CRTC considering changes to disaggregated wholesale regime

Five years after it announced a move to a new system for wholesale internet access, the CRTC is consulting on how it should change that regime. It said in a Thursday notice of consultation it “does not have confirmation that there has been any implementation of the disaggregated wholesale service regime in its existing configurations.” That means the objectives and transition plan the CRTC put forward in the 2015 decision establishing the new regime “may not be achieved without further measures. Examining the question of reducing the level of disaggregation for the services in question is timely and warranted, given that such a reduction may be required to facilitate deployment of these services across the country and to minimize any negative effects on competition that might be occurring in the markets for wholesale HSA services.” Under the older aggregated regime — currently the subject of ongoing conflict between incumbents and wholesale-based providers -- that is currently in use, wholesale-based providers connect to one point in a telco’s network, or a limited number of points in a cableco’s network, to obtain wholesale service. The idea behind the disaggregated regime was that it would include access to fibre-to-the-home networks in exchange for the smaller, wholesale-based providers building their own transport links to individual central offices or head ends. The newer regime was initially welcomed by wholesale-based providers, but then in 2018 the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) asked the CRTC to reconsider aspects of the regime, saying that they could not comply with what they described as an expensive and untenable configuration of the system. CNOC said in its application that in Ontario and Quebec alone, CNOC's members would need to connect to 1016 BCE Inc. central offices or 149 cable head-ends. It asked for reduced levels of disaggregation on incumbent networks, while supporting full disaggregation where economically efficient. In Thursday’s notice of consultation, the CRTC asked for comments on modifying the level of disaggregation on the networks of BCE Inc., Cogeco Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron. The CRTC also said it has now closed CNOC’s Part 1, and suspended its ongoing proceeding to set final rates for the regime. It issued a set of questions to incumbents, and asked wholesale-based providers and other interested parties to weigh in “with supporting rationale and evidence, on whether or not the existing disaggregated wholesale HSA service regime supports an orderly, cost-effective transition from aggregated to disaggregated wholesale HSA services.” Should parties say that the regime does not support the transition, the CRTC asks for comments on how the disaggregated regime “should be modified to facilitate the deployment of the services.” The CRTC also asks intervenors to explain “what factors should be taken into account in developing disaggregated wholesale HSA service configurations that include a reduced level of disaggregation (as opposed to full disaggregation) and that would allow for an efficient, cost-effective deployment of the disaggregated wholesale HSA service regime across the country.” Incumbents have until July 13 to respond to the specific requests for information issued by the CRTC, while interventions are due Sept. 9. CNOC president Matt Stein said in an email Thursday that as the “CRTC realizes we need a model that works for all parties, and most importantly enables a competitive market for fibre for all Canadians.” He added: “It’s unfortunate that the CRTC didn’t enable Canadians with competitive access to fibre right now, but they seem committed to quickly looking for the right ways to do that.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

CRTC considering changes to disaggregated wholesale regime

News | June 11, 2020

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CRTC considering changes to disaggregated wholesale regime

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