Rogers challenges Bell’s neutrality in managing 9-1-1 service; Bell calls allegations “preposterous”

Rogers Cable Communications Inc. (RCCI) no longer wants its main competitor, Bell Canada, managing Ontario’s 9-1-1 emergency service. The carrier has formally asked the CRTC to replace the ILECs as the service’s administrators, singling out Bell for what it describes as an “arrogant and monopolist attitude” that puts Rogers at a competitive advantage in providing 9-1-1 services – claims Bell says are both “preposterous” and “perplexing.” Rogers has filed a Part VII review and vary application with the regulator asking for a public proceeding to review Bell’s administration of the 9-1-1 system. It accuses Bell of failing to treat its competitors as co-carriers when it comes to providing the emergency service, and that unless proper oversight and governance is put in place, the CRTC should begin an immediate search for a more neutral administrator to replace Bell. “RCCI has encountered a number of situations that call in to question the neutrality of Bell in its capacity as the administrator of the 9-1-1 system, and begs for increased oversight in the way in which it conducts itself... Bell must be made to understand that its role in managing a public service should be distance (sic) from its role as an aggressive competitor in the marketplace,” writes Ken Engelhart, Rogers’ senior VP regulatory. Within Canada, Bell and other ILECs are responsible for administering the 9-1-1 database, networks, processes and related systems within their respective territories, including interacting with municipalities to accommodate new street names and other changes that could result in a 9-1-1- call being improperly routed. In its application, Rogers cites a number of problems it has experienced in dealing with Bell’s 9-1-1 service group in Ontario. The most significant roadblock, it says, is not receiving timely notification when changes to the 9-1-1 service have been negotiated between the municipalities and Bell, which in some cases leaves Rogers “scrambling to implement changes to its network the very date the changes are due.” At the same time, Rogers acknowledges that it is the municipality’s legal responsibility to give CLECs 90 days notice when changes are made. But since Bell is the one who negotiates first hand with municipalities, Rogers says it should be the one responsible for passing that information onto other users. “RCCI believes that if notifying all users (wireline, wireless and IP) of the 9-1-1 system is not the job of the organization entrusted and paid to manage the system, then it is time to both rewrite the job description and begin an immediate search for a suitable replacement. There is no doubt that the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Engelhart writes. For its part, Bell says it already sends email notices to CLECs and WSPs when 9-1-1 changes are made, but that in some cases last minute changes are made by a municipality. If Rogers has a problem with the process, Bell says it should raise the issue with the Canadian Interconnection Steering Committee’s Emergency Services Working Group. “Rogers' complaint appears to be with the municipalities supplying timely notification however, Rogers has chosen to mischaracterize it as an issue with the Company which it unjustly portrays as being unresponsive and uncooperative in light of Rogers' difficulties. Rogers' characterization of the Company could not be further from the truth,” Bell writes in its Oct. 28 reply to the CRTC. Rogers also wants to set up its own testing capabilities, rather than relying on Bell’s system to do performance testing in situations when there are alarms, fibre cuts or when new exchanges are opened. This requires an interconnection with Bell’s system, which Rogers says was becoming prohibitively expensive. In the end, Bell said it was not technically possible. Bell also said it spent over a year trying to accommodate Rogers’ request, “all done in a spirit of cooperation and at no charge to Rogers,” but that in the end, a specialized solution was required that would be both costly and time-consuming. Rogers provides examples of other incidents it claims demonstrate undue preference on Bell’s part. The incumbent dismisses each, saying the issues have already been addressed or have been “mischaracterized” by Rogers. “The Rogers application, with its perplexing collection of anecdotes falls well short of suggesting there is a pattern of inappropriate and anti-competitive behaviour that warrants the scrutiny of the Commission,” Bell writes, noting that WSPs and CLECs rated the company’s 9-1-1 support group at 90% for ease of doing business and 94% for overall satisfaction in 2009. Rogers’ application has found some support with two other telecom companies. MTS Allstream agrees a CRTC review is needed, saying that Bell’s behaviour “may have undermined the ability of Rogers to ensure the safety of Rogers’ customers.” Globalive Wireless Management Corp. says it’s essential that all carriers receive the same information at the same time. Rather than relying on individual municipalities to contact every carrier when there’s a change, it urges the CRTC to “impose a clear obligation on ILECs to act as a clearing house for such data, providing timely notice to all affected carriers of any notifications provided to the ILECs by municipalities.” However, the Ontario 9-1-1 Advisory Board opposes any significant changes to the current system. OAB chair Judy Broomfield says Rogers’ request that the role of the system administrator be rewritten, and/or the administrator be replaced, “could have significant operational and other impacts on public safety answering points and on the 9-1-1 system.” The OAB suggests the disputes can be resolved by the CRTC without having to replace the existing 9-1-1 system administrative structure.

Rogers challenges Bell’s neutrality in managing 9-1-1 service; Bell calls allegations “preposterous”

News | 11/19/2009 4:45 pm EST

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