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Telecom Decision CRTC 2025-209

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Gatineau, 15 August 2025

Public record: 8621-C12-01/08

CISC Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering – Consensus reports CNRE139A, CNRE147A, and CNRE148A – Sunsetting of various Canadian numbering guidelines

Summary

The CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN) submitted three consensus reports to the Commission, in which the CSCN recommended the withdrawal of several guidelines regarding numbering resources that are now obsolete.

In this decision, the Commission approves the CSCN’s recommendation to sunset those guidelines and replace them with publicly accessible reference documents for historical purposes.

This will help ensure that Canada’s numbering resources are managed responsibly and effectively, and that numbering guidelines accurately reflect the current state of Canada’s numbering resources.

Background

  1. The Commission administers telephone numbers and other numbering resources pursuant to section 46.1 of the Telecommunications Act. It works with various partners, including the Canadian Numbering Administrator (CNA), which manages Canadian numbering resources on the Commission’s behalf and makes them available to service providers on an as-needed basis.
  2. The CNA is responsible for a number of guidelines that are relied on for various aspects of numbering resource management. Among other things, the guidelines outline how to forecast numbering demand, how to plan for the use of numbering resources, and how to assign numbers to telecommunications service providers (TSPs). They also define the responsibilities of the telecommunications industry.
  3. The CRTC Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN) is a working group of the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC). The CSCN can suggest updates to guidelines, the creation of new guidelines, or the withdrawal of outdated guidelines, all of which require Commission approval. When a guideline is withdrawn, it is replaced with a publicly available reference document to preserve historical information.

The reports

  1. The Commission received the following CSCN consensus reports regarding the sunsetting of several guidelines:
    • CNRE139A – Sunset the Canadian MIN Block Identifier (MBI) Assignment Guideline (13 March 2024);
    • CNRE147A – Sunsetting the Canadian System Identifier (SID) Guideline (30 October 2024); and
    • CNRE148A – Sunset the Canadian Adjunct to the INC Personal Communications Services (PCS) 5YY NXX Code Assignment Guidelines (30 October 2024).
  2. All three reports are based on research and discussions undertaken by industry subject matter experts who participate in the CSCN.

CNRE139A

  1. The Canadian MIN Block Identifier (MBI) Assignment Guideline (the MBI assignment guideline) provides guidance with respect to the administration, assignment, activation, and use of MBIs in Canada.
  2. MBIs are numbering resources that are used by wireless service providers (WSPs) to authenticate and authorize access to their networks. They can also be used to provide, retrieve, and update data for subscription management and billing purposes. MBIs are most commonly associated with technologies such as Code Division Multiple Access or Time Division Multiple Access.
  3. The CNA surveyed TSPs regarding MBIs and found that, with the exception of Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell Mobility), all carriers have returned their MBI codes to the CNA. Bell Mobility’s current use of MBIs is limited to the internal management of customer subscriptions and is not related to network-routing. Consequently, the CSCN decided to transfer the entire MBI numbering resource to Bell Mobility for self-administration. In turn, Bell Mobility will self-manage this resource for its own proprietary needs. As part of the transfer process, the CNA agreed to transfer all current data files associated with MBI administration to Bell Mobility.
  4. In light of this, the CSCN determined that MBI resources are no longer under its purview and recommended sunsetting the MBI assignment guideline and replacing it with a reference document.
Commission’s analysis
  1. The Commission notes that the use of MBIs has been abandoned by all carriers except for Bell Mobility. Additionally, information from Commission publicationsFootnote 1 and industry sourcesFootnote 2 shows that, due to obsolescence, the technologies driving the use of MBIs have long been decommissioned by Canadian carriers.
  2. Furthermore, Bell Mobility is only using MBIs for internal administrative functions, not for the technical functions with which MBIs were previously associated. As such, there is no technical reason to maintain this resource.
  3. The Commission also notes that the sunsetting of the MBI assignment guideline is supported by CISC’s Task Information Form 114.
  4. The Commission also considers that there is no need for a reclamation process to ensure that MBIs are returned to the CNA, given that the technologies associated with these resources are obsolete and have been long abandoned by the industry.
  5. In light of the above, the Commission considers that the MBI assignment guideline should be withdrawn and replaced with a reference document.

