By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has asked Bell and its subsidiary Northwestel to maintain services to Iristel until it can make a decision on an interconnection dispute that is threatening to terminate an agreement within 10 days.
Iristel filed an urgent Part 1 application earlier this month asking the regulator to force Bell to continue providing it interconnection services in northern Quebec after the telco sent a 30-day disconnection notice on September 21 because of unpaid dues.
Iristel said it stopped paying certain fees to Bell because it alleges the telco is violating the tariff the CRTC approved that stipulates the national carrier provide an interconnection point in Kuujjuaq. Iristel says it has been on an interim agreement for seven years with Bell that sees it route traffic through Montreal, which has choked capacity for its wireless services in the north of the province.
“In order to allow the Commission to properly assess Iristel’s application, Commission staff requests Bell and Northwestel to maintain the telecommunication services provided to Iristel until the Commission has rendered a decision on the final relief and to confirm with the Commission, within 24 hours of receipt of this letter, that said Bell and Northwestel services will be maintained,” the CRTC said in a letter dated Thursday.
It also said it will accept the application on an expedited timeline. The deadline to file comments is October 27.
Iristel and Bell have been fighting each other over interconnection disputes on several fronts, including in front of the Supreme Court of Yukon. Iristel alleges the telco is robbing it of interconnect points in Inuvik, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Winnipeg.
Bell told Cartt in a statement that allegations within Iristel’s application to the CRTC “are totally unfounded.”
