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Ottawa, 23 December 2013

Our reference: 8678-T66-201311357

BY EMAIL

Mr. Rey Sonico
Secretary – Treasurer - BCBA
British Columbia Broadband Association (BCBA)
regulatory@bcba.ca

RE: Part 1 Application – Deferral Account Community Replacements

Dear Sir:

On 1 August 2013, the Commission received a Part1 application by TELUS Communications Company (TCC) in which the company proposed to replace the community of Kitwanga and also to replace an additional four currently approved deferral account communities that have no permanent residents and to add a new community to its deferral account funded broadband expansion plan.

On 6 September 2013, the Commission received a comment from British Columbia Broadband Association (BCBA) stating that three of the proposed replacement communities, namely Pashilqua IR No. 2, Marble Canyon IR No. 3 and Chilhil IR No. 6, are in areas currently served by one of its members, Lytton Area Wireless Society (LAWS).
Paragraph 28(1)(a) of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure provides that the Commission may request parties to file information or documents where needed.

BCBA is requested to provide comprehensive answers and any supporting information, to the attached questions by 7 January 2013.

Yours sincerely,

Original signed by

Michel Murray
Director, Regulatory Implementation
Telecommunications

c.c: Imen Arfaoui, CRTC (819) 997-4663, imen.arfaoui@crtc.gc.ca

Attach. (1)

Request for information

Commission staff seeks additional information with respect to the availability of LAWS’s broadband service in the communities of Pashilqua IR No. 2, Marble Canyon IR No. 3 and Chilhil IR No. 6.

1. For each of the three communities, BCBA is requested to:
(i) Identify the technology that is currently used by LAWS to provide broadband service (e.g. fixed wireless), and whether LAWS is currently providing the service to end users itself or through a third-party,
(ii) Provide complete information on the services that are currently available to residents (speed, bandwidth, application monthly rates, etc.),
(iii) Identify the number of households that currently: a) have access to the service, and whether this represents the entire community, and b) are actually subscribed to the service.

2. Commission staff notes also that BCBA submitted that LAWS was able to cover the area around Chillhil IR No. 6, but because of lack of support from Xaxli'p First Nation, it was unable to obtain access to crown land to serve the community. BCBA is therefore requested to provide additional details on this situation, including what steps took place and an explanation of why LAWS was unable to obtain access to crown land to serve the community.
3. Commission staff notes that Cayoose Creek Band Council submitted that only one of 13 households in Pashilqua IR No. 2 is served by LAWS and that the other 12 have no access to LAWS service because of technical issues related to the line-of-sight, and stated that LAWS did not approach the community with any of their plans to install towers or provide services. BCBA is requested to response to this statement and clarify if the 12 households in Pashilqua IR No. 2 have access or not to LAWS, service. If there is a technical issue that is impacting residents’ ability to access LAWS’s service, please provide a complete explanation.

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