OTTAWA – The CRTC has reversed its earlier requirement that all incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) that have transferred responsibility of their inside wire to their single-line residential and business customers ensure that a jack-ended demarcation device is installed free of charge.
This past February the CRTC announced its intent to require phone companies to install a “jack-ended demarcation device” on the first diagnostic service call to a home that was not so equipped. The Commission believed that following this process “would result in a consistent practice among ILECs and more equitable treatment of customers who currently do not have jack-ended demarcation devices as compared to those who do.”
Bell Canada subsequently argued that the CRTC failed to perform any cost analysis of the new requirement, which it contended would result in a “significant financial burden to the companies.”
In today’s decision the CRTC has agreed to a compromise that provides phone companies two options:
a) not install a jack-ended demarcation device and provide repair services for inside wire free of charge;
b) install a jack-ended demarcation device, at which time the ILEC may charge for the repair of inside wire during the same visit.
ILECs are also required to provide notification to their single-line inside wire customers of the determinations in this decision via the information in the next edition of their white pages directories, their websites, their customers’ bills, and their customer service representatives at the time of a service call.
