Bell and DND head back to negotiating table

A CRTC decision last week on customer specific arrangements (CSAs) - enterprise customer contacts - means that Bell Canada and the Department of National Defence (DND) have to return to the bargaining table to hammer out a short-term network and services usage deal. And time is running out with sources saying a planned migration from Bell to rival Telus Corp. has to be complete by December 15 or service could be cut off.The migration of DND services from Bell to Telus has already encountered difficulties with the transition being extended once already. According to news reports, Telus was to have fully transitioned DND by the summer, but was given until October to complete the switch-over. With the deadline looming, Telus filed an application with the CRTC at the end of August seeking a determination that Bell couldn't force the customer to renew its contract under the same terms and conditions, including a minimum contract period and revenue guarantee, in the event Telus couldn't fully migrate the customer to its network by the time the contract ended. (Network Letter has confirmed through third parties that the customer is DND, although neither Bell or Telus have acknowledged this publicly.)Ted Woodhead, VP of telecom policy and regulatory affairs, tells Network Letter that Bell was insisting on unreasonable terms and that's why the company filed the application. "Bell was telling the customer that if they wanted to have any services at all after December 15 that they had to take them on the same terms and conditions as they took them before regardless of the fact that they didn't need all of the ," he explains.Mirko Bibic, chief of regulatory affairs at Bell, says this was not the case, and in fact the company agreed with Telus' own interpretation of the CSA rules that a service provider couldn't force a customer to buy a service it didn't want. However, he adds, there's nothing in the rules preventing the company from offering a new agreement that differs from the original."There's no obligation on us to offer any arrangement that differs from the existing CSA and the terms upon which we are going to agree with this customer to continue to provide service is between us and the customer and isn't for the CRTC to get involved in and it's certainly not any of Telus' business," Bibic says.While the CRTC ruled in Telus' favour, the decision only means DND and Bell have to resume talks with the goal of reaching an agreement. A key part to Telus' application was rejected because the commission said it didn't have the authority to rule on the particular matter. Telus wanted the CRTC to order Bell to continue to provide service to the customer but couldn't require the customer to agree to minimum contract period or revenue guarantee. The commission noted this matter relates to a potential contract dispute, which typically doesn't fall within the commission's mandate.No guarantee on an agreementWith Bell and DND back at the negotiating, or soon to be, the two sides will focus on getting a deal done - though Bell says it won't take the rap if an agreement can't be reached. "Telus won the RFP. Everyone knew when the migration had to be completed. It's Telus' responsibility," Bibic says. "If that situation comes to pass it'll be because the current service provider did not meet its contractual obligation to migrate service on time."Woodhead hasn't ruled out another filing before the CRTC if current negotiations hit an impasse. "Presumably the parties will go and negotiate and they'll be able to solve it. If not, we'd be looking to the CRTC to settle the whole terms and conditions issue," he tells NL.

Bell and DND head back to negotiating table

News | 10/01/2008 8:17 pm EDT

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