CRTC considers annual filing of service interruption reports
The CRTC is considering letting telcos file service interruption reports annually, rather than quarterly as currently is the case. However, the commission also states under the annually filing scenario that companies would have to be in the position to provide these reports on a on-demand basis should any complaints or problems arise. The change is being proposed to reduce the administrative burden of the process. The telcos are in support of the proposal. "TELUS (Corp.) is fully supportive of this proposal to streamline the process by reducing the filing frequency of these reports," writes Willie Grieve, the company’s VP of telecom policy and regulatory affairs, in a January 12 letter. Bell Canada also agrees with the change, and suggests that the annual reports be submitted 45 days after the end of the calendar year, consistent with the current filing schedule for fourth quarter results. SaskTel agrees with the change, but notes that it "does little, if anything, to reduce the regulatory burden on the company. The company will still be required to collect and analyze data with respect to service interruptions due to network outages on a monthly basis in order to file the annual reports, in addition to being prepared for the provisioning of reports on a demand basis as may be necessary." Reply comments are due January 19.