CRTC Process Changes Coming

Streamlining of regulatory procedure has already begun Industry players have noticed signs that the CRTC has already begun to speed up its handling of regulatory issues. One informed observer noted to Telemanagement that the Commission unexpectedly decided to quickly dispose of a few recent applications without giving companies time to respond to the matters.An appeal of the ban on local service promotions from incumbent telephone companies and another on the provision of ILEC unbundled loops to competitors were summarily closed by staff letter. Len Katz, the CRTC’s recently appointed executive director of telecommunications, says that the way the commission deals with telecom applications has changed. Sweeping modifications to some processes will be unveiled in the very near future, he says. "The whole plan was to streamline the entire decision-making and regulatory process," he told Telemanagement. Changes are already under way, more are to come, and major announcements regarding those changes will be issued very shortly, possibly in the next couple of weeks, he adds. This should be welcome news to the telecom industry, which has long called for quicker resolution of regulatory issues. Telecom Review ExpandsThe federal government has named the three members of its telecom review panel: Gerri Sinclair, former head of Microsoft’s MSN.ca; Hank Intven, former executive director telecom at the CRTC, now a partner at McCarthy Tétrault; and André Tremblay, former CEO of Microcell Telecommunications. In announcing the panel, Ottawa also broadened the review’s scope to include not only telecom regulation but also issues surrounding access and adoption of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). The inclusion of ICT adoption comes as a surprise, but is welcome news to the business community. It will be especially warmly received by groups advocating greater government involvement in promoting the benefits of using the Internet, for example, in business process automation. Organizations such as the Canadian e-Business Initiative (CeBI) have long been calling on the federal government to take a more proactive role in this regard. Terry Walsh, president of Cisco Systems Canada and chair of CeBI, said last year that the group was looking for a line item specifically mentioning ICT adoption by small- and medium-sized business in the 2005 federal budget. While that didn’t happen, the government’s inclusion of ICT adoption as one of the three pillars of its review of the telecommunications services sector is a useful substitute and constitutes a huge opportunity for SMBs in Canada. Broadband access, which had seemed to have dropped off the federal government’s agenda and was not mentioned in the budget speech, has also been added as a key aspect of the telecom review. This move is a hopeful sign of the government’s commitment to bridge the digital divide. While limited federal funding has helped provide a number of rural and remote communities with broadband Internet connectivity, much more needs to be done in this area. It will be interesting to see whether the telecom review panel decides to link these issues together or deal with them separately. It is now clear that the panel will not delve into the thorny issue of foreign ownership in telecommunications. Even Industry Canada, a long-time proponent of relaxing the rules, appears to have backed away from its earlier position. Minister David Emerson recently said during a conference call discussing the telecom review that foreign ownership makes up only a minor part of the regulations and that he is no longer advocating a change to the current rules. The expansion of the panel’s mandate makes the end-of-year deadline for submission of a report all the more challenging. VoIP Ruling by May 12Voice over IP providers and subscribers to VoIP services will soon get clarity on how the CRTC is, or isn’t, going to regulate IP telephony services. The commission has set May 12 as the latest day on which it will release its ruling on this question. The telecom regulator also deferred until after that date any action on three applications requesting that it intervene in Bell Canada’s launch of VoIP services in its incumbent territory prior to a commission ruling and without having filed a tariff application. Cogeco Cable, Quebecor Media and the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association filed Part VII applications just days after Bell introduced its service in three Quebec cities. Cogeco and Quebecor wanted the commission to immediately issue a cease-and-desist order barring Bell from offering service. Competitors were angered by what they describe as Bell’s disregard for Commission rules and the Commission’s own preliminary views on VoIP. But they took solace from the fact that the commission committed to a date for releasing its much-anticipated decision. The CRTC’s decision not to intervene in the case does not indicate the direction the commission is leaning, says Telemanagement consulting editor Lis Angus. Indeed, the Commission had good reason not to consider the Part VIIs. " is saying the questions that these applications address are already before the commission in the VoIP proceeding, all the arguments have been made there, and it’s going to be releasing its decision," she says. Telus Challenges Shaw’s Local Phone Service Telus has asked the CRTC to halt Shaw Communications’ cable telephony offering, saying that the cableco is not complying with its obligations as a local phone service carrier. The Commission says it will deal with Telus’s complaint after the release of its decision on VoIP regulation, due by May 12. VoIP 911 in 90 daysThe CRTC has told all providers of Voice over IP services to implement interim 911 or E911 solutions by July 3. Providers must offer service equivalent to that being offered by the incumbent telephone companies. Discussions have already begun on developing a long-term, permanent 911 solution. Competitor Digital Network TariffsRogers Wireless has launched a complaint to the CRTC about Competitor Digital Network (CDN) tariff provisions from Bell Canada, Aliant and SaskTel. The wireless operator says some of the provisions contained in the CDN tariffs deviate from the commission’s determinations in the CDN Services ruling (Telecom Decision 2005-6), and are inconsistent with previous CRTC rulings. Specifically, Rogers Wireless wants the commission to address minimum commitment terms regarding DS-3 speeds or higher, liability and indemnification provisions, notification time frames with respect to CDN rate treatment, and fibre-based CDN protection. Bell ‘Naked DSL’ Tariff OkayedFollowing an application filed March 31, and despite opposition from a number of independent Internet service providers, Bell Canada received interim tariff approval for its "naked DSL" service on April 15. The amended Gateway Access tariff allows competitors to use Bell unbundled loops to provide high-speed access to customers who do not subscribe to voice services over the loop. Local Winback Rules Under FireTelus has asked the CRTC to eliminate no-contact restrictions on efforts to win back subscribers in markets where Shaw Communications has introduced local telephony services. Telus says the rules, developed for loop resellers that didn’t own their facilities, can’t apply in an environment where cable companies offer voice services. The problem centres around access to customer information. Competitors such as loop reseller Sprint Canada had to notify the incumbent of a customer migration request, thus giving the ILEC advanced warning of a customer switch. That is why Telus and other ILECs were prevented from contacting subscribers who ask to switch to other suppliers. In an environment with cable telephony, this "advantage" of having access to information doesn’t apply, because cablecos don’t need to lease any facilities from the incumbent. In Brief Heritage reiterates foreign ownership stand: Responding to a report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Heritage minister Liza Frulla repeated the ministry’s stand that there is no need to review telecom foreign ownership restrictions. 900-Number Charges: The CRTC has adopted new safeguards designed to protect users of 900 services from being subjected to very high long distance telephone bills. New rules also lowered the maximum that providers can charge for such services to $6 per minute as opposed to the $10 per minute allowed under the old rules. Maximum per-minute charges for games have decreased to $5 from $25 and psychic services to $6 from $10.

CRTC Process Changes Coming

News | 04/26/2005 4:00 am EDT

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