Better wholesale regime needs to be put in place: Coalition of Quebec ISPs

The spokesperson for the Coalition of Quebec ISPs says there is a lack of a coherent and effective wholesale network access regime and the struggle by independent Quebec-based ISPs to get affordable access to Bell Canada’s network illustrates that. Sophie Leger, president of Inter.net Canada, tells Network Letter in an interview the situation began to worsen for Quebec ISPs with the arrival of IP technology, and she notes that IP telephony is only the beginning. "IPTV is knocking at our door and it’s going to make the situation even more critical," she says. "So, I think we need to step back a bit and get the CRTC to sit down with the incumbents and the cablecos, because they are now entering that wholesale model, address in its whole." According to recent figures released from the CRTC, competitors have been losing ground in the Internet service market. Leger admits that some of the market share loss for competitors came from the migration of dial-up users to high-speed. But a significant number of customers switched to DSL Lite, a service the coalition’s members are unable to offer. To bring the situation to the attention of the CRTC, the coalition filed a Part VII application on November 22 seeking an intervention from the commission to rectify the problem. "For instance, in band C such as the town in which member Infotek Internet operates where the rate of the unbundled loop is $14.96 per month and based on the costs of Infotek of $13.25/subscriber/month…and based on the GAS rates of $21.50 per month, the total costs to Infotek Internet would total $49.71/month, thus far exceeding the presumably profitable retail rates of $35/month of Bell Canada and making competition with Bell Canada impossible," reads the November 22 application. The coalition believes it has come up with a formula that not only addresses its members’ current dilemma, but also future wholesale tariffs. The CRTC has to recognize the $13.25 per month per user cost of doing business as part of the process in determining the appropriate mark-up rates for near-essential services. As well, Leger says this can apply to incumbents other than Bell. "What we wish is that this formula could be applied to any wholesale tariff of any incumbent or cableco because that’s the nature of the business we are in today. So if it works for Bell products we sincerely hope that this would be the rule of thumb for any other wholesale product," she says. Something is wrong, she adds, when the wholesale rate for DSL Lite is $20.50 and Bell’s retail rate is $19.95. "I can’t logically understand how they can continue arguing that it’s right," Leger states. Coalition’s Main Arguments- Eliminate Bell’s $100 charge on customers who terminate contracts early- CRTC review of 12-month promotional rates- Limit mark-up rates Bell charges competitors for wholesale services- Order Bell to re-submit costs as their equipment costs have plummeted more than 50%- Declare Bell ADSL service a near-essential service when obtained from CO

Better wholesale regime needs to be put in place: Coalition of Quebec ISPs

News | December 8, 2005

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