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Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Distribution List

Gatineau, 19 March 2025

References: 8740-B2-202302248, 8740-A53-202302256, 8740-M59-202302264, 8740-T66-202303494, 8740-T69-202303502, 8740-S22-202302230

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Distribution List

Subject: Follow-up to Telecom Notice of Consultation 2023-56 – Notice of Hearing – Review of the wholesale high-speed access service framework – Supplemental Requests for Information – Extension Request by Bell Canada, SaskTel, and TELUS

As part of the proceeding initiated by Notice of hearing – Review of the wholesale high-speed access service framework, Telecom Notice of Consultation 2023-56, dated 8 March 2023 (NoC 2023-56), the Commission directed wholesale high-speed access (HSA) service providers to file, amongst other things, proposed tariffs and associated cost studies using the Phase II costing methodology, with supporting rationale, for fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) facilities over aggregated wholesale HSA services.

On 03 March 2025, Commission staff requested additional information (RFIs) from certain wholesale HSA service providers in relation to their proposed tariffs, associated cost studies, and supporting rationale. Responses to these RFIs are due 31 March 2025.

On 14 March 2025, Bell Canada and SaskTel requested to extend that deadline to 28 April 2025 and 30 April 2025 respectively. TELUS, on 17 March 2025, expressed its support of Bell Canada’s and SaskTel’s extension request.

The companies submitted that the information requested in the RFIs will require substantial time and effort to collect, analyze, prepare, and validate, considering it comes from numerous internal sources.  The companies further submitted that additional time is required to provide the detailed information requested through the RFIs for items such as new cost studies and process diagrams.

TekSavvy, in its letter of 18 March 2025, opposed the extension requests. It submitted that it is diligently working to provide responses to its own set of questions by the deadline date and it further submitted that any undue delay will impede the process of finalizing rates for mandated FTTP access over aggregated wholesale HSA services.

As of the date of this letter, no other parties have commented.

The Commission acknowledges the amount of information required and considers that the collection, analysis and validation of the costing data to support the Phase II cost studies currently on record may take additional time. As such, by maintaining the existing deadline of 31 March 2025, responses to these supplementary RFIs would likely result in less reliable information.

Accordingly, the Commission is of the view that an extension is appropriate with a new deadline of 30 April 2025 for the RFI responses. This extension will apply to all companies who were asked to provide responses to the RFIs.

In light of the above, parties and interested persons may request the public disclosure of information that has been designated confidential in responses to the RFIs, setting out in each case the reasons for disclosure. These disclosure requests must be filed with the Commission and served on the entities to whom they are addressed by 05 May 2025. Responses to those disclosure requests may then be filed with the Commission no later than 12 May 2025.

The strong public interest in delivering competitive and affordable internet access demands that both the Commission and the industry work hard to meet the deadlines in this proceeding.

Yours sincerely,

Original signed by

Chris Noonan
Director, Competitor Services & Costing Implementation
Telecommunications Sector

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