested that they do not use DALs (y):
Contribution charge, each minute of traffic:

Peak Period                 $0.0066

Off-Peak Period        $0.0033

(y) An attestation that a carrier or other service provider does not use DALs requires that the carrier or other service provider provide an affidavit to the applicable ILEC and the Commission, sworn by a senior officer of the company, attesting to the fact that the carrier or other service provider does not use any DALs to originate or terminate traffic in the applicable ILEC's operating territory. The affidavit must be resubmitted on an annual basis and include a statement that if, during the year, the carrier or other service provider uses any DALs, the carrier or other service provider will notify the Commission immediately, serving a copy on the ILEC, and the contribution rate applicable to the carriers and other service providers that do use DALs would immediately apply.
2.2 Class A Licensees are required to report detailed monthly contribution minute information to the applicable ILEC, the Commission and the Central Fund Administrator (CFA) within 60 days of the end of the applicable month as follows:
2.2.1 with respect to contribution-eligible international traffic that the licensee transports between Canada and the United States using circuit switching protocol on telecommunications facilities operated by the licensee, the licensee shall (a) report to the ILEC in whose territory a Canada – U.S. circuit crosses the border all contribution-eligible minutes, and (b) remit to the ILEC the applicable contribution charges as specified in ISP Telecom's tariffs;
2.2.2 with respect to contribution-eligible international traffic that the licensee transports between Canada and a country other than the United States using circuit switching protocol on telecommunications facilities operated by the licensee, the licensee shall (a) report to the ILEC in whose territory the gateway switch (i.e., the last switching point for outbound minutes and the first point of switching for inbound minutes) is located all contribution-eligible minutes, and (b) remit to the ILEC the applicable contribution charges as specified in ISP Telecom's tariffs;
2.2.3 with respect to contribution-eligible international traffic that the licensee converts from circuit switched minutes originating in Canada to non-circuit switched traffic, or from non-circuit switched traffic to circuit switched minutes terminating in Canada, the licensee shall (a) report to the ILEC all contribution-eligible minutes as measured at the point of conversion to the ILEC in whose territory the conversion occurs, and (b) remit to the ILEC the applicable contribution charges as specified in ISP Telecom's tariffs; and
2.2.4 all minutes reported in 2.2.1, 2.2.2 and 2.2.3 above shall be split by peak and off-peak periods and, where possible, by type of domestic service provider i.e., APLDS versus ILEC.
In cases in which the licensee has no traffic to report, the licensee shall provide a nil report to the ILEC, the Commission and the CFA.
2.3 Class A Licensees are required to provide a quarter-ending report to the applicable ILEC, the Commission and the CFA within 60 days of the end of the applicable quarter as follows:
2.3.1 an affidavit signed by a senior officer of the licensee, attesting to the completeness and accuracy of the contribution reports and remittances covering the past three months;
2.3.2 the number of Canada-U.S. and Canada-Overseas circuits (in units of DS-1 equivalents) as of the last day of the quarter, on which it has measured international contribution-eligible minutes in the preceding three months; and
2.3.3 a declaration of the existence of protocol-conversion points, by ILEC territory, at which international contribution-eligible circuit switched minutes originating in Canada are converted to non-circuit switched traffic or at which non-circuit switched international traffic is converted to contribution-eligible circuit switched minutes terminating in Canada.
If there is no traffic to report, the affidavit shall state why the licensee has no traffic to report.
2.4 as an alternative to providing monthly and quarterly reports to the ILEC as noted in 2.2 and 2.3 above, the Class A Licensee may choose to provide these reports to an affiliated CLEC or a CLEC with which such Class A Licensee has a preferred relationship, as defined in the Central Fund Administration Agreement, and to remit the applicable contribution payment to that CLEC. When a Class A Licensee elects to use this alternative reporting method, that Class A Licensee must advise the ILEC in writing of this choice, at least one month prior to the date the change becomes effective.
w) renumber Item 304(4) as Item 304(3) and replace all the current provisions with the following:
3. Exemptions
3.1 When an interconnecting circuit is used solely to access ISP Telecom's message toll services, the contribution charges specified in Items 304.1 and 304.2 do not apply.
3.2 The contribution charges specified in Items 304.1 and 304.2 do not apply, when an interconnecting circuit associated with line-side access is:
- used to provide a dedicated voice or dedicated data service; or

- used to provide a local service; or

- associated with a stand-alone administrative location or system which is not directly connected to the IXC's interexchange network, provided that the IXC applies to the Commission on a case-by-case basis and provides evidence satisfactory to the Commission that by reasons of the technical, economic or operational characteristics of the service, it is unlikely that the connections will be used significantly for joint-use interexchange services.

