CRTC requiring next-day status of service reports to TPIA subscribers

Five months after ushering the internet into the quality of service regime, the CRTC said Friday it is directing cable incumbents to provide status of service reports to customers of wholesale clients within a reasonable time. In agreeing with a proposal by the incumbent group -- consisting Cogeco Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron -- the regulator said it will require the group, at a minimum, to inform customers of smaller providers whether or not their order installations or service activations were successful by next day. That’s in lieu of the group’s proposed efforts to provide information on the same day or in “near real-time batch reporting when technically or economically feasible.” “By providing at least next day batch reporting to a Customer, including on weekends and holidays, the degree of harm to TPIA Customers or their end-users is mitigated significantly and meets the TPIA Customers’ minimum reporting period proposed,” the CRTC said Friday. The companies have to update the CRTC on their progress in implementing the new rules six months after the regulator puts out its final guidelines, which it said would be published within 90 days. The decision, which fulfils part of the CRTC’s goal of ensuring efficient delivery of wholesale high-speed internet services, dates back to 2013, when small internet service providers represented by the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) said the cablecos were discriminating against them by delaying, in various ways, service to their customers. A complaint on the part of the small ISP group is a lag in the speed at which subscribers of incumbents and those of wholesale companies are receiving information. The cablecos noted that currently, the different companies have different timelines and ways of distributing that information. As such, the CRTC said it was not in a position to rule on the feasibility of syncing information to go to incumbent and wholesale subscribers at the same time, but asked the cablecos to provide rationale about a timeline for when they can do that. Friday’s decision also noted that there may be overlap with its April decision including internet under the quality of service regime, mandating large providers monitor the number of installation and repair appointments it meets and how long those take. The regulator said the decision Friday should not “preclude” an upcoming October report by the regulator’s steering committee on the April decision, but should be used to revisit the issues again. The CRTC also confirmed the interconnection steering committee’s other proposed improvements for quality of service, including expediting service rescheduling requests, standardizing a two-business-day response time for service orders for all cablecos, and responding to trouble tickets within 24 hours and providing all information about the issue at that time or updating the ticket when that information is available. Those guidelines also have to be implemented within six months following the release of the final guidelines.

CRTC requiring next-day status of service reports to TPIA subscribers

Brief | September 10, 2018

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

CRTC requiring next-day status of service reports to TPIA subscribers

Brief | September 10, 2018

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

Cogeco maintains it will launch Canadian wireless service in coming months

Cogeco appoints Mike Henry as chief commercial officer

Cogeco continues push towards wireless service in Canada with two network access deals

Cogeco reports drop in profits in Q3, while revenue rises slightly

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us