TORONTO – Rogers Communications has asked the CRTC to step in to an alleged case of “traffic pumping” that it says could put nationwide flat rate calling plans at risk.
Traffic pumping, also known as “access stimulation” or “traffic stimulation”, is the name given to a mechanism for local exchange carriers to profit from increasing the volume of incoming traffic for termination on their local exchange network. Typically, the arrangement involves a local exchange in a high cost area where call termination rates are higher than the norm. The local exchange carrier encourages the location of in-bound calling services in its exchange in return for a share of the increased revenues. Since the rate for traffic termination in these areas is established by reference to a cost structure that is not weighted to a higher volume of incoming calls, these arrangements produce excess revenues and excess profits.
An application to the CRTC by Rogers’ VP regulatory telecom Howard Slawner accuses the Iristel group of companies of “being unjustly enriched by gaming the regulatory framework for local competition” by profiting from the higher local termination charges applicable in the Northwest Territories.
“This Application concerns the actions of the Iristel group of companies in seeking to significantly increase the flow of traffic destined to the NPA 867 in the Northwest Territories, and more specifically to certain NXXs terminating on Iristel’s CLEC network in that NPA”, reads the November 18 application. “This traffic stimulation has been effected by providing local access and local telephone numbers to a service called “Call-To-Listen” that provides free, real-time access to international and other radio services that are targeted primarily to immigrant populations in Southern Canada. This service is part of a suspected arrangement between Iristel and the owner of Call-To-Listen, AudioNow, that is designed to take advantage of the Canada-wide and unlimited calling offered by Rogers and other carriers and to profit from the higher local termination charges applicable in the Northwest Territories. It is nothing more than regulatory arbitrage.”
Rogers also included a list of proposed interrogatories for Iristel.
For more on Rogers' application and a brief overview of traffic pumping, check out this blog post from telecom analyst Mark Goldberg.
