OTTAWA – As Bell gears up to launch its new IPTV services this year in Toronto and Montreal, the telco is asking the CRTC to change rules that it claims have long favoured cable companies when it comes to signing up new subscribers.
"Decade-old rules that have ensured a competitive advantage for cable companies need to change, never more so than now as Bell prepares to enhance competition and consumer choice in television in Canada’s largest urban markets," said George Cope, president and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE, in a statement. "We expect the CRTC to apply regulatory symmetry to cable and telecom companies, either by removing advantages for cablecos in phone services or by applying similar rules to telecom companies offering competitive TV services."
In an application late last week, Bell asked the Commission to rescind a 10-year-old rule that allows cable companies to cancel a phone customer’s service when they switch providers, saying customers should either be required to deal first with their existing phone provider before they switch, as is the case when customers change TV providers, or the CRTC should allow TV competitors like Bell to handle the transfer of new TV accounts in the same way cablecos can with their new phone customers.
It also asked for the elimination of fees that cable companies can charge telecom companies for access to inside wiring, noting that existing CRTC rules prohibit Bell from charging cablecos any fees for access to its own inside wiring.
