By Ahmad Hathout
CHATHAM, Ont. – TekSavvy has filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC requesting that the regulator provide it access to a building in its home town so it provide fibre internet services.
The largest independent internet service provider said it has requested access to the building at 175 Churchill Park Road in Chatham on December 9, 2021. The owner of the multi-dwelling unit allegedly said later that month that it was being courted by another service provider and asked TekSavvy what it could be willing to provide in return for access. In February 2022, the building owner denied TekSavvy access, the application alleges.
TekSavvy prodded some more and on June 16, 2023 the building owner made “a number of unexplained edits” to a copy of an agreement the telecom sent, “including some that were unreasonable or inexplicable” that the owner refused to explain, the complaint alleges.
The building owner then sent a five-point list that constituted its version of the agreement, alleged TekSavvy, which said it was inadequate because it left out a number of basic agreement principles. The owner then pointed to its lawyer for further questions, TekSavvy alleged.
“Based on the history described above, TekSavvy does not believe that the MDU Owner has any intention of engaging in good faith negotiations to allow TekSavvy access to the Premises pursuant to terms and conditions that are complete, just, and reasonable,” TekSavvy said in the application.
“The MDU Owner has stalled for several months now by repeatedly stating that it is prepared to allow TekSavvy access to the Premises while at the same time refusing to engage in any serious negotiations with respect to an MDU access agreement to allow this to take place. Altogether, TekSavvy has been consistently denied access to the Premises for over one and a half years.”
TekSavvy is asking the regulator to, within 15 days of a commission decision, any other service provider already in the premises “will not be permitted to provide services to any new resident of the premises and will not be permitted to provide services to a current resident that is not an existing customer” of the service provider.
In addition, TekSavvy is asking that within 30 days of the decision, no provider wsill be allowed to modify or upgrade services being provided to a current resident. And within 45 days, the commission should explore all regulatory options including “a decision which could result in all LECs and carrier ISPs present in the Premises not being permitted to provide any services to the residents.”
