CRTC approves 911 location technology implementation, denies Bell rate range

On Friday, the CRTC approved recommendations from the Emergency Services Working Group (ESWG) on handset-based location technology implementation for 911 service. Because of delays, the commission is setting new deadlines for a further report from ESWG. Last June, the regulator reset deadlines for the rollout of next-generation 911 (NG911). The deadlines had already been delayed before due to COVID. The most recent deadline for completion of location technology implementation was Mar. 1, 2022. Last September the ESWG asked the CRTC to suspend all deadlines and said it would issue a follow-up report in February of this year. ESWG said it recommended the Mar. 1 date assuming that the deadline for rolling out NG911 voice service would be Mar. 31, 2021. The deadlines for voice and location technology implementation are now the same. Given that wireless service providers (WSPs) and NG911 network providers must do a large amount of work for voice, the group suggested that voice implementation take precedence, The CRTC agreed and has allowed extra time for location technology rollout. Since February is almost over, the commission said it expects a follow-up report from ESWG by Mar. 28. In another decision on Friday, the regulator rejected BCE Inc.’s application for a rate range on retail NG911 services, although it approved an interim rate of $0.10, effective Mar. 1. Bell had originally submitted a tariff notice (TN) for its entire operating network, covering all of its subsidiaries across the country. The proposal was to implement a rate range going from a maximum of ten cents to a minimum of nothing. The telecom said the flexibility it sought was necessary to minimize confusion among its retail customers. Other telecom operators were likely to do the same, Bell maintained. One of those competitors, Rogers Communications Inc., disagreed with the Bell submission and filed an opposing intervention. Rogers said the $0.00 rate did not meet the price floor test and that charging customers in different regions different rates was discriminatory. Since NG911 is a public service, there should be no difference between what individual clients pay, the company added. It also stated that no other telecom had asked for a rate range. In its reply Bell conceded that the zero cents rate did not meet the price floor test but that denial of its proposal would not be minimally intrusive nor would it be proportionate to the purpose of the test. Allowing flexibility would allow Bell to set NG911 rates in with other price increases and avoid customer confusion. In its ruling, the CRTC pointed to a 2006 decision listing the appropriate use of rate ranges. The Bell proposal did not meet the criteria, the commission stated. A rate range in NG911 would go against commission policy, the decision said. A 2017 decision required the establishment of rates based on NG911 costs plus a mark-up. “The commission considers that a minimum retail rate of $0.00 does not comply with the directives set out in the decision,” the ruling stated. The 10-cent maximum does pass the price floor test, the regulator concluded. It set the rate at a dime on an interim basis. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

CRTC approves 911 location technology implementation, denies Bell rate range

News | February 25, 2022

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CRTC approves 911 location technology implementation, denies Bell rate range

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