A good sign to win in a Review & Vary on third party network access?
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – The CRTC admitted Monday it may have misjudged the complexity of an independent ISP connecting to fibre.
“The Commission acknowledges that the differences between in-building fibre and in-building copper are greater than it had originally considered. There also appears to be some confusion about the existing framework among both in-building wire owners and competitors. It appears that some LECs that own in-building wire believe that only Bell Canada must give access to its in-building fibre to other LECs, while some competitors are of the view that they are entitled to unconstrained access to in-building fibre anywhere in an MDU without giving notice to the fibre owner,” reads the Commission decision where it accepted Bell’s R&V application and rescinded its July 2019 decision ordering Bell to provide access to its in-building wire to all ISPs at the same tariffs as for copper.
However, the CRTC is now launching a process to clarify the situation and establish rules, standards, and obligations for access to in-building fibre.
Following that July decision, Bell had filed an R&V application to the CRTC arguing, among other things, the Commission can not treat in-building fibre the same as in-building copper, fibre being a lot more complex and challenging to deal with.
Cloudwifi will be delayed in gaining access to Bell’s networks but the Commission has granted status quo so it can keep the customers it already has and the Commission has reiterated it “remains of the view that the existing framework for MDU in-building wire access was intended to be technology neutral and supportive of end-user choice. As discussed in the Decision, the Commission’s policy determinations apply to the service in general, not to a specific means of delivering that service — that is, the existing framework applies to connections to in-building wire for the provision of telecommunications services to customers in MDUs, regardless of technology.”
The conflict between Bell and Cloudwifi has been festering for some time. In the summer of 2018, Cloudwifi had connected customers using Bell’s inside wiring in two apartment buildings in Kitchener-Waterloo without Bell’s knowledge. Of course, Bell disconnected the customers and Bell went to Court stating Cloudwifi had damaged its equipment.
The Notice of Consultation is asking parties to comment by April 2, 2020, and reply comments should be filed by May 4.
