By Denis Carmel
GATNIEAU – In a wholesale regime, competitor Quality of Service (QoS) is an important factor to ensure the incumbents provide a consistent level of quality for processes associated with installations and repairs so competitors receive a level of service which enables them to compete effectively and to provide service to their end users efficiently.
With the ability for the Commission to issue administrative penalties, the focus is now on measuring and reporting rather than relying on complaints and imposing rate rebates.
The Commission had determined that the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) Business Process Working Group was the best forum for coming up with practical solutions in these matters and the decision announced today basically endorses what was decided by the multi-party CISC.
However, “for non-consensus items, the Commission has made its determinations with a view to promoting competition and consumer interests, while also balancing the regulatory burden on wholesale HSA service providers,” the decision reads.
Wholesale HSA service providers (the incumbents) will have 12 months from the date of this decision to implement the required changes.
“Obviously CNOC will be studying the decision more closely. Our initial reaction is that as a monitoring regime (for now), it provides more industry visibility into wholesale performance than used to be the case, however there are no penalties for poor statistics, which is something competitors would want to see in terms of making the regime more effective,” said Geoff White, director, legal and regulatory affairs at the Competitive Network Operators of Canada, in an email.
“I think it’s also worth noting that one of the BTLR’s recommendations was to have the CRTC (in a refreshed tariffing provision) set out not only rates but also a number of details, including “quality condition”, that would very much improve competitors’ ability to make a difference at the consumer level.”
