By Ahmad Hathout
Cable companies will have to tough out the extended implementation time of the next-generation 911 networks after the CRTC rejected Monday a review-and-vary application from Rogers and Quebecor that said an extension was undue because they have to pay for two different emergency networks simultaneously until the old one is phased out.
Rogers and Quebecor filed the application in April, arguing that the CRTC’s extension by two years to fully replace the old system is unjust because no one in the proceeding asked for an extension that long and it would cost cablecos millions of dollars more to connect both the old and new systems of the telcos, including Bell and Telus, making the rates unreasonable.
The CRTC extended the full implementation deadline in March after it said a majority of proceeding intervenors – including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada – said they would not be able to implement the system by the original deadline of March 2025.
In rejecting the review-and-vary application, the regulator said parties to the proceeding did, in fact, note that they may require more time beyond a one-year extension to implement the system; that some parties would have supported an extension beyond one year; and that there was an opportunity for parties to comment.
On whether the dual-rate model is just and reasonable, the CRTC said it had previously noted that legacy 911 rates have been “steadily decreasing and are expected to continue decreasing throughout the extended transition period.”
The regulator also addressed a suggestion that it did not put in place incentives to hasten the implementation of the new system. In fact, it said while it is not legally required to put in place incentives, it has asked that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada provide a comprehensive transition plan on how they will meet the new deadline and what alternative arrangements their public safety answering points (PSAPs) will prepare to process the NG 911 calls in case they do not meet the deadline.
The CRTC also said it requires progress reports on the transition on a semi-annual basis until the new system, which will allow distressed callers to send multimedia messages to first responders, fully replaces the old networks.
Rogers and Quebecor had asked for the commission to reduce the extension to one year, bring down the rates providers like themselves pay for the existing 911 system through the new extension period, and require telcos to file new tariffs establishing the terms and rates payable by PSAPs that seek to receive existing system calls after March 4, 2026.
