Northwestel focuses on upgrading fixed wireless services in revised modernization plan

Northwestel Inc. will roll out third-generation fixed wireless services to 41 northern Canadian communities over the next five years and seek partnership funding to reach 26 more, the company said in a revised modernization plan. In a $233 million plan filed with the CRTC Wednesday, BCE Inc.'s northern subsidiary said it aims to expand its third-generation fixed wireless service—currently available in 16 northern communities—to cover 99 per cent of Canada's northern population. It said 41 of those communities will be upgraded through funds dedicated to the modernization plan while another 26 will require additional funding. Paul Flaherty, president and CEO of Northwestel, said in a telephone interview Thursday that service to those 26 communities will be contingent on the company establishing partnerships, such as those announced this week with Infrastructure Canada and equipment vendor Falcon Communications G.P. Ltd. That partnership will use about $15 million from Northwestel’s modernization plan plus $14.8 million in federal funding to bring mobile broadband service to 25 communities and upgrade broadband in another 31. “We are looking at three other partnerships, much smaller in size than the Falcon one, to do similar types of things,” Flaherty said. “Another 26 contingent on some arrangements that we're trying to arrange with partners.” Flaherty said the partnership with Falcon is allowing the company to put third-generation fixed wireless service in every communities in the Northwest Territories, regardless of their size. The CRTC ordered Northwestel to file a plan to modernize its aging and in many places outdated telecommunications equipment in December 2011. The company’s initial plan, filed in July 2012, sought to roll out 3G mobile services to all 96 of the communities in Northwestel's operating territory, but was contingent on receiving $40 million in benefits money flowing from Bell's $3.38-billion bid to acquire Astral Media Inc. The CRTC said it would allow Northwestel to file a revised modernization plan after, in October, it blocked Bell's bid to acquire Astral, citing concerns about competition and Bell’s market power. Flaherty said Northwestel's new plan would bring speeds of 42 Mbps to communities connected to the company’s terrestrial backhaul infrastructure. “In some circles, people refer to that as 4G,” he said. More remote communities that are served by satellite backhaul, he said, will receive speeds equivalent to HSPA. The company's new modernization plan also dedicates funds to enable call display and other “enhanced calling features” in all 96 northern communities; local number portability to 84 per cent of the northern population; and upgrades to its existing DSL and cable infrastructure in 57 communities. The company will also seek partnership funding to help upgrade its DSL and cable infrastructure in one more community, Flaherty said. He said the 58 communities in line for upgrades is an improvement over the company's earlier modernization plan, which sought to bring service improvements to 17 communities. “This plan actually does it in 58, and we’ll go to a minimum of two times the speed,” he said. The company said in the new plan that the funding from the Bell-Astral deal would have also allowed it to upgrade its telecom switches in all 96 communities, enabling more advanced calling features and number portability, which allows customers to maintain their phone number when switching providers. “With the Astral funding envelope removed, the Updated Plan cannot economically deliver the full extent of services to all communities contemplated by the Astral Plan,” the new plan filed with the commission said. The company said its older, existing switches are “running smoothly” and have not caused any operational problems, and that upgrades included in the new plan would lower the average age of its switches from 17 to eight years. Samer Bishay, president and CEO of northern Internet provider Iristel Inc. as well as president of northern mobile provider Ice Wireless Inc., told The Wire Report in December that the older switches will prevent competing telecom carriers from interconnecting with Northwestel and competing in some communities. “If they don’t upgrade the switches on the wireline, then all the wireline/wireless competitors will not be able to connect properly with Northwestel to offer services,” he said at the time. Flaherty said the new plan would make local number portability available to 84 per cent of northerners, and would bring enhanced calling features, such as call display, to all northern communities. "When completed, the plan will provide competitors access to Local Number Portability (LNP) in 73 of 96 communities,” he said in a follow-up emailed statement. “The Astral component provided LNP availability to all 96 communities served by NWTel. With the denial of the Astral funding, we had to adjust the things we could do to fit into a $233M plan a $273M plan. We have scaled back a number of areas including among other things the availability of wireless and access to LNP.” He added that other aspects of the plan, such as an expansion of the company’s “wholesale connect” backhaul service to 27 new communities, would also allow competitors to purchase wholesale backhaul to connect local calls and data to other destinations. “With the expanded availability of LNP and wholesale transport we are significantly advancing opportunities for competitors." The CRTC will hold a hearing in June to conduct a “holistic review” of Northwestel’s revised plan, price caps, and subsidies, as well as other regulations affecting the company. —With reporting by Danika Grenier at dgrenier@thewirereport.ca and editing by Nicholas Kyonka at nkyonka@thewirereport.ca

Northwestel focuses on upgrading fixed wireless services in revised modernization plan

News | January 18, 2013

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