OTTAWA – The CRTC said Friday that the current competitor quality of service (Q of S) regime must be updated to keep pace with Canadians’ increasing reliance on broadband and mobile wireless services.
In TRP CRTC 2018-123, the Commission determined that additional regulatory oversight is necessary for all providers of both aggregated and disaggregated wholesale high-speed access (HSA) services, and that these services should be included in a competitor Q of S regime. It added that the large incumbent local exchange carriers’ (ILECs) wholesale services and processes that are subject to the current competitor Q of S regime should no longer be included in such a regime.
“The implementation of the new competitor Q of S regime will allow the Commission and competitors to monitor the provision of wholesale HSA services, with the goal of ensuring that competitors receive a level of service that enables them to compete effectively and to provide service to their end-users efficiently”, reads the decision.
The CRTC opted to retain the current complaints-based approach for the small ILECs, noting that this approach is sufficient to address the level of service for competitors in their territories.
It did, however, determine that further regulatory oversight is required for Northwestel with respect to certain services and processes, and has recommended establishing a monitoring regime for the company.
“Such a regime would allow the Commission to assess the competitor service levels provided by Northwestel and whether any additional regulatory measures would be appropriate for the company’s wholesale services in the future”, continues the decision. “A monitoring regime would be less burdensome for Northwestel than a formal competitor Q of S regime, as it would not require the development of indicators.”
Consumer group Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), who intervened in this proceeding, said that home internet consumers served by re-sellers will be “better protected” under the changes.
“PIAC argued that the service indicators should assure timely installation and repairs, whereas incumbents and cable companies had argued that a complaints based regime was sufficient”, PIAC said in a statement. “The CRTC has started a process to set measures and standards consistent with our proposal. This will ensure that appointments are met, and are met in a timely fashion.”
