CRTC process and delays take centre stage at CNOC ISP Summit

A day after CRTC chairman Ian Scott addressed the Competitive Network Operators of Canada's ISP Summit and gave no more details about when the regulator would give some finality to the issue of wholesale internet access rates, frustrations with the regulator's timelines and process seemed to boil over Wednesday. In remarks delivered by CNOC president Matt Stein, and in a later panel discussion on regulatory affairs, discontent with the slow speed of key CRTC proceedings seemed to be the order of the day. "We need to counterbalance the incumbents’ ability to drag things out," particularly in the area of rate-setting, Stein told the conference in a keynote address. Pointing to the three-pronged incumbent challenge to the regulator's determination of final aggregated wholesale rates in August 2019, Stein called for an overhaul of how interim rates are set -- in a way that would speed up the process. Stein called on the CRTC to establish a "retail minus" approach, where rates are determined based on the current retail rates for similar services, minus a predetermined percentage -- Stein suggested 50 per cent. "That would make it impossible for an incumbent to propose interim rates that were higher than its retail prices, and would give the competitors immediate access to a fair rate, as long as the rate setting process wore on," Stein said. He also suggested that interim rates no longer be paid out directly to incumbents, but rather into an escrow account held by the CRTC or another neutral body until a final rate is set. "Now you’ve created some urgency. The incumbents will want to see the wholesale rate-setting process completed as quickly as possible," he said. The CRTC considered using the retail-minus approach in a consultation this past spring, but for Stein, the delay around the wholesale rates decision makes the issue an urgent one. "For the incumbents, a delay may as well be a win," he said. Stein also called for the institution of a "equivalence-of-inputs" or "quality-of-service" framework, which he said would require incumbents to offer service to wholesale customers on “the same time scales by means of the same systems and processes with the same service levels" as the incumbents offer for their retail service. Stein said if minor reforms like the ones he outlined fail, the CRTC should consider separating incumbent retail operations from infrastructure operations, known as "structural separation." "It was only four years ago that the then current CRTC Chairman Blais referred to structural separation when he said: 'If the winds of change blow too hard and (the incumbents) refuse to bend in the wind, the tree may break at the trunk rather than lose a few leaves,'" Stein quoted Blais as saying. "I couldn’t agree more. If this doesn't work - maybe it is time to break the tree at the trunk," Stein said. Stein further called for a limit to the avenues of appeal available to incumbents, as well as increased enforcement mechanisms for the CRTC, though without elaborating specifically on how. In a panel discussion later in the day hosted by Cartt.ca editor Greg O'Brien, Christian Tacit of Tacit Law -- who has argued cases for CNOC in the past -- also called for an increased threshold for leave to appeal in the federal courts, which would see a greater barrier for incumbents in appealing CRTC decisions. Referencing the petition to governor in council used by incumbents in the fight over wholesale rates, Tacit said "I'm starting to wonder if that should be an avenue at all. Even if it is, the BTLR report recommended reducing the time -- to half the time available for the GIC to make decisions, and only to refer back but not actually vary decisions." Tacit also said it is "extremely frustrating that there's never a true end in sight." "I think it may be time legislatively to consider imposing some form of time limits on the commission to make decisions in Part 1 proceedings and especially in review and vary processes," he said. He also called on the government to be "more restrained in commenting on issues that are currently live before the CRTC," pointing to an election promise from the Liberals to implement some level of MVNO access should wireless prices not drop to its satisfaction. Geoff White, CNOC's head of regulatory affairs, said that incumbent procedural requests are having the effect of "diluting" CRTC policy objectives. "The Telecommunications Act is fundamentally sound the way it is," White said, adding that it calls for two objectives CNOC supports: just and reasonable rates, and no unjust discrimination. "With those two provisions alone, the CRTC has what it needs, its just a question of putting a stop to some of these delays," White said. — Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

CRTC process and delays take centre stage at CNOC ISP Summit

News | 11/05/2020 11:16 am EST

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