ISP coalition stands up to proposed hydro pole price

A coalition of internet service providers (ISPs) is taking the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to task over a proposal to significantly raise the cost of hydro pole installation across the province, which they say will inevitably lead to a higher cost of internet service pushed on customers. Using a website dedicated to the issue, the Ontario Broadband Coalition (OCB) is arguing that the OEB’s proposed wireline pole attachment rate of $52 would “put in jeopardy the expansion of broadband across Ontario and could mean higher internet rates for families and businesses.” The rate increase could also impact the next generation of broadband services, it said. The rate — which is charged on a per attachment, per pole and per year basis — was made in an OEB policy report in December. It would be applied on a province-wide basis, which hasn't been changed since it was $22.35 in 2005, the report said. The report added that the OEB did approve three recent applications to raise rates of Toronto Hydro poles to $42, Hydro Ottawa to $53 and Hydro One to $41.28, the three of which make up 90 per cent of the electric utility poles in the province. The OBC said it understands a rate increase to keep up with inflation, but the latter would only push the cost up 25 per cent to $27.95. Instead, the $52 would represent a 133 per cent increase, they argue. “The OEB has gone overboard,” the website reads. “The OEB’s proposed rate is twice the average rate in the rest of Canada, and four times what it costs to install fibre on an identical pole owned by Bell.” The rate increases could cost telecoms, including smaller operators serving rural communities, millions of dollars a year, the OCB website said. It added that could mean some companies may face an existential crisis, which could also put at risk the roll out of internet services to rural and remote areas. The OCB website offers a prewritten letter that is addressed to Ontario’s Minister of Energy Glenn Thibeault and its Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiarelli and encourages signatories to copy their local politicians on the provincial and federal levels. BCE Inc. is not a member of the coalition, company spokesman Jacqueline Michelis confirmed in an email. In reply to a question about why it’s not, Michelis said Bell’s pole infrastructure is regulated by the CRTC. Otherwise, the group consists of players including Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp., Shaw Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, Cogeco Inc., Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink, TBayTel Inc., Beanfield Technologies Inc. and the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA).

ISP coalition stands up to proposed hydro pole price

Brief | March 22, 2018

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ISP coalition stands up to proposed hydro pole price

Brief | March 22, 2018

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