OTTAWA – BCE has asked the federal cabinet to overturn a CRTC decision, saying investment in next-generation communications networks should be encouraged “as a matter of policy”.
At issue is the Commission’s Telecom Decision 2008-117 from December 11, 2008, and its companion order, Telecom Order 2009-111 from March 3, 2009, requiring incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) “to provide speeds for wholesale asymmetric digital subscriber line services that match the speeds made available to their retail Internet service customers”, if a competitor requests it.
The CRTC application was filed by Cybersurf Corporation in June 2008, and was opposed by Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, SaskTel and Telus.
Bell said in a company statement Thursday that forcing them to provide competitors with regulated access to their newly constructed next-generation networks, such as the high-speed Fibre to the node (FTTN), could “slow and even eliminate such investments in many communities”.
"As in any other competitive industry in Canada, we should be able to choose who distributes our services and how, be it wholesale, retail, direct or any other creative form of distribution channel," said George Cope, president and CEO of BCE and Bell, in the statement. "The alternative of regulated access will have significant implications for our network and other investments going forward.”
Bell claims that by not acknowledging that “extensive wholesale regulation discourages the development of new, multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art network technologies”, the CRTC decision will create “a new urban digital divide – in stark contrast to the government’s own policy priorities for the Canadian economy.”
"Telecom is one of the few sectors of the economy where companies are continuing to invest despite the economic downturn, with Bell in the forefront," said Mirko Bibic, Bell’s senior vice president of regulatory and government affairs, in the statement. "The cabinet needs to act urgently to prevent the further damage to the Canadian economy that would result from a slowdown in investment in a sector crucial to all Canadians."
BCE says it has committed to investing more than $2.5 billion in the Canadian economy in 2009.
In related news, MTS Allstream has made good on its promise to ask the Federal Cabinet to vary a recent CRTC decision, claiming the Commission’s position on essential facilities “is inconsistent with government policy” by preventing consumers and businesses from taking advantage of the benefits of choice and innovation in broadband services.
Its petition is centered on a CRTC decision related to the essential facilities regime, the rules of which “restrict competitors from offering choice and lower prices for telecommunications services to businesses across Canada”, the company statement reads.
“As it did for the wireless industry, the government can deliver the benefits of competitive market forces to all Canadian businesses by ensuring the CRTC uses smart regulation to prevent the de-regulated former monopolies from being able to raise prices with impunity," said CCO Chris Peirce, in the statement.
MTS says that the CRTC has refused to mandate that the former monopoly telephone companies provide competitors with fair access to the local broadband networks they control, which are “essential for competitors to deliver high-speed broadband services to customers.”
Since the CRTC has also decided to de-regulate the retail pricing of the same former monopoly telcos, MTS’ statement continues, the result is that Canadian businesses are “paying higher prices for less innovation in the services they are offered”.
"Canadians now pay higher average monthly broadband prices than all comparable jurisdictions. Within the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), only Greece, Mexico and Turkey are more expensive," Peirce continued. "These trends are not ones that will help Canada face down current economic challenges and succeed in the long term. As we have seen with the success of the recent wireless spectrum auction, vigorous competition can happen in Canada, and Canadians will benefit."
