Order

Ottawa, 31 July 1995

TELECOM ORDER CRTC 95-868

IN THE MATTER OF an application by AGT Limited (AGT), under Tariff Notice 609
dated 15 May 1995, for approval of tariff revisions related to the introduction
of AGT Planet Service for providing access to the Internet.

WHEREAS comments were received from two Internet service providers (ISPs),
Cadvision Development Corporation (Cadvision) and Telnet Canada Enterprises
(Telnet);

WHEREAS Cadvision expressed concern that AGT would be able to make use of its
access to every subscriber line and to advertise its Internet service with 
every telephone bill and that it should therefore have access to AGT's billing
distribution to advertise its service;

WHEREAS, In response, AGT stated that in past decisions the Commission had
established that the practice of using billing inserts for advertising of
company provided services does not confer an undue advantage on the federally
regulated telephone companies;

WHEREAS Telnet, as well as commenting on AGT's filing, also raised issues with
respect to Centrex service, claiming that AGT was not permitting it to use
Centrex voice service;

WHEREAS, in response, AGT stated that it had initially provided the ISPs with
voice grade Centrex service as their usage levels were below the maximums
allowed for in the tariff, but that as their business picked up their levels
of usage exceeded the limits, at which point it required the ISPs to migrate
to the appropriate data service;

WHEREAS Telnet also claimed that AGT would cross-subsidize its proposed service;

WHEREAS, in response, AGT stated that its application had been prepared in
accordance with CRTC filing requirements and that in its economic evaluation
study it had assessed itself the applicable existing tariff rates for use of
underlying network facility components as well as other relevant costs, in
accordance with CRTC's Phase II costing methodology;

WHEREAS Telnet claimed that AGT had access to its usage information and could
make use of that information to Telnet's detriment;

WHEREAS AGT stated that while it had not made any use of customer information
to the detriment of the ISPs, in order to allay the concerns of the ISPs, it
would, in the future, deal with ISPs through its Carrier Services Group;

WHEREAS both Telnet and Cadvision requested disclosure of all information
submitted in confidence by AGT;

WHEREAS AGT stated that all elements for which costs were provided are also, at
least in part, elements which must be assessed in the development of other
services and rates which are provided in a competitive environment;

WHEREAS the Commission finds that the specific harm of disclosure outweighs the
public interest in disclosure and therefore the request for disclosure of all 
the confidential information is denied;

WHEREAS, the Commission is of the preliminary view that AGT has satisfactorily
addressed the comments of both Telnet and Cadvision;

WHEREAS the Commission has some concers with the conditions of service proposed
by AGT; and

WHEREAS the Commission considers that it would be appropriate to issue a public
notice -

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

Tariff Notice 609 is to be modified by replacing the proposed wording with
the following:

1. Item 1302.3.15 is to be modified by replacing the proposed wording with the
following:

Upon prior notice, AGT may disconnect the AGT Planet service if in AGT's
determination, the customer violates the terms and conditions of the AGT
Planet service or engages in any of the following:

a) unsolicited mass distribution of any message sent in an intrusive manner
to any user of the Internet;

b) the disruption to or interference with AGT Planet service or any service
of any other Internet provider;

c) engagement in any activity that could compromise the security of the AGT
Planet service or the security of other computers on the Internet; or

d) transmission of any communication where the meaning of the message, or its
transmission or distribution, would violate any applicable law or regulations, 
including those laws and regulations which deal with obscene communications,
or its transmission is for the purpose of making an annoying or offensive
communication to any other person

2. The words "or failures or defects in AGT facilities, equipment or AGT's
network." are to be deleted from item 1302.3.16.c.

3. Item 1302.3.17 is to be modified by adding the phrase "Except in the case
of AGT's gross negligence or deliberate fault," to the beginning of the first
sentence of that item.

Allen J. Darling
Secretary General