3.3 The contribution charges specified in Items 304.1 and 304.2 of this item do not apply to:
- international data traffic; or
- international voice traffic carried on a facility dedicated to the use of one customer; or
- international transit traffic that does not connect to the Canadian PSTN.
3.4 An application to the Commission for a contribution exemption with respect to international traffic is not required except in the following instances:
- where switched domestic traffic is routed through another country on non-dedicated facilities; or

- where domestic traffic is routed through another country by a licensee but is not controlled by the licensee when it re-enters Canada; or

- where international traffic is routed through another country to reach an international gateway in another part of Canada.

When any of the above three situations apply, the licensee shall apply to the Commission on a case-by-case basis and provide evidence satisfactory to the Commission that it can accurately track and record contribution-eligible minutes on the facilities in question.
3.5 Where a competitive pay telephone service provider uses interconnecting circuits, such as pay telephone basic access lines, which are not directly connected to an interexchange network provided by the competitive pay telephone service provider or by another service provider, the contribution charges specified in Items 304(1) and 304(2) above do not apply. An application to the Commission for a contribution exemption is not required.
x) add the following to the end of the paragraph in Item 400(5): "WSPs may, however, utilize other wireless system features (such as, but not limited to, call forwarding features), to route calls back to a wireline phone."
y) amend Item 401 as follows:
i) renumber the existing Items 2, 3 and 4 as Items 3, 4 and 5 and renumber any sub-items accordingly;
ii) insert the following as Item 2:
2. Link
2.1 The Link provides that wire centre equipment required to terminate an Access Channel (analogue or derived digital) in the ISP Telecom's switching centre. Answer supervision and multi-frequency signalling are included.
2.2 Rates and Charges
Link, each Channel: $12.70 per month
iii) in Item 3.2, delete the first line of the table; and
iv) in Item 3.2, delete the word "toll" from the phrase "activated toll access channel" in the last line of the table and from the last sentence in the accompanying note.
z) add the following as Item 402:
1. Telephone Numbers
1.1 Seven-digit telephone numbers with outpulsing are provided at the rates and charges specified below.
1.1.1 Each seven-digit telephone number with outpulsing:
Monthly Rate:          $0.14 (note 1)

Service Charge:       $126.00 (note 2)
1.1.2 Reserved seven-digit telephone numbers with outpulsing, each:
Monthly Rate: $0.04 (note 1)

Service Charge: $98.00 (note 3)
Note 1: Applies whether the telephone numbers are located in either ISP Telecom's and/or the WSP's switch.
Note 2: A single service charge applies for all telephone numbers placed in service at one time in any one location.
Note 3: Applies for each request for any quantity of telephone numbers reserved at one time in any one location.
1.2 The WSP is responsible for all charges levied in respect to all calls associated with any of the seven-digit telephone numbers so assigned and placed in service. The reservation or placing in service of seven-digit telephone numbers with outpulsing does not provide for a directory listing of such number.
2. CO Code Administration
The service charge below applies per block of 100 numbers where 100 block routing is requested, or per block of 1,000 where 1,000 block routing is requested.
Per block of 100 or 1,000 numbers:

Service Charge: $66.75
2. ISP Telecom is to issue forthwith revised tariff pages incorporating the changes set out above.
3. ISP Telecom is directed to file forthwith its PIC/CARE (primary interexchange carrier/customer account record exchange) Handbook and an unexecuted copy of its BLIF agreement for approval.
4. In the absence of executed 9-1-1 ERS agreements, ISP Telecom is directed to file forthwith proposed 9-1-1 ERS tariff provisions.
Secretary General
This document is available in alternative format upon request and may also be viewed at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca

 

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