CNRE147A

  1. A system identification number (SID) is a 15-bit identifier transmitted from a base station over a radio interface that identifies a mobile system conforming to one of several wireless standards of the Telecommunications Industry Association. SID ranges are managed internationally by the International Forum on ANSI-41 Standards Technology (IFAST).Footnote 3 A range of SIDs was allocated to Canada by IFAST. The Canadian System Identifier (SID) Assignment Guideline (the SID assignment guideline) provides guidance and procedures for SID assignment and use in Canada.
  2. The CSCN noted that the technologies over which SIDs were used are more or less obsolete and have been discontinued by most Canadian TSPs. It also noted that the majority of WSPs now use the Mobile Application Part of the Global System for Mobile Communications instead of ANSI-41 SIDs.
  3. The CSCN noted that it has not addressed the topic of the SID assignment guideline since 2006, when the guideline last received Commission approval. The CSCN indicated that this implies that no changes to the guideline have been required, or that the SID resource is no longer important to the Canadian telecommunications industry. The CSCN recommended sunsetting the SID guideline and replacing it with a reference document.
  4. The last SID assignment occurred in 2010, and the CNA has no record of a SID assignment made in the past decade. The CSCN did not recommend that any reclamation process be undertaken to return SIDs to the CNA.
Commission’s analysis
  1. The Commission notes that the technologies covered by the SID assignment guideline, such as IFAST technologies, are outdated and have been replaced by newer technologies. The Commission considers that the CSCN’s assessment regarding the obsolescence of IFAST technologies is valid, and that SIDs are no longer relevant in Canada’s telecommunications system.
  2. In light of the above, the Commission considers that the SID assignment guideline should be withdrawn and replaced with a reference document.
  3. Regarding the CSCN’s recommendation that a reclamation process to return SIDS to the CNA should not be undertaken, the Commission considers that there are a number of factors that support that view. As the CSCN indicated, there is no record of the dates for all SID assignments. Less than 25% of the SIDs that IFAST allocated to Canada were assigned, and half of those are defunct. The work involved in initiating a reclamation process would be considerable, and there is no reassignment value for SIDs. Based on those considerations, the Commission is of the view that there would be no value in conducting a SIDs reclamation process.

CNRE148A

  1. The Canadian Adjunct to the Industry Numbering Committee (INC) Personal Communications Services (PCS) 5YY NXX Code Assignment Guidelines (the Adjunct) provides guidance regarding the management of 5YY area codes in Canada, including area code 500. Numbers in 5YY area codes were reserved for PCS.Footnote 4
  2. The CSCN stated that all 5YY resources have been assigned, and all resources within area code 500 have been returned to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) in accordance with the Commission’s determinations in Decision 2001-374.
  3. Based on the above, the CSCN is of the opinion that the Adjunct is no longer required. The CSCN recommended sunsetting the Adjunct and replacing it with a reference document.
Commission’s analysis
  1. In Decision 2001-374, the Commission directed the CNA to return to NANPA all central office codes within area code 500. Given this directive, and the fact that all resources within the 5YY area codes have been assigned, the Commission considers that references to 5YY NXXFootnote 5 codes are obsolete and no longer applicable. As such, the Commission is of the view that the Adjunct is no longer valid.
  2. In light of the above, the Commission considers that the Adjunct should be withdrawn and replaced with a reference document.

Conclusion

  1. The Commission considers that the CSCN’s assessments and recommendations in its consensus reports CNRE139A, CNRE147A, and CNRE148A are reasonable and appropriate.
  2. In light of all of the above, the Commission directs the Canadian Numbering Administrator to implement the CSCN’s recommendations in reports CNRE139A, CNRE147A, and CNRE148A, and to replace the affected guidelines with appropriate reference documents.

Secretary General

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