OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied a request by Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) to have Rogers increase the speed of its older broadband services it offers third-party Internet access (TPIA) providers, so they match the faster speeds Rogers now offers its customers, but at no price increase. CNOC made the complaint even though the older broadband speed offerings are to be phased out by November 15, 2013.
In its complaint, CNOC urged the Commission to require Rogers Communications Partnership (RCP) to comply with Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-77 and increase the 18 Mbps, 28 Mbps and 32 Mbps service speeds offered to its TPIA customers to 25 Mbps, 35 Mbps and 45 Mbps, respectively, with no price increase, for both disaggregated and aggregated points of interconnection.
“In TN 28, Rogers is seeking approval of “new” 25 Mbps, 35 Mbps and 45 Mbps aggregated POI TPIA services at prices of $21.00, $21.68 and $22.35, respectively, effective December 7, 2012. Rogers is not proposing to make the new speeds available at all in conjunction with disaggregated [Points of Interconnections] POIs. TN 28 coupled with Rogers’ behavior in the marketplace, violate one of the speed-matching principles adopted by the Commission in Decision 2006-77 for TPIA,” argues CNOC in its complaint dated November 8, 2012.
But the Commission ruled that independent service providers have been given ample notice that TPIA services presently available at disaggregated POIs would only continue to be available until November 15, 2013.
It noted that it would “not be appropriate to require Rogers and other cable carriers to offer new services over interconnection arrangements that are expressly being phased out.”
Given past practice and the fact that Rogers did not file cost-based rates, the Commission determined that the interim monthly access rates for the new aggregated TPIA service speeds are to be based on the nearest lower speed service currently approved in Roger’s tariff (based on the rates for the existing aggregated TPIA services of 18, 32, and 75 Mbps).
The Commission approved on an interim basis the following per-end-user rates for the new aggregated TPIA services: $14.25 for 25 Mbps downstream / 2 Mbps upstream, $21.00 for 35 Mbps downstream / 3 Mbps upstream, $21.00 for 45 Mbps downstream / 4 Mbps upstream, and $22.69 for 150 Mbps downstream / 10 Mbps upstream.
In its decision the Commission ruled that cable carriers should be able to charge a rate for a new speed that recovers its costs, independent of the changes that it makes to its retail rates.
It added though that where an incumbent proposes to establish a new wholesale service speed, the rate charged for that speed must be supported by a cost study before being approved on a final basis.
“Where a cost study has not been provided, rates for WHSA services at an existing lower speed would provide an appropriate interim rate for the new service speed. The Commission says it applied this rating principle in Telecom Order 2012-706.
“The Commission denies CNOC’s request to decide that RCP’s proposed rate treatment for new speeds fails to respect its matching speed obligations.”
In its complaint CNOC also claimed that Rogers was providing its retail customers with faster upstream speeds, without making the same upstream speeds available to wholesale customers.
The Commission ruled that Rogers new services do improve upstream speeds available to wholesale aggregated TPIA customers on the same basis as they are made available to its retail customers so that it has in fact met the Commission’s matching speed obligations.
The Commission did further note however that the wholesale aggregated TPIA service tariff pages approved on an interim basis in Telecom Order 2012-706 do not specify the upstream speeds that are made available to independent service providers.
It has therefore ordered Rogers to issue amended tariff pages for its aggregated TPIA services that provide this information within 30 days.
