Competitors complain to commission over Bell wholesale voice deregulation application

Yak Communications has told the CRTC that a decision to immediately deregulate Bell Canada's wholesale telephony offering will have a negative financial impact on the company.Yak's comments are in response to a Bell application, seeking forbearance of its wholesale local service and features (WLSF) service, which came into effect less than a year ago. WLSF is designed to allow competitive service providers to resell primary local phone service to end-users."Yak would not have invested substantial resources in acquiring a local service base using WLSF had Yak contemplated that immediate forbearance was imminent. Rather, it would have waited for forbearance and negotiated other terms including transition assistance provisions," reads Yak's comments. The company subscribes to Bell's WLSF service.The Bell application has been met with some stern opposition from Yak and Primus Telecommunications Canada, which believe approving the application would essentially counter the March 3, 2008 essential services decision. Rogers Communications has also waded into the debate saying this application should be put on hold until it completes its review of a previous appeal from Bell calling for a new regime for soon-to-be-deregulated wholesale services.Primus asserts that the commission should make sure the rules as set out in the essential services decision stand. "WLSF was explicitly assigned a three-year transition period by the commission and the transition period should be allowed to play out," reads its comments. "This approach will provide competitors with the assurances and stability that they need over the course of the transition period."Cable giant Rogers tells the CRTC that Bell's application should be dismissed because it raises the same issues that are under consideration in a previous Bell application on the forbearance framework for all new non-essential wholesale services. "In particular, the companies (Bell) proposed that once the commission determines that a new wholesale service is not essential, the service should either be forborne immediately without a transition period; or subject to mandated access but only if it is a new ‘interconnection' or ‘public good' service that the commission determines requires regulation," reads Rogers' comments.In its application, Bell says that the market conditions are already present to warrant deregulation and without it, its ability to compete and innovate in the market is hampered. The company won't be able to respond to customers' needs quick enough because of the regulatory lag associated with having to file tariff amendments.As well, Bell notes that immediate deregulation is appropriate because the WLSF is a new services and a transition period isn't necessary. This isn't a long-standing service as described by the commission in the essential services ruling, which set up transition periods for certain wholesale services. Given the relative newness of the WLSF service, it can't be considered a long-standing service and therefore a transition period isn't warranted.

Competitors complain to commission over Bell wholesale voice deregulation application

News | October 6, 2008

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