The Greater Sudbury local calling area approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) last December came into effect Tuesday.
Greater Sudbury residents can now call anywhere within city limits without being charged long distance. This local calling area, which was recommended to Bell Canada by city council, will include all of Greater Sudbury, as well as areas in the Municipality of Markstay-Warren, the Township of Nairn and Hyman, and the Wahnapitae and Whitefish Lake First Nations, stated a news release.
“I am very pleased that residents and businesses of our amalgamated city will now have the ability to call other Greater Sudbury locations without incurring long-distance charges,” said Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez in a December 2007 news release. “Members of Greater Sudbury city council have been lobbying for this service for a number of years – these efforts have finally been rewarded.”
A monthly surcharge will be applied to Bell phone bills within the affected area for three years following the implementation of this service. The surcharge will amount to 34 cents per line, monthly, for residential customers and 38 cents for businesses. The extra charges were derived through a process set out by the CRTC. Participating municipalities and First Nations agreed to the extra costs to help compensate Bell and other long-distance providers for lost revenues from the expanded local calling area.
